By Esha Chaudhuri
With scores of dreams, aspirations, as well as fears, one steps into the new year, symbolic of a renewed sense of hope for a better future. Leaving behind the old and stepping into the new. Unfamiliar yet familiar, finding comfort in continuity in the new year begins with a new calendar. A significant moment of new beginnings, Fashion Society Shillong (FSS) presents before our readers a new embodiment of modernity reflecting evolving creative sensibilities and cultural narratives.
“Breathtaking”, “Mesmerising”, and “Marvellous” are what members of FSS describe this year’s calendar. FSS has launched what they called ‘Eclectic 2026’ based on the concept to create an aesthetic mood board to interact primarily with the youth following current media trends.
Exploring what 2026 signifies and how these ideas are visually interpreted, Sunday Shillong engages in an in-depth conversation with members of FSS to understand the vision and process behind the calendar.
Making of the Calendar
An inspiration that culminated into a copacetic reality, the Eclectic calendar is a derivation of innovative themes to ultimately form a mosaic of hues, styles, angles, and portrayals for a collector’s item.
A shift from its previous years of a traditional outlook, FSS decided to turn a leaf this year by focusing on youth-oriented themes. In the previous years, the themes were a fashionable spin on the traditional jaiñkyrshah, orchestrating the slow, village scenes in modern aesthetics. This year, however, month wise, the themes reiterate what speaks most to the youth – social media friendly and using vocabulary that resonates with them.
Describing each month with a concept such as enigma, wanderlust, chill, native, aura, the calendar was deliberated with the intent of being useful and attractive perennially. When asked about the change in the concept of the calendar from its previous editions, Chairman of FSS, Aldous Mawlong replies, “I would not look at the themes as a deviation from our usual traditional approach but rather venturing beyond the ethnic to something more cosmopolitan.”
Also makes one wonder, is this concept shift also reflective of the society we’re in at large? Moving towards a more identity-fluid and dynamic one influenced by interests and values based on social media trends?
Speaking with the photographer from the production team, Reginald Sohtun, he says, “This calendar will definitely resonate with those who value artistic presentations and imbibe aesthetic ambiences.”
Speaking about how the concept came into being, Mawlong elaborates, “The idea germinated sometime in August 2025 and then it went back and forth until it concretised into its final form.” He further adds, “The themes were aplenty and we focused on creating frames that encompass both meaning and presentation that complimented one another.”
From a cursory glance at the calendar, one would notice that women outnumber men in the visuals. When asked how come, Mawlong answers, “There are more women than men in this edition because there are more fashion designers for females than males,as it were.”
As far as the selection of the locations, Mawlong shares, “The locations were selected to suit the theme.The entire exercise took a hectic one month arrangements of models, apparels, make-up, shooting and editing and the final touch-ups, layout, proof-reading to the final printing and distribution.”
Behind The Scenes
What looks like 12 leaflets, takes a whole village along with enormous time and effort. Sunday Shillong delved beyond the exterior and tried to note what it took to bring it all together. As a key member of the production team, Sohtun explained that he and the rest used heavy power vehicles to get the work done. Particularly, the Isuzu pickup trucks since it’s an all terrain vehicle.
Speaking about some of the challenges, Sohtun says, “The challenges were the lights and shades that one would love to capture.The daylight shoots were particularly demanding as the winter moods were inconsistent.”
Weather, a major determinant in any outdoor activity, but especially more so in Meghalaya, as we all know, can prove rather challenging. Sharing his biggest learning from the experience, he describes, “Perseverance and Persistence.We were running against time but 
we did it!” He further adds, “I have worked with FSS for quite some time now but this calendar project just blew my mind.I have learnt and grown so much in this span of time.”
Some of the models also share their experiences and thoughts from the shoots. Vanessa Lapang says, “I was featured in the month of June 2026 with a gothic theme of dark and mysterious hues with antiquated clothing and dramatic make-up drawn from the Victorian era and I enjoyed it thoroughly.”
Ellereen Shanpru, who shot for the first time for a calendar says, “Even though I have done ramp shows with FSS on previous occasions, my first time at a calendar transformed me both in space and time as I posed for the Regalia and Vintage themes.I began to grasp the essence of posing for a calendar shoot which is essentially different from a live performance.”
Chris Kurbah, a seasoned choreographer and a model describes her experience to be educational. She says, “This project left me experiencing a totally different passion as one 
of the challenges was facing the harsh winter sun with make-up and keeping composed facial expressions that would suit the Native theme shoot.”
Ameda Kyndiah explains the crucial element of time in such shoots. She says “It takes a complete whole day to do a shoot like this but the team incredibly squeezed in as many as four shoots on one single day, racing against time and logistics, keeping long hours for post production tasks and working till very late on certain days.”
As the calendar turns to 2026, Eclectic 2026 stands as more than a 
visual chronicle of the year ahead. Through its thoughtful concepts and contemporary aesthetics, Fashion Society Shillong reflects the evolving voices, aspirations, and creative confidence of the youth. Rooted in current cultural conversations yet open to interpretation, the calendar marks not just the passage of time but a renewed commitment to innovation, expression, and meaningful storytelling.
