The textile industry is one of the earliest industries to have developed in India. Its inherent and unique strength is its incomparable employment potential. This is owing to the presence of the entire value chain from fibre to apparel manufacturing within the country. India is the second-largest manufacturer of textiles and clothing in the world. India is also the second-largest exporter of textiles and apparel. In fact, it has a share of 5% in global trade.

Le Mark School Of Art had the wonderful opportunity to host a Webinar to enlighten our students about the life of a Textile Cognoscente, on board with us, we had Mister Manohar Samuel from the Aditya Birla Group.

Mister Samuel has been a veteran in the Fibre, Textile and Clothing space for over 35 years. He has been engaged with the entire Spectrum of Textiles ranging from forest to fibre to retail. His network expands to multiple countries.

At times it seems that textiles and textile Designers are worlds apart in their thought processes, aims and ideals. Textile designers are experimenting with fibre engineering using textile technology and sensory functions while traditional textiles still seems content on producing woollen and worsted cloth to the same historical specification, yet it is in fact imperative that they are interactive and remain so.
The most creative and influential channel is when textile designers reflect on current textiles trends and after reflection work closely with textiles designers and cloth mills to produce yarns and cloth, which relate to the contemporary consumer and satisfies sustainable demands. We still need ideas, especially during a recession in order to generate business .We have an oversaturation of products on the market but do we yet understand the idea of slow fashion, slow food, and slow textiles? Can such a terminology exist, fashion is fast, constantly changing and moving forward with new ideas, yet in our eagerness to create the new we have also arrived at a point of over consumption, so its time to slow down. It is worth noting that textiles designers have played an important part in highlighting an ethical message, which textile mills have finally started to support.

Mister Samuel went on to say that, Textile designers create designs for printed, woven and knitted fabrics. A textile designer may work with teams of designers and purchasing staff for design agencies or as a freelancer. Communication skills are essential for teamwork and for translating clients’ ideas into sketches and samples. To stay current and produce marketable designs, textile designers also attend trade shows. While most textiles designers are employed in the fashion industry, they may also be able to find jobs in interior design, where their work may include patterns for rugs, furniture, bed linens and towels. Designers are likely to specialize in printed, knitted or woven fabrics, and their job duties may include a variety of different activities.

To venture in this field, one must be creative and detail oriented. One should possess the ability to work collaboratively, meet deadlines and work well under pressure. Due to evolving technology, the industry is in a state of constant change, and individuals must stay up-to-date with both fabric and fashion trends. This session by Mister Samuel was very helpful for the students, it was a great source of motivation.