Secretary (TCRC)

Dr. Toolika Gupta

Dr. Toolika Gupta
Seceratry (TCRC)

Dr Toolika Gupta, Director, Indian Institute of Crafts and Design, is a researcher and educator in the field of crafts and design. She has a PhD in History of Arts (Dress and Textiles) from the University of Glasgow, UK and was a PhD fellow with the Centre for Textile Research (CTR), Copenhagen, Denmark. She has done a short course in ‘Archaeological Textiles’ from the University of Oxford, UK.

Professional Experience

Director, Indian Institute of Craft and Design, (IICD) Jaipur. Job Responsibilities are administrative and academic in nature. After Affiliation of IICD with Rajasthan Skills University she has been appointed Dean, Design Skills in RISU since July 2018. She is a founding member and Secretary TCRC since 2016. She is also a member of CII’s National Committee on Design 2019, 2020 and 2021. She has been a guest faculty with the National Institute of Design, Pearl Academy and NIFT and prior to that she was the Centre coordinator and Faculty Member (Full time)– Fashion Design Department, National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi, India.

She has also worked as freelance Textile Designer, writer on Fashion / textile related issues in India and abroad and provided fashion consultancy to firms in UK and USA.

Education

PhD Candidate in History of Arts (Textiles), from University of Glasgow. The thesis is online on the University website – http://theses.gla.ac.uk/7809/ PG Diploma in Introduction to Sanskrit – Etymology from IGNOU, New Delhi. Archaeology of Clothing, a three months course from Oxford University, UK. Diploma in Export Management from FTDC (Foreign Trade promotion Council. M.Sc. in Textiles and Clothing from The University of Delhi,  Lady Irwin College The title of dissertation – ‘Quintessence of Lotus: Motif for textile design’ – can be seen on university website – http://www.ladyirwin.edu.in/textileresearchMsc96.htm

Research Interest

Core areas of research interest include –

  • Craft and Design Education
  • Craft Entrepreneurship
  • Historic Fashion, Costumes, Textiles and other crafts
  • Studies in cultural context

Mentored many Design Collections and colloquium papers.

As a research consultant she worked on a project of Manipur Maharaja’s dress, exhibition held in the UK in 2017. She has been invited to join the research group as a dress historian in the Gwilliam Project 2020 – 2023, by McGill Library, Canada.

Conference Presentations

She has participated in many webinars and talks, she gave an online TedX talk in July 2020. She organized two seminars with IICD and 2 with TCRC since 2017. Some of her key presentations are:

  • TedX talk online, in July 2020 on ‘Indian Handicrafts, epitome of design and sustainability.’
  • Presentation on ‘Role of Design Education in Craft Economy’, at ISB Hyderabad on 20th Feb 2020.
  • A key note lecture in TCRC seminar on 1st Feb 2020, on ‘Elite Indian Menswear’
  • Presented a public lecture at the Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai on 22nd Oct 2019, titled, ‘Courtly Indian Menswear: 1847 – 1947’
  • ‘Inculcating Cultural Values in Youth’, a lecture given to DIET faculty members at the Gandhigram University, Tamil Nadu on 21st March 2019
  • Presented a paper at Insight 2018, international conference at NID, Ahmedabad on 1st November 2018, titled, ‘Design Etymology in the Indian Context’
  • Invited to talk on the topic, ‘Kahani, Parampara aur Bhavishya’, at the World Living Heritage Festival, Udaipur, on 20th October 2018.
  • Paper presented on ‘The symbolism of Lotus in Pahari Embroidery’, at the Bhurilal Museum, Chamba on 10th June 2018.
  • Invited to present a talk on the “Future of Design Education in Crafts Sector’, in the India Fashion Summit, 2018, held on 3rd March 2018, at Kochi, Kerela.
  • Presented a paper in the NIFT International Conference held on 1-2 February 2018, in the Fashion Pedagogy section, held at IHC, New Delhi, on ‘Clove Model – Proposed methodological model for research in craft and fashion history’.
  • Presented a talk on ‘The Shoe Story of British India’, at Lotika Varadrajan Memorial Symposium on 6th Jan 2018, organised by TCRC and CRT at IIC Annexe, New Delhi.
  • Invited to present a talk on ‘Design Leadership’, at CII-NID conference in Hyderabad, on 5-6 December, 2017.
  • Invited to present a paper on ‘The blouse and the petticoat: colonial additions to the saree’, in the seminar on ‘Colonial Objects and Social identity in the 17th to early 20th century’ at the National Museum of Denmark from 20th to 24th Sept 2016.
  • Delivered a lecture titled ‘History of elite Indian menswear and womenswear’ on 23rd July 2016, at the K R Cama Institute, Mumbai.
  • Invited to present a paper on ‘The Birth of the sherwani: An influence of the British Raj’ in the seminar on ‘Textiles, Collections, Communities, Culture And Trade’ at the K R Cama Institute, Mumbai on 9th – 10th January 2016.
  • Invited to present a paper on ‘Defining and Redefining THE TRADITIONAL in Indian fashion at the conference cum workshop, ‘Traditional Textile Craft: An Intangible Heritage’ at the Jordan Museum from 24-27th March 2014. The details can be found on – http://conferences.saxo.ku.dk/traditionaltextilecraft/
  • Invited to the International Workshop of ‘Costumes, Clothing, Consumption and Culture’ by CTR held on 21st and 22nd November 2013 at University of Copenhagen Denmark, to present my research on ‘Influence of British Rule on Indian Fashion in the 19th and Early 20th’
  • Presented a paper “Textile Crafts and their contribution in Indian Fashion” in the ASA conference 2012 at JNU new Delhi on 4th April 2012
  • Attended the ‘Dress History Conference’ at The University of Brighton – from 8th to 10th Dec 2011
  • Presented a paper on “Effect of British Raj on Indian Costume” at the London College of Fashion – Fashion Colloquium 21st to 22nd Sept 2011.

Consultancy and Extension Activities

  • Consulted SAPTI, Gujarat for reviving it’s teaching program in 2019.
  • As Director IICD headed many projects with KVIC and other MSMEs.
  • As Director IICD started an incubation centre at the institute.
  • Consulting a USA based companies, DesignMee for Knowledge base on Indian textiles and clothing – 2016.
  • Worked as a Textile Design Volunteer for Catch 22, UK, teaching young people to become self-sustainable via the project – ReCylclers ; Part time Tutor At Buckinghamshire County Council for Indian Textiles
  • Designed uniforms for Anganwadi workers (under Ministry of Development of Women and Child, INDIA) 2009
  • Designed uniforms for Students of Delhi Government Schools.2010
  • Worked for the Republic day parade 26th January 2007,(Government of India), designing costumes for School Children
  • Worked with UNESCO to train the weaver girls in Chanderi in 2006.
  • Worked with students on prototype development and documentation of Dhar cluster in 2008 and 2009.

Publications

  • Editor of IICD quarterly Newsletter
  • Book Review in Fashion Practice, Volume 12, 2020- Issue -2, published online, 6 July, 2020.
  • Kasuti and Blackwork: Twin sisters or just duplicates? TCRC e-journal Volume 3, Issue 6, August 2019
  • ‘Manipur Maharaja’s New Clothes at the Alford manor House Museum; Lincolnshire’, published in the TCRC e-journal Volume 2, Issue 4, August 2018
  • ‘The symbolism of Lotus in Pahari Embroidery’, in the Book Splendours of Pahari Embroidery, edited by Anamika Pathak and Binoy Sahay, published by Om Publishers in 2018, ISBN 13: 9789387587540.
  • Co-Edited the book, ‘A treatise on Recent Trends and Sustainability in Crafts and Design’, published by Excel India Publishers in November 2017, ISBN – 978-93-86724-21-2
  • ‘Natural Dyeing Workshop at CTR (Centre for Textile Research) Copenhagen, Denmark in August 2010’, published in the TCRC e-journal Volume 1, Issue 1, February 2017.
  • “The Impact of British rule on the dressing sensibilities of Indian Aristocrats, A Case Study of Maharaja of Baroda’s dress” , in Global Textile Encounters, by CTR (Centre for Textile Research), University of Copenhagen, Denmark. 2014. ISBN 978-1-78297-735-3.
  • A book on ‘Hand knitting for Design Students’ Publisher ‘Studium Press’ Delhi, India. 2014. ISBN-10:9380012608, ISBN-13: 978-9380012605
  • Book Review on ‘India – Economy, Politics and society’, published in The Kelvin Grove Review , issue 11, May – June 2013- http://www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_279243_en.pdf
  • ‘The effect of British Raj on Indian Costume’ online – http://process.arts.ac.uk/content/effect-british-raj-indian-costume
  • Textile Crafts and their contribution in Indian Fashion online – http://www.academia.edu/2133459/Textile_Crafts_and_their_contribution_in_Indian_Fashion
  • “Ayurvastra” in “Textile Review”, III, Issue 12, December 2008
  • Category Watch – Home Furnishing”, in “Images Business of fashion”, Vol. VII, No. 1, Jan’ 06
  • “No Child play this” (Strategy to get into kidswear), “Images Business of fashion”, Vol. VI, no. IX, Sep’ 05
  • “Lingere”, Images Business of fashion, July’ 05

Web Presence