Fashion is a product of an artist’s creativity, while fashion design is an essential artistic expression entailing the design of garments and other related accessories. Throwing a major focus on apparel and custom ornamentation, fashion designing depends on culturally accepted standards within a certain period. From creativity and market research to fabric selection and sketching, fashion design encompasses a plethora of skills to become a successful designer in the ever-changing world of fashion where they have to follow new trends. Fashion designing has come a long way from designer clothes embodied by royal ancients to the “haute couture” products of modern days.
Fashion is as ancient as Indian civilization with a mix of regional, cultural, and historical influences. Fashion began showing its colours in ancient Indian times. Research shows evidence of the employment of woven cotton fabrics in the ancient Harappa and Indus Valley civilisations. Since then, the history of Indian fashion has evolved immensely and left an indelible mark across the world.
In the post-independent era, the fashion industry in India observed massive growth with globalization. With the very influence of Western Culture, many changes came forth in the Indian Fashion Scenario.
Being one of the most promising career opportunities in India, fashion design is an incredibly creative career that offers a lot of possibilities for anyone having a love for fashion. Every year, many aspirants opt for fashion design courses as a lucrative career. It is a good choice for students who have a penchant for creativity, style, and originality. The regular application of fashion in terms of clothing, jewellery, or other accessories has enlarged the possibilities of the fashion industry.
There are various fashion courses in India at different levels such as undergraduate, diploma, and certificate courses. All the courses deal with multiple aspects like garment manufacturing technology, apparel marketing, accessory designing, textile design, and the development of fashion design. Fashion design provides various specializations. Students willing to have a Bachelor's degree in fashion can go for any of B Des, BA, B FTech, and BSc courses.
Here are the undergraduate specialisations offered in a Bachelor of Design (B.Des) degree -
B. Des Fashion Design
B. Des Leather Design
B. Des Textile Design
B. Des Fashion Communication
B. Des Footwear Design and Production
B. Des Accessory Design
B. Des Fashion and Lifestyle Accessories (Handcrafted Accessories and Interior Products)
B. Des Knitwear Design
B. Des Apparel Production
Bachelor of Fashion Technology (B. FTech) in Apparel Production is a widely sought-after course by students. This is a four-year undergraduate course dealing with different technical facets of the apparel manufacturing industry.
Technical aspects apart, aesthetic and design aspects are incorporated in this course for a better understanding of the manufacturing processes, selection of materials, and quality management.
In addition to this, there are also various specialisations in Bachelor of Science (B Sc) and Bachelor of Arts (BA) undergraduate programs available to aspirants; they are as follows -
B. A. (Hons) Fashion Design
B. A. (Hons) Fashion Styling and Image Design
B. A. (Hons) Communication Design
B. A. (Hons) Jewellery Design
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B. Sc (Hons) in Fashion and Apparel Designing
B. Sc (Hons) in Fashion Business and Retail Management
B. Sc (Hons) in Lifestyle and Accessory Design
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In India, fashion designing diploma courses have served a large number of aspiring candidates to pursue their dreams. A diploma in fashion design offers students training in the basics of clothing and manufacturing where they are taught how to design clothes as per ongoing and future trends. A fashion designing diploma programme aims to aid candidates to leave a mark on the fashion industry within a short span as students are offered lectures and lessons from popular experts and stars of the fashion design industry. A combination of in-house activities, industrial practice, classroom training, and internship make the diploma course in fashion design an excellent choice. Some of the popular diploma and certificate courses offered in India include the following -
Diploma in Fashion Designing
Diploma in Apparel Merchandising
Diploma in Fashion Communication
Diploma in Fashion and Apparel Design
Advanced Diploma in Fashion Designing
Computer-Aided Diploma in Fashion Designing
Certificate course in Fashion Designing
Certificate course in Creative Fashion Styling
Certificate course in Fundamentals of Fashion Designing
Certificate course in Fashion Illustration and Design
Almost every major city in India features fashion designing colleges which render the dual advantage of rich industrial exposure-cum-creative designing lessons of a higher standard. NIFTs (National Institute of Fashion Technology) are among the leading centres where courses for designing and related courses are offered. Here are all the NIFT campuses in India -
To bridge the skill gaps in the areas of footwear, FDDIs (Footwear Design & Development Institutes) were established in India. There are 12 FDDI's across the country to provide an excellent infrastructure for the Indian footwear industry.
There are so many private colleges of fashion design in India that meet the educational needs of students at a higher standard. Here is a list of some of those top private colleges which are dedicated to providing quality education.
Management Studies, Deemed to be University - Shirpur
Pearl Academy, Delhi
Pearl Academy, Jaipur
IMS Design And Innovation Academy - [DIA], Noida
Northern India Institute Of Fashion Technology - [NIIFT], Mohali
The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), functioning under the Ministry of Human Resources and Development, GOI, annually publishes college rankings of institutions across the country. Colleges enlisted in the NIRF India rankings offer a comprehensive conception of the different facets of the college.
Here are some of the top NIRF-ranked fashion design colleges in India -
Institute of National Importance (INI) is a status that may be conferred on a premier public higher education institution in India by an act of the Parliament of India. The fashion design colleges that are recognized as “Institutions of National Importance” are as follows -
Students willing to be admitted to B. Des courses have to meet the following eligibility criteria given below -
Students must have a valid score in the 10+2 examination.
Students from any of the three streams (Science/Commerce/Humanities) may choose to pursue this degree.
Students holding design diploma courses (that are recognized by the AICTE) are also allowed to opt for B. Des courses.
Sometimes, eligibility criteria differ according to the specialization opted for or the institute’s regulations.
Students interested in taking admission for a Diploma in Fashion Designing have to meet the following eligibility criteria listed below -
Admission for the Diploma in Fashion Designing course in India requires the aspirants to complete their 10+2 education with a minimum of 45% aggregate marks. Different colleges and universities have varying eligibility criteria according to their respective admission rules and procedures.
Candidates’ age should be above 16.
To get admission to B. Des courses, students have to appear for entrance examinations conducted by various authorities like AIEED, NID-DAT, SEED, and many more. Students are required to visit the official website of the entrance examination boards and register themselves. After qualifying for the entrance examination, students have to sit for various rounds like Personal Interviews and Portfolio Presentations which are the essential part of the admission procedure.
The admission procedure for the Diploma in Fashion Designing in India is done either from the college premises or online. Some colleges offer both- entrance-based and direct admission into fashion design diploma courses. Scores and marks secured in secondary or higher secondary education and scores generated from different entrance exams determine the selection of students.
In India, the average fees incurred for admission to B. Des range from 1 Lakh to 5 Lakhs. For Diploma courses, the fee structure ranges from 30,000 to 5 Lakhs. The fee structure may vary depending on the facilities and courses offered by any institution.
To be successful in the field of fashion design, students must have acquired the following essential skills -
Cognitive skills
Good communication skills
Strong artistic skills
Presentation skills
Traditional skills
Drawing skills
Innovativeness
Perseverance
At present, there are lots of opportunities for a candidate pursuing a B. Des. First of all, after completing B. Des students can opt for higher education by pursuing M. Des or MBA courses. There are some prominent sectors where eligible candidates get hired after B. Des.
Fashion Design
Fashion Merchandise
Visual Merchandise
Jewellery Design
Product Design
Furniture Design
Industrial Design
Fashion Consultancy
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Candidates can go for a suitable job role according to their interests. Some of the lucrative job profiles after completing B. Des are given below-
Fashion Designer
Textile Designer
Personal Stylist
Personal Shopper
Fashion Blogger
Fashion Editor
Fashion Journalist
Fashion Advisor
Accessory Designer
Costume Designer
Fashion Illustrator
Fashion Consultant
Cutting Assistant
Sketching Assistant
Retail Manager
Fashion Photographer