Young Designers 2011

		Young Designers 2011
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Darshana Tatibandwale | darshana.t.1710@gmail.com

Sweet Dreams — Design for Comfort

Apparel Design and Merchandising | PGDPD
Guide: Sanjay Guria
Sponsor: Sweet Dreams, Mumbai

Keywords
Sleepwear
Comfort
Functional wear
Cost- effective

I pursued my diploma-project at Sweet Dreams, a Mumbai-based company, and worked for their brand SDL-LITE. The project aimed to understand the brand language and design a sleepwear range for Spring/Summer 2012. SDL-LITE is Sweet Dreams’ economy brand and thus the scope of the project included design explorations in surface detail and silhouettes to an extent, in order to produce a cost-effective sleepwear collection.

The project involved a preliminary research into the context to gain an overview of the sleepwear market and consumer segment. It led to an extensive study of the user and competition to get a clear picture of the sleepwear market in India. The designs were based on this research.

During my four-month diploma project, I designed two sleepwear collections: Urban Nomad and My Secret Little Farm, which targeted different consumer groups. I was involved right from scratch till the end. I even designed the catalogues and tags for these collections. Besides these, I was also involved in two mini-projects: Designing sleepwear from stock or left-over fabric from the previous season and designing the brand’s Chex range.

This project helped me understand the importance of design process and punctuality. It gave me an opportunity to work in the field of functional wear and apply my knowledge of apparel design and thereby nurture my skills. It has further enriched my understanding and capability of working in a real-life situation on a specific design-related task. I describe this experience as a mix of work, excitement, nervousness, learning and a feeling of accomplishment.