Dr. Bhanu Rekha, a visionary academician who blends sustainability, innovation and design in fashion technology education was born in Coimbatore to IT Officer Vivekanandam and Vasantha Bai who worked for the Survey Department of the Collectorate.
She schooled at St. Joseph’s Matriculation School in Coimbatore and did her B.Sc in Interior Designing and Environment and Psychology at the Avinashilingam University. She later pursued a PG Diploma in Dress Making and also completed a PG Diploma in Computer Science in NIIT.
Her marriage was arranged with Dr.P. Ramesh at this juncture. She continued her education after marriage and completed M.Sc in Textiles and Clothing. After completing her post graduation, she worked in the same college for a couple of years before moving on to Kumaraguru College of Technology in 1999. It was the first college in India to offer B.Tech in Fashion Technology. This college is affiliated to Anna University.
Bhanu Rekha says that even though NIFT started earlier, they only had a diploma course in Fashion Technology and only later converted it to BF Tech.
She worked here for around 19 years and completed her PhD in Fashion Technology. The topic she chose was the woman centric, eco-friendly sanitary napkins.
She shifted to Chennai in 2018 with her family and joined the Fashion and Technology Department of KCG College of Technology where she used her expertise to assist in establishing the whole department.
When she plans the curricular and co-curricular activities for her students, she learns along with them. She believes in empowering her students to design with purpose and to lead them with innovation.
After a stint of 7 years, she recently joined SRM University at Ramapuram.
Dr. Bhanu Rekha has over 26 years of academic and entrepreneurial experience and she is dedicated in shaping the next generation of fashion professionals.
She has done extensive research and explored functional and eco-friendly textiles especially in the areas of absorbent hygiene products, non woven textiles and smart wearables.
She has received awards for many of her projects including the Best Project award for the students project ‘’Brand analysis and evaluation of men’s shirts for retail market’’ in 2007-2008 and the best project award for the students project ‘’Design and Development of sweat protective lingerie for silk blouses in 2009-2010.
She was recently conferred the Excellence in Education Award 2025 by Masters Professional Academy, Coimbatore.
Dr. Bhanu Rekha has organized numerous workshops, guest lectures, conferences, webinars, panel discussions, seminars, fashion shows as well as mock interviews for the students.
Besides this she has many publications to her credit both in National and International publications.
To unleash her creative streak, she does craft and embroidery during her free time.
She learnt to play the Veena and is also a trained singer and dancer who gave stage performances earlier but after marriage, her family and career took up her whole time.
Her only daughter Gopikashree is currently pursuing B.Tech in ECE in VIT Chennai.
After a long day at work, she unwinds by watching serials on Television with her husband. She enjoys watching movies and listening to podcasts and finds it thrilling to watch IPL matches on TV with her family.
Her taste in food is very simple and she relishes chapathi with a side dish and the humble curd rice.
Her favourite colours are shades of blue and green especially teal and peacock green.
Dr. Bhanu Rekha’s work extends beyond the classroom. She is instrumental in shaping the future of the fashion industry by nurturing a generation of designers and entrepreneurs who will be well equipped to address the present day challenges and translate their artistic ideas into tangible garments that meet both aesthetic and functional requirements.
Juliana Sridhar is a lawyer and columnist
