Young Fashion Designer From Berhampur Wins ‘Discover Uttarakhand’ Award

Berhampur: Sweetu Layak, a young fashion designer from the city has been awarded the ‘Best Creative Ethnic Fashion Designer’ 2021 by Discover Uttarakhand magazine.

The award, instituted by Discover Uttarakhand for the first time this year, aimed at promoting Indian ethnic wear design and innovation among fashion design students in the country. Sweetu received the award from Tourism Minister of Uttarakhand Satpal Maharaj at a function in Dehradun on September 18 last. There were 60 entries in the contest.

Sweetu, who has the costumes for several film artists, completed the course in Fashion Design from Visakhapatnam in 2017 and participated in many workshops at Hyderabad, New Delhi, Indore, Dehradun and Berhampur.

“I generally design fashion wear for all age groups from children to elderly persons,” said 28-year-old Sweetu.

“The global pandemic of COVID has forced all of us to review and reform our evolving fashion needs and consumption. I consider the award as a step towards fashioning a sustainable tomorrow,” she added.

The young fashion designer further said, “I deep dive into the challenges at the fashion design and modeling roadmap for the future that would benefit the local students and the industry alike.”

On her future plan, she said, “I would open a modern modelling school in Berhampur to facilitate the local budding talents who are generally neglected. I will engage and make actionable plans for the future of the global fashion industry and affiliated fields.”

Her father Dhruba Layak, who owns a small fibre factory, is also an artist. Belonging to Lochapada in Berhampur, he makes idols. Sweetu’s mother Anu is a housewife.