Virtual International Conference
‘Tracing Seventy Five Years of Indian Fashion Post Independence’

20-21 January 2022

Article published in Times of India, Ahmedabad on 23.02.2022

NIFT Gandhinagar organized a Virtual International Conference “Tracing Seventy-Five Years of Indian Fashion Post Independence” to commemorate the 75 years of Indian Independence – “आज़ादी का अमृत महोत्सव” on 20th and 21st January 2022.

Logo of the international conference

The conference provided an opportunity to the researchers from academia and industry to be part of the showcasing of the journey of the last 75 years of fashion in India under the themes:

• Sarvodaya (progress for all)
• Dharma Chakra (cycle and circularity)
• Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (world as one family)

The conference received an overwhelming response with national and international keynote speakers, 150+ abstracts, 85+ full papers, and 59 papers, out of a total of 62 accepted papers, were presented online by academicians and scholars during two days.  All the full papers received were double-blind peer-reviewed. The conference was hosted as a Zoom webinar.

The Inaugural Session: 

The conference began with the welcome address by conference chair, Prof. A. K. Khare, Director, NIFT Gandhinagar at 10:00 AM on 20th January 2022. 

The DG NIFT Shri Shantmanu, I.A.S. inaugurated the conference with his encouraging words appreciating the initiative and wishing for a thoughtful exchange of research contributions over the upcoming two days. He also extolled the importance of such exchange of ideas at an international forum, made possible due to the adaptation of technology in this pandemic era of restricted travel.

Prof. Vandana Narang, Dean Academics, NIFT, addressed participants and congratulated the NIFT Gandhinagar team for coming up with a very relevant theme to celebrate India@75 despite the ongoing challenge due to the worldwide pandemic. 

Dr. Fadhilah Mat Yamin, Deputy Director, Institute for Management & Business Research (IMBRe), Malaysia addressed participants and shared her insights on the conference and its main theme. 

Dr. Jagriti Mishra, Associate Professor, NIFT Gandhinagar, coordinated the introduction session as the host. 

The keynote speakers at the conference were: 

1. Dr. Anupama Pasricha, Chair, Department of Fashion Design and Merchandising, School of Business, St. Catherine University, MN, USA introduced the theme of Sarvodaya.
2. Dr. Fadhilah Mat Yamin, Deputy Director, Institute for Management & Business Research (IMBRe), Malaysia, gave the introduction speech.
3. Dr. John Walsh, Associate Dean and Director of English Language Programmes, International College, Krirk University, Thailand, introduced the theme of Dharma Chakra.
4. Mr Rajiv Merchant, President, Domestic Retail, Indo-count Industries Limited, India, introduced the theme of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.
5. Mr Narendra Kumar, A designer and creative head at Amazon Fashion, India, gave the valedictory address.

Conference Pathway 01:

Pathway 01 comprised of three sessions on the theme “Sarvodaya” on the 20th followed by three sessions on the same theme on the 21st January, 22. A total of 32 papers were presented under this theme over two days. 

Conference Pathway 02:

Pathway 02 comprised of three sessions on the theme “Dharma Chakra” on 20th January, followed by two sessions on the theme “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” on 21st January. 

16 papers were presented under the theme “Dharma Chakra” while 11 papers were presented under the theme “Vasudhaiva kutumbakam”. 

Eminent senior professors from varied NIFT centres and an international academician from the University of Utara, Malaysia, chaired each of the sessions, to introduce, initiate discussions and succinctly summarize the various papers presented during these sessions.

Senior faculty members from NIFT Gandhinagar moderated each of the sessions to coordinate the conference session and ensure seamless presentations by all presenters.

The background IT support and staff worked tirelessly to ensure an uninterrupted conference telecast. 
 

The table below lists the names of the session chair and moderators for each session.

Valedictory Session:

Mr Narendra Ahmed, Creative Head, Amazon Fashion India gave the closing address and emphasized the need for ongoing dialogue amongst industry, academia and researchers while appreciating NIFT Gandhinagar for creating a platform to exchange thoughts in the form of a virtual international conference. 

The valedictory session was hosted by Ms Sumita Agrawal, Assistant Professor, NIFT Gandhinagar and was befittingly ended with a vote of thanks from Mr Bhaskar Banerjee, Associate Professor, NIFT Gandhinagar.

The Core Team: The conference was conceived, designed and executed by the following core team:

Prof. A. K. Khare, Conference Chair
Ms. Amisha Mehta, Associate Professor
Mr. Bhaskar Banerjee, Associate Professor
Dr. Jagriti Mishra, Associate Professor
Ms. Sumita Agarwal, Assistant Professor
Mr. Harris Lawrains, Research Assistant 
Ms. Nilam Chavda, Library Assistant