Synopsis

In current scenario of Indian Textile Industry, technical developments are not blended with good design and design developments lack technical feasibility. The mutual inter-dependence of design and technology has little been put to practical use for the benefit of the user.

New technological innovations need to be utilized by textile designers to develop aesthetically attractive and functionally relevant products/solutions for the benefit of the industry. Design needs to innovate and find the alternative applications of the technology and similarly technology needs to innovate to support new design trends and designers' aspirations. The approach will help to foster innovation in our products and create a competitive edge in the global market place.

Proposed paper will initiate a dialogue on above issues related to technology and design interface. Following are the key areas of discussions with Indian context:

1. State of Indian textile industry
2. Technology, design and consumer preferences
3. Innovation and textile Industry in new economy
4. Textile design- role and responsibility
5. Creating innovation culture and managing new frontiers

Changing Face of Indian Industry

Indian textile industry is at crossroads today and apprehensions are many. Some of the fears are worst than the times when we faced the closure of a large number of mills. However, this time the fear is not only restricted to India but is in most of textile producing countries. The apprehensions are for business environment becoming global and the fact that textile consumption actually is going down in most markets. Many companies are already having financial difficulties. In anticipation, some forward looking companies have tried strategies like investing heavily in modern technology, cost cutting measures, becoming more capital intensive, brand building, innovative marketing, etc. to prepare themselves for future. But none of these efforts are able to eliminate current apprehensions completely. The situation calls for a vision that is India specific and perhaps provides for the core of our future strategies.

Interestingly, as soon as we shifted from our traditional craft base to production-oriented industry, the main focus was to achieve greater productivity. Increased productivity and the market forces very soon started putting emphasis on quality and frequently the industry met this demand very well. Later on, the competition grew and the industry evolved to be market driven and today even that does not seem to be sufficient to ensure a sustainable growth.

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About the Author

The author is a Textile designer and is associated with National Institute of Design, (NID), Ahmedabad, India