Disruptions are opportunities aver experts during national conference on fashion apparel and textile 2020 at Amity University

Amity School of Fashion Technology organized a day-long National Conference on Fashion Apparel & Textile 2020 (NCFAT’20). A host of speakers from within the country and across the globe gathered virtually to deliberate on the theme “Fashion & Textile Industry 4.0 - Opportunities & Challenges for Education 4.0”. 24 research papers and 9 poster presentations were presented by researchers from leading institutes from across the country.  

Mrs. Divya Chauhan, Chairperson, (ASFT, ASFA & ASPA) welcomed the wide array of speakers and stated that a virtual conference like this allows everyone to come together on a common platform. She called for serious deliberations and efforts to be made to revive the Textile industry and make students continue their learning & become industry ready in the changing times.  

Prof (Dr) Balvinder Shukla, Vice Chancellor, AUUP stated that these were challenging times across the globe that affected all the sectors. She shared how Amity University was able to leverage technology owing to its pre-preparedness and even though students were away from campuses, they were continuing their education in the remote learning mode using technology. She said that innovation in the fashion, textile & apparel industry needs to be widespread with skill development being a key requirement for the sectors growth. Dr. Shukla called for having a dedicated and professional approach to succeed in the industry & also understand the skill sets required in this changing course of the sector.  

Mr. Ram Sareen, Chairman and Founder Tukatech Los Angeles, CA U.S.A averred that solutions can be found if problems or challenges are identified. He stated that disruptions are opportunities and technology will not take away jobs but strengthen the industry. He added that different problems have different solutions with Brands; people; customer relationships and information being the ‘New World’ Assets. Mr. Sareen stated that technology is affordable and yet has amazing results. He also shared the success of on-demand manufacturing model using digital means. He averred how 3D printed garments are garnering huge success while eliminating real sample making progress. He further stressed on finding the positive in every scenario.  

Mr. Vijay Mathur, Executive Director, Apparel Training and Design Center stated the need for talking about Education 4.0 for the future. He averred that the pandemic has given an opportunity to lay a new chessboard and asked if the components of the apparel industry can be fixed. Mr. Mathur called for adoption of digital twins for optimising of performance & maintenance of digital systems in the industry. He asked Amity students to come together to visit factories & study how digital twins can be implemented to fill the gaps in the sector, allowing Education 4.0 to go beyond the classroom.   

Dr. Rajesh Bheda, Managing Director, Rajesh Bheda Consulting India gave an insight about Industry 4.0 and its components with the various initiatives undertaken at the Indian front. He averred that the apparel industry has been making use of technology in several facets and stated how simulation (of shop floor production) will be more powerful with AI. Dr. Bheda also shared use of automation through autoseam and how solutions are becoming more evolved using technology. He further called for taking Industry 4.0 for the benefit of the society for building Society 5.0.  

Mr. Kazi Iftequer Hossain, President, Bangladesh Garment Buying House Association called for working towards building a sustainable industry and products. He stressed on knowing and analysing data in detail to develop the industry to meet the changing requirements.  

Dr. Rajkishore Nayak, RMIT University, Vietnam shared the Vietnamese perspective on Technological Advancements in Apparel Manufacturing. He added that use of technology is enabling reducing the consumption of electricity, causing higher productivity, improved quality while reducing overall cost. He stressed on the need for investing on new technology but added how it was financially challenging for them. He added that Covid-19 has made many industries change their product line, for instance moving focus on producing face masks.  

Ms Anupama Singal, Fashion & Tech Entrepreneur / Co-Founder SLICeR, Singapore talked about using technology as a disruptor or as an enabler. She added that consumer needs are evolving very fast guiding their purchase behaviour & making brands evolve their business models and creating new trends. She averred that Social influencers are being used to continuously engage with the customers and stressed on the need for using Live-stream sales.  

Prof. (Dr.) Pradeep Joshi, DG, Amity Directorate of Applied Arts/ Fine Arts/ Performing Arts/Visual Arts & Dean, Faculty of Applied Arts/Fine Arts/Performing Arts/ Visual Arts welcomed the delegates in the fourth edition of the conference. He stated that education was made relevant and contemporary by Amity ahead of time and the focus of the conference strengthens this mission. He averred that Textile and Clothing industry is an integral constituent of the Indian economy contributing towards its growth with its labor-intensive nature employing a huge populace.   

The conference also had sessions on the themes ‘Fashion and Textiles: Education 4.0 & Industry 4.0’; Fashion and Textiles: An Approach towards Sustainable future; Fashion and Textiles: Perspective on Innovations