JD Institute at Apparel Sourcing Week 2019

Apparel Sourcing Week is one of a kind platform to meet various retailers and brands across India. It is supplemented by a series of seminars from industry experts and bodies. The event kicked off its first ever chapter on Friday, 15th March. Faculty members of JD Institute of Fashion Technology were invited to attend these sessions.

Day 1

 The day started with attending the Spring Summer 2020 Forecast by Fashion Snoops that suggested that the upcoming season would be a mix of unexpected piecing, color-blocking, and tie-dye in new styles like skater pants, cycling polo’s, and matching coordinates. The focus was on old world craft with the highlights being Africa inspired.

The next seminar was a panel discussion on the Future of Fashion Retail in India with specific importance on the Challenges and Opportunities in the Industry. This was followed by a session on Digital Marketing.

The next was on the latest Trends in Consumer Behaviour conducted by WGSN. This session was highly informative, and shed light on the kind of communication companies should create to ensnare the Gen Z customer. The day concluded with a Panel Discussion on Winning at E-Commerce, an informative data, and statistic oriented session discussing strategies to balance online and offline manufacturing. The panel consisted of owners and senior management of companies like Vajor, Tata Cliq and more.

Day 2

The day two kicked off with a detailed session on how to handle sourcing for a brand that caters to millions. The session presented by Ms. Neetu Jotwani Vice President – Sourcing and Product Development, Myntra; illustrated the problems faced and solutions decoded in terms of sourcing for Myntra since Flipkart had acquired them, and the 1000+ brands that came along with it. She spoke about the various strategies one could employ in sourcing for their respective brands.

A panel discussion on Social Media Influencers and their Role in Marketing was next on the schedule, which consisted of Social Media Influencers from Bangalore. The session helped decode how simple social media tools like a story or highlights can massively improve a brand’s reach.

The final session of the day was a Fashion and Retail Quiz organized by WGSN. There were among 50 registered teams and 35 spot entries to contest for the prize of a free WGSN session worth $5,000 and Amazon Echoes for the winning team. The competition started with a simple quiz on paper which determined the top 5 contestants, of which Ms. Niveditha V (Faculty of Fashion Design), and Ms. Srishti Singhal (Faculty of Fashion Design) of JD Institute, claimed the 3rd prize after 5 intense rounds of the quiz against worthy opponents.

Faculty Ms Niveditha shared her experience,” The overall time spent at Apparel Sourcing Week was one of learning as every session and exhibit allowed the audience to take something new home with them, be it in terms of knowledge, prizes, information booklets etc.”