Aarushi Kilawat
School of Fashion, Styling & Textiles
Braille Tag – Feeling their way to fashion trends
A thesis project aimed at empowering visually impaired with a never-before opportunity to shop their garments/home furnishings independently, honourably and preferably
Aarushi Kilawat, a student of Fashion Design course from the Jaipur Campus of Pearl Academy often thinks with her heart. Coming from a business background, Aarushi has been exposed to various strata of society. Having been closely associated with an NGO for over two years, she developed an emotional bond with the less fortunate and particularly the sight-impaired.
Aarushi, who sees herself more as a ‘Designer’ than a Fashion Designer, ‘saw’ the world through their eyes, talked to them extensively and understood their desires to lead full, productive and independent lives. She decided that as a designer she wanted to make a commitment to making a worthwhile contribution to society through her talent and professional learning. She found her medium in Braille. She has conceptualized and gifted an ‘eye-opening’ innovation for the visually
impaired, through which she aims to empower them in a small yet significant manner.
While colours will always remain elusive for the sight impaired, Aarushi realized that they could distinguish textures and fabric weights easily. Besides, it brought them great joy in expressing their preferences.
She has successfully employed Braille, the universal means of communication for the sightimpaired as her channel for information, on tags for garments and fabrics in her project. The welldesigned, tags bear easily comprehensible specifications of the brand, size or dimensions and wash and care instructions. The sight-impaired now can be pro-active while selecting their clothes and furnishings.
The time spent at Pearl Academy, Jaipur has been fulfilling and has given a specific direction to Aarushi’s career. “Pearl Academy has played a major role in my progress as a designer as well as on the personal front. I am extremely thankful to my tutors who encouraged and supported me throughout my journey. Each module increased my belief in my selected concept and the confidence to carry it through. Soon you will see Braille tags along with normal tags as more and more manufacturers realize their importance in reaching a selective though niche market.” says Aarushi.
This is just a beginning towards integrating the sightless into mainstream lifestyle and is also a step towards social responsibility.
Mentor
Manu Joshi
