The right cut: The fashion industry is not just about haute couture

Is the fashion industry all about cuts and drapes and labels and brands? No. Gone are the days when fashion was limited to designer labels and pr?t lines. Now it is an honest attempt to interact with customers to know their expectations and desires regarding fashion.

Though the fashion industry is basically a creative one and success in this field is dependent on inherent qualities of creativity and formal training, merchandising requires specialised skills that can be acquired through professional training. Fashion retailing is a combination of a creative mind, management skills, market research and awareness of the latest trends. It suits individuals who are people-oriented and interested in a fast-paced challenging career. India?s fashion industry is still in its infancy but there is growing awareness among retailers and marketers.

What do i have to do?

Retailers undertake a wide variety of activities. They raise capital from financial institutions; purchase goods and services, develop accounting and management of information systems to control operations, manage warehouses and distribution systems, design and develop new products, predict and act upon fashion trends, and undertake activities such as advertising, promotion, sales force management and market research.

The flexibility in the fashion industry has opened up careers for professionals from many fields.

What should i study?

Fashion institutes offer courses in fashion merchandising or retailing at the postgraduate level. You can do your graduation in any subject and then enter the course through a competitive examination. The course curriculum is aimed at imparting training in practical skills and techniques of merchandising. Another route to fashion retailing is a management degree in the field of marketing.

The retail or merchandising course covers practical aspects of the fashion industry like buying, merchandising, retail operations, fashion, co-ordination, and advertising with a focus on marketing and merchandising.

What next?

The fashion industry is one of the fastest changing and most dynamic industries in the world today. The Indian fashion market has become more pronounced and energised with global players like GAP, Laurie?s, The Limited Express, Sears, and J.C. Penney?s acting as catalysts for its growth. A.K.G. Nair, the executive director of the Pearl Academy of Fashion once said, ?I foresee an average growth of about 10-12 per cent in the Indian fashion industry in the coming years. However, the growth rate could be more than 15 per cent, provided infrastructural and other logistical bottlenecks are removed.?

The fashion industry?s prospects are extremely encouraging and provides attractive openings at various levels not only to professionals but also to talented and skilled graduates. Retail merchandising professionals hold positions such as buyers, store managers, visual merchandising directors, regional managers, storeowners, interior merchandising, and fashion coordinators with such companies as Eddie Bauer, Herbergers, Vanity, Dayton?s, Neiman Marcus, to name a few, and leading Indian chains like Westside, Shoppers? Stop, Pantaloons and Ebony.

There is a need to change people?s mindset and attitude to establish a cohesive designer-retailer relationship that could drive the Indian fashion industry into in an era of economic prosperity. Experts in the fashion trade estimate the annual turnover of the industry to be about Rs 60,000 crore. The turnover is expected to double in the next couple of years, thanks to rising disposable incomes and exposure to western media.

where to study

• National Institutes of Fashion Technology, New Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Calcutta and Mumbai

• Pearl Academy of Fashion , C-56/2 Okhla Industrial Area, Ph. II, New Delhi 110 020

• School of Fashion Technology, Near Cummins Engineering College, Karve Nagar, Pune 411052

• India International Trade Center, Mumbai, www.iitcworld.com

• International Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi 110 049