RANI BIRLA GIRLS’ COLLEGE, CALCUTTA

Fashion in India is a vibrant scene, a colourful and glamorous world where designers and models start new trends every day. And for students of Rani Birla Girls’ College, the thrill of the glamour world may soon be part and parcel of their lives. To add a dash of colour to the dreary world of textbooks, Rani Birla is introducing a three-year bachelors degree in fashion and apparel design. It is for the first time that the University of Calcutta has introduced a degree course in fashion in one of its colleges. “We were planning this course for the last three years and this year we got the affiliation,” says Dr Sunetra Sinha, principal, Rani Birla Girls’ College. The course will include textile studies, design communications, garment designing, visual arts and merchandising.

The Rani Birla Girls’ College, affiliated to Calcutta University, was established in July 1961 to promote women’s education. Initially situated on Syed Amir Ali Avenue, the college shifted to its present building on Shakespeare Sarani in 1979. The college is now run by a governing body which came into existence in March 2002. Representatives from the University of Calcutta, the higher education department of the government of West Bengal, the Calcutta Municipal Corporation and the staff as well as the students form the governing body. The college, at present, has an undergraduate section consisting of 10 departments. It offers honours courses in English, political science, sociology, education, history and geography.

The new course aims to train students not only in designing, but stresses on all-round development, so that these students can either set up their own business or join large export houses. Subjects like communicative English, marketing, retail and economics will be taught so as to enable the students to build a successful career in the field of fashion. “Students will not only emerge as designers, but as experts who have full knowledge of every aspect of the fashion industry, from stitching a garment to marketing,” says Preeti Agarwal, the consultant appointed by the college to set up the fashion laboratories.

The course fee is Rs 30,000 per year for general seats and Rs 42,000 per year for sponsored seats. There are 35 seats in all and the last date for submission of application forms is August 23. Students who have passed the Plus Two exam in any stream from a recognised board are eligible for admission.

Well-equipped laboratories have been set up in the college for practical classes. A computer lab with proper facilities has also been set up. Students will be introduced to the concepts of fibre testing, fabric manufacturing and pattern drafting in the clothing lab. Dummies for practising are being brought in from Delhi. The lab has been equipped with fashion makers for stylised stitching, microscopes for fibre identification and pick glasses to check the weave of the fibre. There will also be a hobby loom where students will get a hands-on experience of weaving a cloth and learn the fundamentals of the different kinds of weaving — twill, plain and satin. The loom will be brought in from Phulia, famous for its tant sarees. Apart from designing, students will be trained to check colour fastness and rub fastness. The textile testing lab will see the young girls trying their hands at dyeing and printing. The computer lab has been equipped with software like CAD and .Net graphics to help in designing. The idea is to help students acquire technical expertise so that they can be self-reliant entrepreneurs.

The faculty will consist of academicians from renowned fashion institutes as well as stalwarts from the fashion industry. “We will appoint full-time teachers who can devote their attention to the students. They will be in college the entire day and won’t just drop in for an hour or two,” says Sinha.

The committee responsible for formulating the course structure was headed by senior academician Sparshamoni Chatterjee. Professors from the Institute of Jute Technology, JD Birla and the National Institute of Fashion Technology will visit the students and provide guidance.

A core committee constituting the heads of departments worked day and night to get the course started. Human ethics has been introduced in the curriculum to make it socially relevant.

The course has been broken down into Part I, Part II and Part III. Students will have to appear for a thousand-mark examination each year. The exam has a 600-mark theory section and a 400-mark practical. In the first year, students will learn about the principles of design, visual art, design and communications; textile studies and pattern making in the theory section. Part II will concentrate on ornamentation of textiles, garment manufacture techniques, economic, management and visual merchandising.

In the final year, students will undergo internship and practical training in the fashion industry / textile export houses / textile processing units. The project work submitted by them at the end of the final year will be evaluated by eminent personalities in this field. Experts in the field will be invited to deliver lectures so that students can learn from their experience. The college proposes to give job assistance to final year students.

Vital Statistics:-

WHAT IS IT? It is an all girls college under the University of Calcutta

WHO’S THE BOSS? Sunetra Sinha is the principal

WHAT IS THE COURSE FEE? The fee for each year is Rs 30,000

Where is it? 38, Shakespeare Sarani, Calcutta-700017
Phone: 22875509 / 22835797
Website: www.rbgc.in

Sources: The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)

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