New Delhi: Students of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) have made a strong showing at the 48th WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai, with Indian participants from the institute winning two Silver Medals and securing a Medal for Excellence across three fashion and creative skill categories.
WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 was held in Shanghai, China, from September 23 to 26, bringing together more than 1,400 young competitors from around 68 countries and regions across 64 skills, according to an official statement.
India participated with its largest-ever contingent of 70 competitors across 63 skills and finished 10th with six Silver Medals and 20 Medals for Excellence.
NIFT was represented in four skill areas at the competition – Fashion Technology, Digital Interactive Media Design, Retail Sales, and Visual Merchandising. Its participation reflected the expanding role of fashion education across creative, digital and retail-oriented skill domains.
Kovid Ajay Gangrade from NIFT Mumbai won a Silver Medal in Digital Interactive Media Design, while Saniya Joshi from NIFT Panchkula secured a Silver Medal in Retail Sales.
The two categories are among the new and emerging skill areas highlighted at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026, reflecting the growing integration of technology, digital platforms and customer experience with the fashion and creative industries.
In Fashion Technology, Vidhi Niravkumar Suthar, a Fashion Design graduate from NIFT Gandhinagar, represented India and received a Medal for Excellence. Fashion Technology has been an established area of NIFT’s participation at WorldSkills, with the institute competing in the skill since 2011.
Vidhi underwent an intensive four-month training programme at NIFT New Delhi under the guidance of Prof. (Dr.) Monika Gupta, Indian Expert, and the NIFT training team. The training focused on technical proficiency, precision, adherence to international standards, and performance under WorldSkills competition conditions.
NIFT’s participation also included Anuja Ajay Vare from NIFT Bengaluru, who represented India in Visual Merchandising.
The institute said the WorldSkills experience provides students with exposure to global occupational standards, emerging technologies, international benchmarks and industry expectations. It also helps NIFT strengthen its training methodologies and incorporate global best practices into its academic and skill-development ecosystem.
NIFT said the performance at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 reflects its continued focus on developing professionals equipped to compete at international levels while bringing together fashion, technology, creativity, retail and digital skills.
The institute congratulated its students, experts, trainers, officials, the Ministry of Textiles, and others involved in their preparation and participation at the international competition.
