UNFOLD 2026 puts young design talent in spotlight

New Delhi: Indian Institute of Art and Design (IIAD), now known as the University of Design, Innovation and Technology (UDIT) organised its annual Graduate Show, UNFOLD 2026, on May 9 and 10 at its New Delhi campus, bringing together industry leaders, creative professionals, academicians, and members of the design community to celebrate the graduating batch across diverse disciplines.

The two-day showcase highlighted the culmination of students’ academic and creative work through exhibitions, panel discussions, industry networking sessions, fashion presentations, and award ceremonies. Projects from Interior Architecture and Design, Fashion Communication, Communication Design, Fashion Business Management, Fashion Design, and Foundation Design were featured during the event.

The event witnessed the presence of several noted personalities from the fields of fashion, architecture, media, design, and business, including Sunil Sethi, Tarun Tahiliani, Vimarsh Razdan, Sushant Verma, Faiza Khan, Mainak Das, Raunaq Singh, Urvashi Gupta, Charudutt Chitrak, and Ashok B Lall, among others.

The event marked the inauguration of UNFOLD 2026 with the lamp lighting and the opening of the graduate exhibition, bringing together interdisciplinary projects across design, fashion, communication, business strategy, spatial experiences and emerging technologies.

Through campaigns, films and design interventions, architectural project installations and fashion collections graduating students explored themes of sustainability, social impact, innovation, craft, urban futures and experiential storytelling.

A model walks the ramp during the fashion show at UDIT while designer Tarun Tahiliani looks on

Congratulating the graduating batch, Dr Jitin Chadha, Pro Chancellor, UDIT, acknowledged the significance of industry-integrated learning and socially conscious creative practice in shaping future-ready professionals.

“UNFOLD has always been a very special event for us. It reflects the journey of our students, the mentorship of our faculty and the collaborative culture we continue to build at UDIT. Every year, it is inspiring to see young designers and innovators engage with real-world challenges through creativity, technology and human-centred thinking,” he said.

The 8th edition of the Graduate Show also featured a series of industry-led panel discussions and interactive sessions across Interior Architecture & Design, Fashion Communication, Communication Design and Fashion Business Management, offering graduating students valuable insights into contemporary industry practices. These sessions encouraged students to critically engage with industry realities and understand the importance of adaptability, research-driven thinking and socially conscious creative practice in today’s industry.

Industry experts and creative leaders from across disciplines engaged closely with students enabling graduating students to gain practical perspectives on the evolving expectations of the global design and fashion industries. The interactions further reinforced the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and industry-integrated learning within contemporary creative education.

Another important segment of the show was the award ceremonies across departments, recognising outstanding graduate works. Selected graduating students were honoured for projects spanning communication campaigns, animation films, spatial interventions, sustainable fashion solutions, branding systems, UX/UI experiences, retail concepts, and business-driven design strategies. The awards acknowledged projects that responded thoughtfully to contemporary cultural, social, technological and environmental challenges while reflecting strong interdisciplinary learning and industry relevance.

By bringing together emerging talent, academicians, and creative leaders on a shared platform, UNFOLD 2026 highlighted the growing intersections between design, business, technology, and culture while reflecting UDIT’s continued emphasis on interdisciplinary and industry-engaged learning.

Tags : Indian Institute of Art and Design, University of Design, Innovation and Technology, Fashion, Business, Sunil Sethi, Tarun Tahiliani, Vimarsh Razdan, Sushant Verma, Faiza Khan, Mainak Das, Raunaq Singh, Urvashi Gupta, Charudutt Chitrak