Careers in Fashion Design

Related Courses • Graduate Diploma Programme in Design (GDPD) • Post Graduate Diploma Programme in Design (PGDPD)

Fashion designing is concerned with creating innovative and inspiring garments that enhance the body, personality and character of individuals. One needs to have a passion for line, shape, texture, color, drape and fabric for this field. The fashion designing profession has recently emerged as one of the most sought after careers among the youth. Fashion designing can be divided into three main branches - Garment design, Leather design, Accessory & Jewellery design. The major functional areas in the industry are designing, merchandising, popularizing and marketing of the various styles and products. On the one hand, the fashion industry satisfies both the creative fancies and the materialistic needs of the people and on the other it promises glamour, fame, success and high pay packages to the talented people.

Course Details
There are several Graduate, Post graduate, Certificate and Diploma courses in Fashion Designing. Minimum eligibility for the Undergraduate course in this field is 10+2 and for Post Graduate courses graduation. Admission to these courses is made through written test, group discussion and interview. Students can choose any specific one from several courses available in areas such as Accessory & Jewelry Design, modeling, garment designing, leather design, interior design, Textile Technology, Textile Design, Footwear design & allied subjects.

Career Prospects
Fashion Designers can find jobs as costume designer, fashion consultant, personal stylist, technical designer, graphic designer, production pattern maker, fashion coordinator, apparel production manager, fabric buyer, fabric quality control manager, show room sales representative, illustrator, cutting assistant and outside sales representative in this industry. They can also become entrepreneurs and form their own companies. Although they can remain self employed, several export houses, garment store chains, textile mills, leather companies, boutiques, fashion show organizers, jewelry houses and media houses recruit professional fashion designers. Fashion Designer also can find employment opportunity in government or semi government handloom industries. They can also work as costume designer and fashion programme producer in TV and Film.

Institutes Offering
Prominent institutes in Fashion Technology are National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) at New Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad and Chennai; National Institute of Design (NID) Ahmedabad; International Institute of Fashion Technology (IIFT), New Delhi; Indian Institute of Art and Fashion Technology (IIAFT), Mumbai; IEC School of Art and Fashion, New Delhi; Pearl Academy of fashion, New Delhi; J.D Institute of fashion Technology, New Delhi; Apeejay Institute of Design, New Delhi; National Institute of Fashion Design (NIFD), Chandigarh etc

Remuneration
Remuneration mainly depends on the personal Ability and Skills of the Individual. Generally a fresh graduate can look for a monthly pay packet of Rs.10, 000 to Rs.15, 000. For those who are extremely talented, this can touch Rs.20, 000. Those people with higher experience can command a far greater salary. Even the increase in the annual salary is high for each level. With the increase in demand for the professionals in fabric designing the salaries are likely to increase.