India is at an important inflection point. It is no longer only a large market or a manufacturing destination but becoming an important global sourcing, production and consumption centre for fashion, footwear, accessories and lifestyle products. Global players are increasingly looking at establishing supply chains here. The missing link is the significant gap between talent and globally benchmarked design education. To bridge this, an industry-academia partnership between, Kothari Industrial Corporation Ltd. (KICL) and IUAD Academy has been signed to set up a design institute at Hosur, Tamil Nadu. It will be the first of its kind, bringing together world-class Italian design education with Indian manufacturing excellence.
The best fit
“In the Free Trade Agreement era, the biggest differentiator will be design,” says Rafiq Ahmed, Executive Chairman, KICL. KICL has been focusing significantly on footwear and its associate companies make products for global brands like Adidas and Crocs. “Our footwear initiatives in Tamil Nadu have given us first-hand experience of the importance of skills, people and design in building globally competitive businesses,” highlights Rafiq Ahmed.
The venture has also signed an MOU with the Tamil Nadu government. Kothari Industrial IUAD Design Private Ltd. will invest Rs 50 crore for the project. “I have told Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, that Maharashtra is the fashion capital for the country. But after having IUAD, Tamil Nadu will become fashion capital for India,” notes Rafiq Ahmed.
Tamil Nadu was a natural choice due to the combination of manufacturing, skilled and trainable manpower and a strong educational ecosystem. Hosur also is strategically located close to Bengaluru, giving students access to two major economic centres. The venture plans to offer a Accademia IUAD curriculum, taught the way it is done in Italy.
“Kothari brings the industry, investment, manufacturing and Indian ecosystem. IUAD will bring international design education, Italian expertise and global design connectivity,” says Michele Baldassarre Lettieri, President Accademia, IUAD.
Thought Behind The Design
To begin with, the institute will offer programmes, including fashion design, accessory design and fashion business & communication, together with short-term and professional programmes. There are also plans to introduce further design courses including interior design, architecture and jewellery design and other specialised Phds. One of the key things that the Institute promises to be different is IUAD’s philosophy of learning by doing. About 30 per cent of learning will be in classrooms, studios and workshops, while 70 per cent is dedicated to practical learning through industry-simulated environments, prototyping laboratories, digital design facilities and advanced manufacturing environments. Placements will also be assisted through the IUAD Italy job portal, which would give students a pathway to the Italian and European fashion industry. IUAD has a 90 per cent placement record.
“Our objective is not merely to produce graduates who can draw or design. We want to develop professionals who understand the complete journey from concept to branding and the marketplace,” says Dr. N. Mohan, Director, Kothari-IUAD venture. The KICL-IUAD collaboration aims to bring global excellence to India and use it to create a talent pool that can create ideas from home and help produce industrially relevant products and businesses. “IUAD India is not about bringing an Italian university to India and simply reproducing what exists in Italy. It is about combining the best of Italy with the strengths of India.” says Mohan. Soon a young person from India should be able to receive an internationally relevant design education in Tamil Nadu. The venture will look to open more campuses. At present, to extend industry collaborations, road shows are to be organised in key clusters like Haryana, Kanpur, Agra, among others.