A pioneer and leader in Kerala’s silk retailing, Seematti completed 114 years of its inception this August. Seematti was always in the frontline of trendsetters in fashion, bridal apparels, Kancheepuram silk collections to name a few. The third generation scion, Beena Kannan has given that edge to Seematti which only a woman, designer, CEO & entrepreneur all rolled into one can contribute.
Beena Kannan & Seematti are household names in Kerala for over 35 years ever since she took the reins of Seematti in 1980. Characteristic of Beena Kannan is her way of doing things, differently and on a larger scale. No wonder she came up with this unique idea of Ensemble 2014, the first of its kind design contest for students of fashion across India.
On 10th & 11th October, the evenings at Hotel Le Meridian, Kochi became the venue of larger than life spectacles, Ensemble 2014 followed by Beena’s own Celebrity Fashion Show.
In Ensemble 2014, 18 teams were shortlisted from 42 fashion design schools on all – India basis. Fashion design students from 18 institutions latched on to the contest theme of “Festive Collections”. After sketching, creating and showcasing their works, the youngsters got exposed to all aspects of their profession, a key objective.
On October 10, the creations of the 18 teams were incisively scrutinized by three eminent academicians and fashion experts, Sumi Giriraj, Seema Mahajan and Shahzad Khellil. Mumbai’s leading models donned the creations of the competing student teams… It was a grueling process, since the general aesthetic standards were high and the contest became neck to neck. St. Teresa’s College, Ernakulam bagged the first and the third prizes of the closely contested Ensemble 2014. NIFT, Kannur won the second prize.
The first prize winning team’s concept relied on bonding the disparate cultures of Gujarat and Nagaland adopting the folk and celebration motifs from both. The results were dazzling. Beena Kannan believes in giving a fillip to burgeoning young designers still at the college on two levels. One is exposing them to the regours of creation and the second one in incentivizing the winning team and all the participants properly. The first prize winning team was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh, the Seematti ever-rolling trophy, team trophy and a merit citation.
The second prize winning team got a prize of Rs. 75,000/-, team trophy and citation. The third prize winner took Rs. 50,000/- , team trophy and citation. All the participating teams were handed over certificates of participation.
Beena congratulated the winners as well as the rest of the participants. She said all the entries were of top-notch aesthetic standard and she was happy at that. She was also very optimistic on the creative acumen and execution calibre of the youngsters. In conclusion, she said “Ensemble 2014 has given me the inspiration to conduct the contest annually.”
The prizes were distributed by Suresh Gopi, Beena Mathew of Malayala Manorama and Beena Kannan herself. The creme de la creme of Kochi were witness to the sparkling event. 
Photo caption:
Lisa Hayden, Sophie M Joe and Rima Kallingal along with the St.Teresa's team at Le Meridien Kochi
Celebrity actor Suresh Gopi giving away the prizes at ENSEMBLE 2014 at Le Meridien Kochi, Oct 10th Seematti's Beena Kanna, nearby
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