BENGALURU: It was a surreal feeling for many Indians when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the names of the four IAF pilots chosen for India’s first-ever
indigenous human space flight mission, Gaganyaan. Group Captains Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, Angad Prathap, Ajit Krishnan and Wing Commander Shubanshu Shukla looked dapper as they were introduced to the world at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre near Thiruvananthapuram.
Here in the city, the faculty members and students of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Bengaluru, were beaming with pride as they saw ‘Gaganauts’ donning the suit designed by the members of the institute.
A NIFT team, led by two professors – Jonalee Bajpai and Mohan Kumar V, and three students – Lamia Anees, Samarpan Pradhan and Tuliya D, under the guidance of the former NIFT director Susan Thomas, worked on the designs of ground uniforms of the Gaganyaan astronauts. In addition, they also designed the wing logo, which was presented to the astronaut-designates by PM Modi. Bajpai recalls it being an ‘absolutely exciting experience to be associated with ISRO and Gaganyaan’.
One of the best parts about working on the project, according to the team, was the ‘astronauts wanting to don something stylish’. “It was amazing to know how the astronaut-designates wanted to project themselves to 1.4 billion Indians. They had so many inputs to the design; it sort of makes us all understand that fashion is for all,” says Bajpai.
The brief for the uniform was specific. “We were told to keep the functionality intact. We had to stick to the grid,” recalls Bajpai, whose team studied the uniforms of different space agencies.
Many elements required careful consideration. For instance, Bajpai emphasises the importance of functional pockets and a perfect fit to facilitate the astronaut-designates’ movements. Additionally, the Gaganyaan team’s creative brief specified a departure from the typical one-piece dungaree design.“That was what made us look into options. We gave them about 70 different options!” she exclaims.
She further adds, “We had to mind map to understand their requirements. We had given them three levels of designs, one, a very basic one; a second with generic techniques; and for the third, we went all out with colour blocking – which they found a bit loud, understandably so. Finally, we went for asymetric style line with two coloured panel.”
The final design came with some convincing from the designers. “They are not into fashion or design and were not able to visualise when we were talking about the product,” says Bajpai, adding that the design was commissioned in 2021, which they delivered in 2022.
