It was signature collection show of Manipur�s renowned fashion designer Premjit Lal Salam who chooses the handloom products of Manipur as the fabric and material for the 70 clothes showcased during the fashion parade held at BOAT amphitheatre on 7th April last. The show entitled �Made in Manipur� was organized by Film Care, Yaiskul Police lane. During the crowd pulling show altogether 70 attractive designs were displayed by 14 upcoming Manipuri models including 4 male in five different rounds � Traditional, Casual I & II, Formal and Creativity.

Premjit Lal Salam who hails from Haobam Marak is diploma holder of fashion designing in International Centre for Fashion Studies, ICFS, New Delhi. He was awarded Best Designer in FABECO Miss Manipur Contest for two consecutive year (1999 & 2000).He had the credit of designing handloom fashion parade of Manipur at IITF, New Delhi in the year 2001. His design won the best traditional costume at the Super Model Contest held in Mizoram last year.

During an interview Premjit Lal said the main purpose of the show was to expose his creativity in the field and to influence the youngsters for using the local handloom products through his designs. The fabric and materials (except for the creativity round) used in his designs were exclusively of handloom products of Manipur. This is the reason why the show was titled �Made in Manipur�. He is planning to hold the similar show at Gauhati in collaboration with Gauhati based designers in the near future. Saying fashion awareness among the youngsters has gain momentum Premjit opined that the optimum use of our local handloom products in our modern wears would contribute to our economy. The only effective way to display locally designed collections is to hold seasonal fashion shows in and outside the state. However lack of sponsorship is the main stumbling block to organize such shows, he said. So far, wardrobes designed by Premjit Lal Salam have been used by many Manipuri film and music video artistes, contestants in beauty contests etc.. and other individuals. He is presently running an arcade entitled TRENDZ to vend his designs. He is dreaming to become an ambassador of Manipuri fashion one day.

About the show organizer: FILM Care � is a professional photo studio. Its proprietor Asem Sudarshan is diploma holder of fashion photography and is also a member of India International Photography Council, New Delhi. He had won few prizes for photography at the State level including Best Entry prize at the Imphal Amateur Photo Association exhibition held few years ago. Besides contributing photographs to local print media Sudarshan through his lens have promoted many models by paving their way to Manipuri cinema and music videos.