Nirbhay Rana is an Associate Professor and Programme Coordinator for Fashion Design at IILM University, Gurugram. With over 17 years of experience in academia and industry, he is widely recognized for his work on sustainable fashion, circular economy, ethical AI in marketing, and craft-centered design thinking. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, London (FRSA), Mr. Rana bridges scholarship, pedagogy, and practice, advancing the discourse on sustainability-driven fashion innovation in India and beyond.

He has authored three books and contributed twelve Scopus-indexed chapters to international volumes. His recent title, Threaded Harmony: A Sustainable Approach to Fashion (Emerald Publishing, 2024), has been released in six countries and is now part of the library collection at Iowa State University (ISU), a globally renowned public research university in the United States, holding the prestigious R1 designation (Doctoral Universities – Very High Research Activity). As a curriculum developer and design education strategist, he has designed the Bachelor of Fashion and Apparel Design syllabus for Kurukshetra University and serves on the Examination Panel of Gurugram University, contributing to academic quality assurance and the advancement of fashion pedagogy across institutions.

As Regional Editor – Asia for Bloomsbury Fashion Business Cases, Mr. Rana mentors case authors in developing practice-driven narratives that foreground sustainable and ethical business models in the Asian context. He actively serves as a reviewer for prestigious international journals, including the Journal of Business Ethics (Springer, FT50), Sustainable Futures (Elsevier), Journal of Sustainable Marketing (Luminous Insights, Scopus), and the International Journal of Sustainable Development Research. His scholarly interests extend across green marketing, ESG frameworks in fashion, indigenous knowledge systems, and design education under NEP 2020. His teaching and research are grounded in human-centered innovation, emphasizing India’s craft heritage and contemporary ethical challenges in design.

Education

• Ph.D. (ongoing) – Management (Sustainability and Consumer Behaviour)
• MBA – Fashion Marketing and Management.
• PG Diploma Fashion, NIFT New Delhi
• B.Tech – Computer Science, Kurukshetra University

He has also completed several international certifications in sustainable fashion and luxury management, including:

• Sustainable Fashion, Copenhagen Business School
• Management of Fashion and Luxury Companies, Bocconi University
• Fashion Styling, The Business of Fashion Education