Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has urged the fashion students to remember the country’s rich heritage while producing designs that are widely admired and also sustainable. She was addressing an interactive session which included students, faculty and alumni of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), National Institute of Design (NID) in Hyderabad.
The theme of the interaction was A Talk on Digitalisation, Innovation & Entrepreneurship – Pillars of Indian Economic Growth. Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Textiles Piyush Goyal was also present on the occasion. The Minister highlighted the traditional uniqueness and vibrancy of design of the country’s weavers who used different kinds of materials and fabrics.
She said, “My very humble appeal for all students in design, be it in textile, be it in leather, I wish we look at the richness that India’s tradition has offered in every walk of our life with fantastic, usable and now so fashionable, sustainable design, using sustainable materials.” Above all, design is not limited to just fashion wear but is also for ease of living, she said. She stated, “Use such materials which suit the environment we live in.”
Answering how the handloom and handicraft industry can be empowered, the Minister said that the artisans can be empowered by buying more of the products made by them.
She also said institutions like the National Institute of Design (NID) should widen their area of activity to look at other areas where design would be of commercial use as well.
