Synopsis


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


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


Proposed paper will initiate a dialogue on above issuesrelated to technology and design interface. Following are the key areas ofdiscussions 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 andapprehensions are many. Some of the fears are worst than the times when wefaced the closure of a large number of mills. However, this time the fear isnot only restricted to India but is in most of textile producing countries. Theapprehensions are for business environment becoming global and the fact thattextile consumption actually is going down in most markets. Many companies arealready having financial difficulties. In anticipation, some forward lookingcompanies 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 theseefforts are able to eliminate current apprehensions completely. The situationcalls for a vision that is India specific and perhaps provides for the core ofour future strategies.


Interestingly, as soon as we shifted from our traditionalcraft base to production-oriented industry, the main focus was to achievegreater productivity. Increased productivity and the market forces very soonstarted putting emphasis on quality and frequently the industry met this demandvery well. Later on, the competition grew and the industry evolved to be marketdriven and today even that does not seem to be sufficient to ensure a sustainablegrowth.


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About the Author


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