Webinar on Fashion Conscious by Ms. Ihitashri Shandilya 2021 @ ICAT, Bangalore

Fashion Design Department Of ICAT Design and Media College Bangalore, organized an International Webinar on “Fashion Conscious to Fashion Conscience” from 16th to 18th September 2021. It was a 3-day webinar which focused on bringing out awareness on the path from fashion conscious to fashion conscience. The resource person for session 1 of 18th Sep 2021 was Ms. Ihitashri Shandilya. The subject of the session was “Fashion Conscious”.

Ms. Ihitashri Shandilya is the Founder & CEO of MITHILAsmita, UN Women award winning Social Enterprise for heritage Madhubani Paintings of India. Through innovative art products/services, exhibitions and events, ‘MITHILAsmita’ works towards bringing sustainable livelihoods for rural women artists. She is also the founding organizer of Traditional Art Entrepreneurship Summit (TAES), a platform to strengthen the Indian artisan sector. A sought-after strategist for women-focused rural art ventures, she has contributed significantly to artisan entrepreneurship policy research at the Ministry for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). Among numerous awards/felicitation, she was awarded Chevening Clore International Fellowship (2019), Acumen India Fellowship (2014) and Impact Entrepreneur Award by the Bihar State Government (2015). She is an alumna of Australia India Youth Dialogue. Through this platform, she wanted to spread awareness about heritage art forms. She highlighted the importance of bringing sustainable livelihoods for rural women artists, and the need to strengthen and promote the Indian artisan sector. She explained that every Indian State has its own distinct cultural and traditional identity, manifested through different art/craft forms practiced by the local artisans. She explained why it is necessary for the fashion field to promote heritage globally, sustainable fashion connectivity with heritage, livelihood for practicing artisans of India and India’s competitive edge.