Three students from National Institute of Design (NID), Gandhinagar, have designed garments for medicos which will be showcased during a fashion show at Medicall - 2012 a medical equipment exhibition to be held at Gujarat University Exhibition Hall from February 3-5. The students are from second year post graduate apparel design program.

One of the three, Devyani Lal, said, "This is part of our 'System Thinking for Apparel' course program where students are supposed to design functional apparels for various industries by understanding core issues, namely utility, ergonomics, costing, life cycle of the garment, impact of materials etc. We have designed these apparels after in-depth research."

The garments designed for medicos have a blend of fibres and are coloured in azo-free dyes. "We had to design garments which do not hamper the environment when disposed off and can allow easy removal of stains. Reduction of carbon foot prints was also on our research agenda while designing these garments," another student, Akanksha Mishra said.

The third student, Arun Kushwaha, explained that, while designing these garments, they had to keep in mind everyday usage of the same. Based on this they decided to blend natural and man-made and synthetic fibres, which would help in easy wear and cleaning as well as disposal.

Explaining how students design the apparel, faculty member Krishna Amin Patel said, the subject which has been part of the institute since the 80s gives students not just theoretical but also practical lessons. Students visit hospitals and understand the requirements of medicos, even during surgeries.

CEO Dr S Manivannan of Medexpert, the company organising Medicall-2012, said, "This is the first time we are organising an exhibition in Gujarat and already have 120 exhibitors. It is probably the first time that India will witness a fashion show of garments only for medicos. This will be later checked for its functionality with a few city-based hospitals."