Fashion Designing: Job Prospects & Career Options
INTRODUCTION:
“Fashion! Cool Designs! Great & Confident Looks! Stylish! ”
Do these words sound great to ears? Why not! Gone are the days when everybody looked plain and
simple...nothing to really differentiate...Everybody wanted to be either a doctor or an
engineer...seemed like no other profession was available or was deemed respectable in the society.
The economic improvements in the Indian society along with greater emphasis and need of people
towards their dressing sense has led to the emergence of fashion designing profession as one of the
most sort after careers. The urban society has accepted the need and is highly influenced and
inspired by the words 'fashion' and 'style'. Hence, pursuing a career in fashion designing seems not
only a lucrative profession but for some inspired people it's a means to satisfy their creative
requirement. They want something of their own - may be brand, name, fame and money!
The new, young, talented and ever creative generation has shown a huge interest in taking up
courses in fashion institutes to enhance their creativity and get a first hand information on how the
fashion world works. These young aspirants have their unique and creative style of dressing and
believe in setting up trends rather than being trend followers.
INDIAN FASHION DESIGNERS
Indian fashion designers have gone by leap and bounds in last so many years. Not just ethnic Indian
styles - the usual Salwar-kurti, Churidaars, Saris and Lahengas - but they have very openly adopted
and drawn inspiration from both Indian and western styles nowadays. Hence, Fashion admirers
and followers in India have a wide variety to choose from the best of West and East. This fusion of
fashion has led to another line of hybrid fashion statement evolve which can be easily seen on the
ramps and the streets.
Indian fashion designers have been putting new creativity at work day and night to make a place
and name for them in international fashion market. Various Indian designers are very well known
in international circles and have been successfully displaying their clothes at the International
fashion shows. Ritu Beri was India's first designer to go global with her designs. She showcased her
collections in Italy and received an overwhelming response. Her choice of colors, fabrics, cuts and
patterns suiting the international taste along with a touch of traditional style, made her designs
very famous.
Other very successful and renowned Indian designers are Satya Paul, Ritu Kumar, Manish Arora,
Sabyaschi Mukherjee, Manish Malhotra, Neeta Lulla, Rohit Bal, Hemant Trivedi, Shahab
Durazi, J.J Walya, Shantanu & Nikhil and Krishna Mehta to name a few.
FASHION IN INDIA
Fashion in India covers a huge range of clothing designed for special occasions to casuals, trendy
and sports wear. Traditional techniques of embroidery such as Fulkari, Chikhan work, Zardosi,
Nakka tiki, and traditional weaves have been used by Indian designers to produce Indo-western
attires in a fusion of the best of west and east.
A career in Fashion Design encourages the creative flair of those minds who think to possess a
sense of style. The major functional areas in the industry are designing the garment which includes
sketching, cutting the cloth, sewing the pieces together and finally merchandising. Popularizing and
marketing of the different styles and products is done through fashion shows on ramp and fashion
write-ups.
With the increasing scope of fashion these days, variety of textiles and materials are available in
local markets for the fashion designers to explore with. India is now enjoying a benefit of acquiring
a prominent place in the global markets with its unique embroidery patterns, beautiful and rich
silks, handloom fabrics, rustic textures and dazzling dyes. Indian fashion designers have
contributed a lot in creating a world market for Indian garments.
Attributes of a Good Fashion Designer
A Fashion designer should have the following qualities:
Should be very creative and skilled for this art.
Ability to express their mind in designs and follow it up with sketches.
Inherent capable of combining tones, shades and colors.
Need to have a creative mind, good imagination and an ability to think in three-dimension
to translate their ideas into fashion.
Has to be fashion savvy along with the knowledge and experience of elementary tailoring
skills and techniques and be able to select the best amongst various kinds of fabrics per
requirement.
Has to be original, creative, inventive and ready to experiment in designing outfits.
Knows how on the effective use of textiles is an added bonus.
Must be conscious of current need, liking and requirement of people in sync with the
market demand parameter.
Must have an understanding of the different customer segments and customer lifestyle, so
that design is affordable, suitable and wearable for people they are designed for.
SPECIALIZATIONS
1. Fashion Designing:
Fashion designers develop new styles and products for clothing apparel and accessories by
creating original designs or by adapting fashions to suit local conditions, trends and buyers. They
are the ones who approve final samples before they go into production. The designer begins the
designing process only after thorough market research, i.e., understanding the needs of the
client/market in terms of changing trends, budget etc. Accessory Designers specialize in designing
shoes, bags, scarves, jewellery, ties, etc which complete the look of the garment.
Personal Attributes: Fashion designers need to be artistic, creative and must posses ability
to translate ideas in sketches, must have keen sense of colour i.e. combination of shades and
tones, visual imagination & knowledge of market trends.
Educational Qualification: Basic qualification for a course in fashion designing is 10+2, it
varies depending on the course chosen.
Job Prospectus: They can find employment with professional designers as apprentices, with
manufacturing units, export houses, boutiques, media as costume designers, freelancing for
fashion houses and boutiques and at the same time it is a rewarding possibility for self
employment by opening your own boutique.
Fashion coordinators arrange and supervise the marketing of fashion clothing for manufacturing
houses, textile firms and retail stores. It is a highly competitive job involving a variety of functions.
They advice on latest fashion trends, organize fashion shows, assist in advertising i.e. promoting
sales and liaison with fabric dealers to ensure that the fabric, buttons and colours are of the correct
shade, quality and design. Coordinates may be required to travel widely to get an idea of the fashion
trends.
Personal Attributes: Must have high level of artistic and creative talents, a natural flair for
fashion, sound judgment, excellent communication and organizational skills.
Illustrator draw free hand sketches of designers ideas. They not only need outstanding sketching
skills but at the same time require excellent communication skills. Illustrator at times has to discuss
with customers when new collection is introduced and this requires ability to interact.
Job Prospectus: He/she is a much sought-after person by big garment houses and
organizations.
Fashion Consultant must be aware of the trends and transitions in the fashion market along with
knowledge about fashion designing. They are expected to offer ideas regularly on how to further
develop a product to be readily absorbed in a market. He/she should be a sharp observer sensitive
to changing trends.
Cutting Assistants have to cut samples according to specifications of the designer. A cutting
assistant cuts samples, makes and alters patterns to see that the design visualised can be converted
to a real dress.
Sketching Assistants make the technical sketches of the garments and makes drawings for
presentation. It is from this specification sketches one decide how a garment has to be fabricated.
The sketching assistant sometimes have to the select the fabric also.
Fashion Stylist has to coordinate the entire wardrobe for a fashion show or programme to
promote the sales of the products. It involves coordinating the dress, accessories, make up,
hairstyle, even the colour of the nail polish of the model according to the theme and the overall look
of the show. Sometimes a stylist is even involved in fabric selection. He/ she has to be well versed
in the trends and happenings in the industry and also have a keen sense of current fashion trends.
2. Textile Designing
Textile Designer or Fabric Designer : designs woven, knitted or printed fabrics for clothing and
other home ware items like carpets, tableware etc. They treat the yarn through different types of
processes to give it a particular finish. The textile designer also make drawings of initial concepts
and work with various yarns and fabrics taking into account the final use of the fabric by translating
the designs into marketable fabrics.
Textile designers work within and alongside industries such as fashion, interior design, and textiles.
They may also work under professional designers or as freelance designers working with a client
base.
Colourist play a vital role in the textile-printers, artist team. They are involved in block printing or
machine printing. They must keep a record of colour samples and fabric pieces and have to work in
a high paced environment, to meet deadlines. The colourist has to be very organised and must
carefully follow precise instructions.
The other career options in textile designing are weavers, embroidery designers, dying & printing
consultant, fabric analyser, textile lab manager, fabric resource manager etc.
3. Apparel Merchandising
Fashion Merchandisers are mainly responsible for marketing. He/she has to study past and
current sales data and analyse trends. They have to collect specifications from the buyers,
coordinate with fashion designers and production team to develop a product which meets market
requirement. They must have knowledge of fashion trends, textures, materials and colours on one
hand and understanding of market demand and the production processes on the other. At the same
time have analytical ability and communication skills.
They can find employment with garment industries, export houses, manufacturing firms etc.
Visual merchandising a comparatively new career field which has sprung up with the growing
popularity of window and floor displays. Visual merchandisers main area of work is to create
impressive window displays. They can find employment with fashion boutiques, shopping malls,
emporia etc. They are also engaged as shop floor managers. They can also do freelancing on
contract basis for window displays in exhibitions, fairs and other places.
Other career options under this head are production coordinator, quality control
supervisor, fashion retailer, export manager etc.
4. Fashion Journalism and Presentation
Fashion Journalist is an overall in-charge of a fashion magazine. It is through them that the general
public gets to know the latest fashion trends.
He/she should have excellent taste for fashion and keep themselves abreast with
latest fashion news, consumer reaction to new collections, fashion shows, current and future trends
in colour, design and fabric. Today fashion journalist has a bright scope for employment as there is
a need for exclusive articles and programmes with the development of fashion industry.
Fashion Photography is an extremely creative and well paid profession. Fashion photographer
needs to have a keen eye for aesthetic detail, a thorough knowledge of cameras and the
technicalities involved in taking pictures, of light, distance and perspective to be successful. He/she
should be inventive and able to visualise and communicate his ideas, at the same time must be
sensitive to the moods of the models and interact freely with them. Fashion photography is one of
the choices that photographers can diversify into. They can do freelancing and find employment
with fashion houses, designers, fashion journals and news papers.
Fashion Stylist has to coordinate the entire wardrobe for a fashion show or programme to promote
the sales of the products. It involves coordinating the dress, accessories, make up, hairstyle, even
the colour of the nail polish of the model according to the theme and the overall look of the show.
Sometimes a stylist is even involved in fabric selection. He/she has to be well versed in the trends
and happenings in the industry and also have a keen sense of current fashion trends.
Eligibility for Fashion Designing Courses
One should have passed 10+2 with Science in order to pursue to Diploma or Degree in Fashion
Designing. To pursue Postgraduate studies in Fashion Designing, one needs to complete a
Bachelor’s Degree in Science or Arts or should be a Bachelor’s Degree holder in Fine Arts.
Colleges, Institutions and Universities
1. National Institute of Fashion NIFT Campus, Haus Khas, New Delhi-210016.
Technology (NIFT)
2. Pearl Academy of Fashion C-56/2 Okhla Indutrial Area, Phase II, New Delhi-210020
3. National Institute of Design (NID) Paldi, Ahmedabad-380007
4. International Institute of Fashion H-22, South Extension Part-I, New Delhi-210049
Technology
5. Mangalore Institute of Fashion Kulai, Mangalore-574196
Technology (MIFT)
6. Wigan Fashion School Wigan & Leigh College (India) Ltd., 401-402 Skipper Comer,
88 Nehru Place, New Delhi-210019
7. National Institute of Fashion NIFD Campus, 2-B Jal Bhawan, M.Marg, Sector-27-A,
Design Chandigarh
8. J D Institute of Fashion Technology D-247, Savitri Path, Bapu Nagar, Jaipur
9. Apeejay Institute of Design 54, Tughlakabad Institutional Area, MB Road, New Delhi-
210062
10 Sophia B.K. Somani Polytechnics 10, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mumbai-400026
.
Scope of Fashion Designing & Remuneration
Today it is a status symbol to wear garments and accessories desgined by renowned designers.
Because of this, the demand for professional Fashion Designers is on the rise. One who has done a
course in Fashion Designing will never be short of work opportunities. One can find employment in
a company that manufactures fashion items like buttons, scarves, broaches and hairclips. One can
also find employment in a company manufacturing jewellery items. Gili, Enchante, Nakshatra,
Oyzter Bay , Tanishq and De Beers are renowned names in jewellery designing. Even traditional
jewellery houses are now hiring trained desgines who can cater to the overseas market.
Foot wear manufacturing companies employ designers to innovate new varieties of shoes for their
companies. Leather manufacturing companies that produce wallets, belts and handbags employ
fresher in their companies. One can also join as an assistant to a well known Fashion Designer. One
can also freelance as an Accessory Designer for a domestic company or an export house.
Alternately, one can become self-employed by setting up a designer boutique of one’s own. The
prospects increase in this field with increase in experience.
As a trainee Jewellery Designer, one can expect a modest salary of Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 8,000. A higher
salary of Rs. 10,000 is expected when one’s job is confirmed. In a reputed firm, one will get a salary
of anything between Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 25,000 per month. A price as high as Rs. 50,000 can be
quoted by one on gaining experience and having made a name for oneself.
A fresher in Garment Designing can start with a monthly package of Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 14,000. With an
experience of around two years, one’s salary would increase to the range of Rs. 30,000 to Rs.
40,000. When one becomes a reputed Garment Designer, one can demand a king’s ransom for a
particular creation.
