Pawan Seewooruttun: Taking the fashion industry by storm

This young man has made Mauritius proud by shining on the international scene with his designs. Competing at that level is not an easy task but Pawan dared to dream big and he did achieve success. Awarded best fashion designer of the year by Dubai Fashion Week, Pawan reveals his journey to us. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"8162","attributes":{"class":"media-image wp-image-15214 alignleft","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"151","height":"239","alt":"pawan 4"}}]]Born and brought up in Mauritius, Pawan Seewooruttun has a first class degree in Textiles and Fashion Designs from the University of Mauritius. He has over eight years of experience both in fashion and graphic design; with specialisation in fashionable apparel and haute couture. For him, this field is exciting, challenging and very competitive. “As a teenager, when I would accompany my mum to the seamstress, I came across magazines like Vogue, Elle, and Marie Claire. I was really amazed by the fashion industry. Since then, I started to design and opted for textile and fashion at university,” he shares. Pawan specialises in commercial clothing, evening gowns and wedding dresses with a main focus on the luxury market. “My customers are mainly based in Europe, South Africa, Reunion and Mauritius,” he says. Best Designer of the Year The young designer won the award of Best Designer of the Year 2015 at the Dubai Runway. His brand New Miuz includes wedding dresses, evening gowns, resort wear, uniforms and accessories (handbags, clutches, shoes and jewellery). “I am honoured to have won this award. This would not have been possible without the help of a seamstress, Magalie Potage, who gave life to my creations. I am sincerely proud to be awarded this trophy. I consider this as a small step for my career but a big step for Mauritius and I sincerely hope that Mauritius will invest more in the fashion industry,” he proudly says. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"8163","attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter wp-image-15218 size-large","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"960","height":"540","alt":"fashion"}}]] Participating in a fashion competition is not easy and seducing a jury panel while competing with world class designers is challenging. The theme of his collection was Oriental Bliss. According to Pawan, the local fashion industry is struggling to assert itself. “This is one of the main reasons why I focus more on the international market where people value talented and creative persons,” he avers. Moreover, as described by Pawan, it was not easy at all to plan everything from collection designs to fashion sponsors. “I had only two months before flying off to Spain. My team and I worked day and night to meet our deadline. Furthermore, countries such as UAE, USA and UK believed in my talent as fashion designer and contributed massively towards the success of the project,” he reveals. Throughout his journey, Pawan has been winning various awards like: • Dress design for Miss Jamaica UK 2014 • Awarded most creative and talented fashion and design graduate by RT Knits 2011/2012 • Finalist of origin Africa fashion competition • Awarded bursary to study laser and nanotechnology of textile finishing Major project in the pipeline As the director of the brand New Miuz, Pawan has received many offers that will not only boost his business but also promote Mauritius at international level. His teams are analyzing each offer.

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