A show at a city fashion designing institute

Fashion designing has become one of the top career choices of students in the city, reflected in the increase in the number of institutes, seats and applicants.

National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Calcutta, has increased its seats from 30 to 200 in the past few years, while new players like the Pearl Academy of Fashion are looking to set up branches in the city.

“There is a spurt in the demand for fashion designing courses in the city. Last year, we received 200 applications from Calcutta alone,” says A.K.G. Nair, the director of Pearl Academy of Fashion, which has centres in Delhi, Chennai, Dhaka and Sharjah.

With talents like Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Anamika Khanna, and Dev and Nil putting Calcutta on the map of the national fashion industry, youths in the city are feeling encouraged to opt for fashion designing.

“Earlier, it was not considered a mainstream option. But that outlook has changed and it has now acquired a glamour quotient,” says Shantmanu, the director of NIFT, Calcutta.

The fashion scene in Calcutta is changing fast, feels NIFT graduate Kallol Dutta. “Nothing much was happening in the city five years ago. But Calcuttans took this year’s Lakme Fashion Week by storm,” points out Dutta.

“The scene has definitely changed,” agrees NIFT student Urmi Ghosh. “Now, if I have to justify studying fashion designing, I can mention several names from my institute who have made it big.”

Infrastructure, however, is still a problem. And since there are not enough colleges, the pressure on central institutes like NIFT is mounting.

“There are now more seats but the number of machines remains the same. The labs are small and at times there is hardly any space for creative work,” says Urmi.

The new institutes will give a wider choice to the students. Pearl will offer four full-time courses in fashion designing, fashion retailing, merchandising and communication designing.

“There is a lot of talent in the state waiting to be tapped,” says Nair.