Indian Institute of Art and Design Hosts Industry Conclave 2022

New Delhi, April 22- Indian Institute of Art and Design (IIAD) held the Industry Conclave 2022 at its New Delhi campus on 22 April 2022. The conclave’s theme for this year, “Disruption and Opportunities”, explored the challenges and new avenues that have risen in the design industry owing to the ongoing pandemic.

Professionals from renowned fashion brands and interior design firms along with academicians and alumni from IIAD participated in the conclave. They interacted with the current students of Fashion Design, Fashion Business Management and Interior Architecture and Design on the broad theme of “Disruption and Opportunities”.

The event witnessed participation from over 20 brands via both offline and online mediums.The industry experts were from the fields of Fashion and Interior Architecture.

From the Fashion Industry Akash Ashesh, Visual Merchandiser, Aditya Birla Fashion Retail, Humaam Arifeen, Director, Headway Consults, Kavya Arora, CEO, Femella Fashions, Rahul Bhalla, Founder, Latin Quarters and Mrinal Jain, Head of Design, Asmara International kindly agreed to preside at the event .

From interior architecture and design, Rohit Gulati, Founder of Incubis, Mohit Kansal, Founder, Studio Strato, Shivani Mittal, Co-founder, Lalittya, Abhishek Bij, Partner, Design Plus Architect, Sourabh Khurana and Ritika Malik, Co-founders of PLUGD were some of the participants present at the event.

The conclave followed the World Café format, where representatives of each company engaged with a cohort of students through group discussions. It allowed an exchange of ideas and facilitated dialogue.

Students asked the fashion industry professionals varied questions on sustainability, green marketing, the rise of athleisure wear, Metaverse, global certification in the fashion industry. 

Talking about his interaction with the students, Mrinal Jain, Head of Design, Asmara International said, “The students were very enthusiastic. They were very keen to know and learn what the industry experience is. The kind of questions posed were very interesting and I think based on that there is a huge potential.”

Interior architecture students were interested in knowing more about the disparities between the way architectural/interior design is practised post the pandemic, the use of biodegradable materials, leveraging lightning speed algorithms to create complex structures and 3D models.

Describing his experience at the conclave, Abhishek Bij, Partner, Design Plus Architect, said, “There is always a divide in academia and professional practice. Events like these are really helpful for both the students and us industry experts to have these conversations. Some of the questions that the students had prepared really challenged us to put on our thinking hats. I really enjoyed the conversation.”

Industry Conclave 2022 bridged the gap between expectations of the employers and the aspirations of the youth. It brought together the students and the industry experts in a transparent environment with an opportunity for interpersonal dialogue. The students garnered a deeper understanding of the industry practices and nuances of real-life projects. 

Detailed List of the Panellists for Industry Conclave 2022

Panellists for Interior Architecture Design:

• Ms Sarina Aneja - Principal Architect and MD - Aadharshila
• Ms Nishtha Dewan - Sr. Associate Interiors - Morphogenesis
• Mr Abhishek Bij - Partner and Lead Designer - Design Plus Architect
• Ms Shivani Mittal - Co-founder - Lalittya by Shivani
• Ms. Niyati Nagpal - Head - HR & Marketing - Mangrove Collective
• Ms Nishtha Duggal - Co-founder - The Concreate Story
• Mr Saurabh Khurana - Principal Architect & Co-founder - PLUGD
• Ms Ritika Malik - Principal Designer & Co-Founder - PLUGD
• Mr Rohit Gulati - Founder & Director, Incubis

Panellists for Fashion Design:

• Mr Kavya Arora - CEO - Femella Fashions 
• Ms Saloni Khullar - Head- Branding and Content - Hemant & Nandita
• Mr Mrinal Jain - Head Of Design - Asmara International
• Mr Abhishek Yugal - Principal (Fashion Textiles & Apparel) - Technopak 
• Mr Ikshit Pande - Founder & Artistic Director - QUOD Newyork
• Mr Rahul Bhalla - Founder - Latin Quarters