Newme seeks to engage students with Campus Challenge

Fashion-tech label Newme sought to engage Indian students and strengthen its links to technology and innovation with the roll out of its ‘Campus Challenge’ across 25 undergraduate colleges in India to challenge Gen Z to a nationwide hackathon.

“At Newme, we’re building more than just a fashion brand- we’re creating a movement where technology and Gen Z creativity come together to redefine the future of Indian fashion,” said Newme’s co-founder and CEO Sumit Jasoria in a press release. “With the Campus Challenge, our goal was to give young Indian talent a real-world opportunity to solve the next big challenges in fashion using tech-driven solutions. The ideas we saw were bold, entrepreneurial, and incredibly future-forward- a true reflection of how Newme, alongside this new generation, is revolutionising the Indian fashion landscape. We see so much energy across campuses that this case study opens new doors for talent to join the fashion world.”

The contest received entries from over 5,000 teams, with notable participation from institutions such as NIFT, SRCC, NMIMS, Lady Shri Ram College, Christ University and St. Xavier’s. With the initiative, Newme aimed to combine creativity, technology, and youth-led innovation.

Seven finalist teams competed in the concluding round, with a total prize pool of Rs 10 lakh. The winner, Rasna from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, received Rs 5 lakh. The Consulting Sharks and Derivatives, both from Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, were awarded Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2 lakh respectively as first and second runners-up.

Held exclusively for undergraduate students, the challenge encouraged participants to explore themes such as AI-enabled shopping, digital-first fashion, sustainability, and product innovation. Finalists received mentorship, exposure to industry leaders, and an opportunity to pitch their ideas directly to Newme’s leadership. The initiative forms part of Newme’s broader strategy to foster youth engagement and build a tech-driven, innovation-led fashion ecosystem in India.