The job
With income of the young India going through the roof in the last few years, ours is slowly becoming a fashion conscious society and people are willing to spend a fortune on dressing well. This explains the high demand for professionals in the fashion industry. A fashion designer primarily works on the designs of clothing by creatively visualising and analysing trends in fabrics, colours, shapes and emerging fashion trends. They are hired by clothing companies ranging from fashion designers, textiles designers, retailers, customers and merchandisers getting started.

There are various institutes offering short duration and integrated courses in fashion designing, fashion merchandising, fashion retail, garment manufacturing, textile design and fashion marketing, garment manufacturing technology, apparel marketing & merchandising management and fashion communication. The duration of courses varies from one to 4 years. Some of the institutes also provide crash courses.

Among the government-recognised colleges are International Polytechnic, YMCA, Women’s Training Institutes, South Delhi Polytechnic Institute.

Some private institutes like the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) at New Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Hyderabad and Gandhinagar, International Institute of Fashion Technology, Pearl Academy of Fashion, Apeejay Centre for Creative and Productive Arts, New Delhi, IITC at Mumbai and New Delhi, J D Institute of Fashion Technology at Mumbai, Jaipur and New Delhi, National Institute of Fashion Design, Indian Institute of Fashion Technology (IIFT) and Arena Multimedia (Aptech) also offer courses in fashion related subjects.

NIFT has started short summer evening programmes, especially for working professionals. The courses, 6-month to one-year duration, will start from August to September and the forms will be available in July. Most of the institutes conduct entrance exams and personal interviews

“With the fashion industry becoming more competitive, designer houses, sales houses and retailers want to recruit skilled professionals. Thus, the number of institutes offering such courses is mushrooming. The industry is becoming more professional and competitive,” said fashion designer Vijay Arora.

Another fashion designer Leena Singh said: “As the industry is evolving, there are ample opportunities for youngsters. In 1992, when the fashion industry started rolling, there were only 10 professional designers and now they are almost 200. Gone are the days when a designer can only start his own boutique or assist other designers. Now, there are more than 20 branches where designers can be recruited”

After doing specialized courses in fashion designing, one can join as fashion designer, fashion coordinator, fashion marketer, fashion retailer, fashion communicator, window exhibition designers, quality control executives and fashion merchandisers. Huge retail revolution and entry of international brands in India are further adding to the boom. Starting salary is around Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000

Sources:The Times Of India

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