FTP allots Rs 22 crore for R&D

Mohali-based Fashion Technology Park (FTP) has allotted Rs 22 crore for a research and development laboratory at the Business School of Fashion. The lab will provide state-of-the-art machinery for sampling fibres and garments.

Talking to Business Standard, the chief executive officer of the park, Jagjit Singh Kochar, said the Business School of Fashion, an integral part of the FTP, would offer back office support to designers with the potential to cater for companies. Kochar said the faculty of FTP had a vision to integrate designers with the market, as the lack of marketing facilities hampered the growth of many talented designers.

Kochar apprised Business Standard that under the integrated watershed development programme aided by the World Bank, a chain of self-help groups (SHGs) had been formed in Punjab.

The project has been completed now and SHGs are getting financial support from the local governments.

The Fashion Technology Park has created linkages with these SHGs for the promotion of local art at the national and international level. Fashion Technology Park facilitated a group of designers from Delhi to collaborate with artists in Patiala for the market development of Phulkari (a famous embroidery pattern of Punjab). They modified local designs with contemporary trends on laptops, to match the aesthetics of urban consumers.

About 100-odd designs were created as result of this fusion. FTP now plans to hold an exhibition of the products in Kerela on April 1 this year. This will be their maiden attempt to promote the designer products. "We have also decided to hold exhibitions at the UK and the US in the month of August."

FTP has also harnessed folk artists in Pathankot as they have specialisation in intricate Kashmiri embroidery, crochet and soft toys. Here, artists are given a remuneration of Rs 50 per day besides a cover of social insurance. Till now about 3,500 artists have registered themselves with the FTP in this movement.

Kochar also said the founder of Fashion Development Council of India, Vinod Kaul, had recently joined hands with FTP and that this would provide an immense support to the developemnt of their project.