Arshiya Kapoor Head of Department – Fashion | MIT Institute of Design, Pune

Arshiya Kapoor is a design educator, industry practitioner, and international juror with over two decades of experience spanning fashion manufacturing, quality assurance, and design pedagogy. She currently serves as Head of the Fashion Department at MIT Institute of Design, MIT Art, Design and Technology University, Pune, where she has been shaping the next generation of designers for over ten years.

Arshiya holds a Bachelor's degree in Fashion Design, a Postgraduate Diploma in Apparel Production Technology, and a Master's degree in Fashion Design. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Visual Metaphors in Design — reflecting her continued commitment to advancing design scholarship.

Before entering academia, Arshiya built a strong foundation in the Indian fashion industry, leading functions in product development, garment manufacturing technology, and quality assurance. She served as Head of Technical and Quality and later as Manager of Factory Operations, and conducted technical audits for renowned brands in the United Kingdom and the United States, ensuring compliance with international standards including SA 8000 and WRAP.

At MIT Institute of Design, she teaches core disciplines including Design Process, Pattern Making and Draping, Construction, Quality Control, Material Sustainability in Fashion, and Slow Fashion. Her pedagogy centres on authentic, student-driven learning environments that connect creative thinking with professional rigour.

A respected voice in the global design community, Arshiya has served as a juror for the Global Footwear Awards for five consecutive years, evaluating international submissions across innovation, sustainability, and design excellence. She is also a registered juror with the A' Design Award and Competition, and a Subject Matter Expert for Tata Consultancy, where she reviews curricula and sets industry-aligned assessments.

Arshiya was recognised as one of the 50 Women in Education Leaders (2022) and received the InSc Young Researcher Award (2021). Her academic publications span design education, slow fashion, craft sustainability, and ethnographic research methods, with work presented at international conferences including DesignEd Asia and Cumulus Budapest.