Report of National Conference on ‘Contemporary Issues & Opportunities in Apparel Industry

REPORT

A two-day National Conference on ‘Contemporary Issues & Opportunities in Apparel Industry’ was organized at The IIS University on 19-20 September 2014.

The inaugural session of the conference began with lighting the lamps to seek the blessings of the almighty, after which Dr. Ashok Gupta, Vice Chancellor, The IIS University extended a floral welcome to the Chief Guest of the inaugural session Ms. Neeta Boochra, [National President, FICCI Ladies Organization].

Dr. Ashok Gupta formally welcomed all the guests and delegates. He stated that the Textile and Apparel industry being a key industry in the Indian economy. He also focused that the youngsters should be more focused to the new emerging issues and challenges in the apparel industry.

Prof. N.K. Jain, Dean Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, The IIS University highlighted the aims and objectives of the conference. He said that the Apparel Industry being an area of huge foreign exchange and has ample scope and opportunities to grow in future also

The Chief Guest at the inaugural session, Ms. Neeta Boochra, began his address with the lines “That life doesn’t happen to you, it happens for you. She focused on the crucial area on how apparel industries fulfill the basic necessities by employing 35 million people in the sector.

Dr. Raakhi Gupta, Registrar, The IIS University proposed a formal vote of Thanks.

The inaugural session was followed by high tea.

Technical Session I

The theme of the first Technical Session was Capacity Building and Trends in Technology & Responsible Fashion. It was chaired by Dr. Inderpal Rai, Head PG Dept. of Home Science, Jai Narayan Vyas University, Jodhpur.

The invited speaker in this technical session was Ms. Taruna Vasu, Course Leader, Dept. of Fashion Designing Jaipur who highlighted the trends and thoughts in society and also new fibre technology in the fashion industry.

This session was followed by a group photograph of all the guests and delegates, after which the lunch was served.

Technical Session II

The theme for the second Technical Session was ‘Innovation in Textiles & Apparel’. Prof. Sudha Dhingra, Chairperson, Dept. of Textile Design, National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi, chaired this session. The invited speaker in this technical session was Dr. Inderpal Rai. She spoke extensively about technical textiles and its application in the apparel industry.

Technical Session III

‘Skilled Knowledge Base’ was the theme of the Third Technical Session, which was chaired by Prof. Ela Manoj Dedhia, Head Textiles & Fashion Technology from Nirmala Niketan College of Home Science, Mumbai.

The invited speaker in this technical session was Prof. Sudha Dhingra. She shared her views and experiences faced by the decentralized sector in traditional textile and craft industry.

Day two started with the Poster Presentation in Srijan Hall where 23 fashion professionals, faculty and students presented gist of their papers through immaculate posters. These posters were judged by a panel of judges.

Technical Session IV

The theme for the fourth technical session was ‘Process Based Innovations and Product Development’. Prof. Kavita Marriya chaired this session.

The invited speaker in this technical session was Prof. Ela Manoj Dedhia. She told us that innovation is not just the production of design but to commercialize it is also very important.

Technical Session V

The Fifth Technical Session based on the theme Technological Advancement in Production Processes was chaired by Prof. Ela Manoj Dedhia.

The resource person for this session was Mr. Manoj Tiwari, Associate Professor, Dept. of Fashion Technology, National Institute of Fashion Technology, Jodhpur. He spoke about various new techniques that are used in production processes and the fact that technology gives a competence advantage to companies in the fashion industry.

This session was followed with the lunch.

Technical Session VI

The concluding session, based on the theme of “Fashion Marketing & Strategies: A global Perspective”, was chaired by Dr. Ruby Jain, Dept. of Home Science, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur.

The resource person of this session was Ms. Oona Singh, Entrepreneur, Studio Suvasa, Jaipur. She shared her experience abut starting a label from snatch and how her mantra of observation, understand and innovation helped her to a path of success.