To promote Bhutanese cultural sustainability by integrating traditional weaving, embroidery, and tailoring skills with contemporary product development and design, the Royal Textile Academy (RTA) organised three months long training for local designers. The designers showcased their products at the RTA gallery yesterday. Her Majesty the Queen Mother Sangay Choden Wangchuck graced the event.
Seven local designers designed and developed individual collections in three weeks after having attended the three-month-long training.
Kencho Wangmo who runs a local clothing brand, Kencho Couture was awarded certificate for best collection at the event today. The collections were judged on various grounds such as design concept, product and quality and involvement of disadvantaged groups or the use of eco-friendly materials. Kencho developed her products by engaging disadvantaged women taking shelter at Gawailing Happy Home and beneficiaries of Respect Educate Nurture Empower Women (RENEW).
“It really enhanced my skills as a designer. We started from scratch such as theme, concept, line and curves and everything until we get the final product. It really helped us to build ourselves as a designer. ”
Participants said the training has helped them enhance their design skills which will help market their products for a wide range of customers.
“We have a wonderful market in the country as well as outside the country as well. Whenever tourists visit our country or see Bhutanese products they are always mesmerised. They feel we make wonderful products. So it’s really eye-catchy for them,” Pema Chophel, a designer, said.
RTA organised the training to upscale design knowledge and abilities of local designers.
“We at the RTA are aware of all the handicraft items that are available in the market and we are of the opinion that a lot of improvement can be made on these items. So keeping that in mind we decided that we will try to hold this training to basically improve and upscale the standard of items available in the market,” Rinzin O. Dorji, the Executive Director of RTA, said.
RTA works towards promoting and preserving unique Bhutanese textiles and the training was to build the capacity of local designers to set a new standard for textile-based products in the market.
Phub Gyem
