Jaypore collaborates with NIFT for conference, 'Rediscovering Culture: Transforming Fashion'

Jaypore, the curated online shop for India’s finest craft-based designs joined hands with National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) for its on-going international conference, 'Rediscovering Culture: Transforming Fashion'. As Jaypore has been at the forefront of giving grassroots level craftsmen and young Indian designers a global voice, it found ideal synergy in the three-day event which focussed on the hyper-dynamic Indian design market within the socio-economic context of the global design industry.The conference took place over 31st January to 2nd of February, 2018.

Over the three days of the conference, Jaypore participated in different capacities to further the conversation around indigenous Indian art and where the country’s design market stands on the global stage. On the 31st of January, the Digital Crafts Bazaar was inaugurated by Smriti Irani, the Indian Information and Broadcasting and Textiles Minister. Jaypore showcased its design capsules co-created by NIFT student designers and craftsmen from across India as part of its Craft Cluster Initiative with NIFT and its independent artisans' recognition initiative Karigar Kahaniya.

Jaypore also presented a short video on its association with NIFT, Indian craft and design communities. Jaypore’s co-founder, Shilpa Sharma, further elucidated, “Jaypore has been pulling all stops to act as a bridge between craft clusters and design schools. Our overall vision has been to help craftsmen and student designers move their work up in the market value chain and to give them access to global markets. Taking craftsmen beyond highly localized supply chains and offering enhanced exposure to students is one of the key aims behind our collaboration with NIFT. We are pleased to have participated in the conference which has taken these initiatives to the next level and has further enhanced the understanding of all participants about the potential, challenges and way ahead for the Indian crafts community.”  

Amongst other illuminating discussions on the subject, Meera Goradia’s seminal paper, “Digital Retail & the Crafts” truly stood out. The Head of Craft Cluster Development, Jaypore, shed light on the under-reported offline & online crafts industry in India, the developments and initiatives which are helping it evolve its current unorganised structure and how online retail is opening new avenues for the segment. Overall, the three-day conference was a stimulating affair, helping all stakeholders better understand the lacunae that still exist in the Indian crafts and design market. They also garnered deeper insights into how the online route can propel the industry into one that is competitive at an international level and the difference that initiatives such as those taken by NIFT and Jaypore can make.