Are You Ready For A Career In Fashion Design?
Overview
In the last decade, fashion in India is slowly coming of age. The fashion Designer profession has recently emerged as one of the most sorts out careers among the youths. These youths have their own creative style of dressing and believe in setting a trend rather than following a trend set by others. A career in Fashion Design not only involves meeting glamorous people and interacting with rich and famous, but also gives an impetus to the creative flair of the people who possess a sense of style. The major functional areas in the industry are designing garments, cutting the cloth, sewing the pieces together and finally merchandising. Popularizing and marketing of the various styles products is done through ramp shows and fashion write-ups.
A Fashion Designer should be artistic and creative. They should be able to express their ideas in sketches. They may not be a brilliant artist but must be able to combine colors, shades and tones. Designers have the flair for creating with fabric and know how to use textiles effectively. Designers need to have visual imagination and the ability to think in three-dimension to translate into garments what they visualize.
A Fashion Designer must be fashion conscious and must be aware of market requirements. In order to have an International perspective, they must read more and more of international fashion journals, books on history and art. They must also visit various art gallery and exhibition and interact with traditional artists whenever they get chance. As a designer one should have knowledge and experience of basic tailoring skills i.e. cutting, sewing, draping etc. besides this they should be able to distinguish among various fabric quality and particular about choosing a good cloth to work on.
An understanding of the market and customer lifestyle is required, so that design is suitable for people they are made for. Designers must be good communicator and very clear with their ideas which is reflected in the presentation of fashion show.
Career scope and opportunity
Fashion has a wide scope for choosing a career. Fashion design as a career combines colour, shade and tone of textiles, fabrics and ornamentation. It involves areas like creative design and drawing, pattern making, sewing and embroidery, garment-manufacturing technology, apparel construction methods, textile science, fabric dyeing and printing and computer-aided design. Now the fashion industry has become so specialized that it encompasses a vast field of studies in design concept, fashion design production management, quality control, planning, fabric design, printing, fashion merchandising, textile science, colour mixing, marketing and so on. The primary areas of work in the fashion industry are market research, designing and manufacturing of garments and textiles. Fashion design career is the most important area of work in fashion industry. Designing involves creating original designs after studying the changing trends of the market i.e. market research. It has various fields of specialization like garments, footwear, jewellery and even shoes. It is a challenging field as it requires the coordination of various crafts of fashion, though in small firms it is usually a one-man show but in big organizations the jobs are specialized and allotted to different people. There is scope for a lot of careers within the fashion industry itself and with the right requisites one should find no problem establishing himself/herself in the field. Apart from being a fashion designer, one can even opt for the various career paths as given below.
Career Options
Merchandiser
There is vast scope for fashion merchandising in the local and export market. It involves working for retail and wholesale organizations in buying, merchandising, sales, store operations, management, distribution, merchandise planning and sales support. One needs to have a good background in textiles and possess effective communication skills. Of late, merchandisers are also conducting the market research within the fashion industry. Most merchandisers require traveling extensively throughout the country and abroad. There are no fixed timings and merchandisers often work late into the evenings. This job requires a person to be on the job, on the spot to crack the right deals. It involves a lot of determination, patience and an eye for detail
llustrator
An Illustrator draws free hand sketches of designer`s ideas. He not only needs 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. He/she is a much sought-after person by big garment houses and organizations.
Fashion Consultant
A fashion consultant must be aware of the trends and transitions in the fashion market along with knowledge about fashion designing. He is 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 Assistant
He has to cut samples according to specifications of the designer. A cutting assistant cuts samples, makes and alters patterns to see that the design visualized can be converted to a real dress.
Sketching Assistant
A sketching assistant makes the technical sketches of the garments and makes drawings for presentation. It is from these specification sketches, that one decides how a garment has to be fabricated. The sketching assistant sometimes has to the select the fabric also.
Fashion Stylist
A 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
Cutting Assistant
He has to cut samples according to specifications of the designer. A cutting assistant cuts samples, makes and alters patterns to see that the design visualized can be converted to a real dress.
Sketching Assistant
A sketching assistant makes the technical sketches of the garments and makes drawings for presentation. It is from these specification sketches, that one decides how a garment has to be fabricated. The sketching assistant sometimes has to the select the fabric also.
Fashion Stylist
A 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
Colourist
He plays a vital role in the textile-printers, artist team. He is involved in block printing or machine printing. He 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 organized and must carefully follow precise instructions.
Textile Designer
Textile designer does the design and styling of textiles for apparel-related industries. A person should possess technical skills required to serve the textile industry in both surface and structural design. People, who specialize in this subject, work as textile or embroidery designers, as well as print, woven and embroidery stylists. They can also be involved in the sales and purchasing of fabrics and trim. Another allied field is textile technology, which lays emphasis on the analysis of fabric performance.
Pattern Maker
Pattern making introduces people to industry procedures like the development of the basic block and operation of the sewing machine. Pattern makers have to draft various components of garments and develop professional blocks to create patterns for specific design problems. It involves producing a finished garment from a working sketch and thus a course in pattern making and apparel construction is the ideal preparation for eventual ownership or management of an apparel manufacturing facility. However, good pattern makers can also wing it themselves.
Where to Study?
Training institutes that teach novices the basics of design and fashion are proving to be a hothouse of talent. Although, one must be wary of spurious institutes that are mushrooming all over trying to lure unsuspecting students with the glamour and hype that surrounds fashion. The fashion industry too has developed over time with functions becoming more specialized and distinct. Training, qualifications and experience in the field are of prime importance if one is looking for a job in this dynamic field.
Here are some of the leading Fashion Design schools in India:
? National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)
NIFT Campus
Near Gulmohar Park
Hauz Khas
New Delhi-110016
Tel : 6965059, 6965080, 6964771.
Fax : 6851198
Web site : www.niftindia.com
? Pearl Academy of Fashion (PAF)
C-56/2, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-II,
New Delhi-110020
Tel : 6849403, 6839414
Fax : 6849401
Web site : www.pearlacademy.com
? National Institute of Fashion Design (NIFD)
South Delhi Campus,
Hauz Khas Enclave,
New Delhi - 110016
Tel : 6968868, 6531846
Fax : 6968868
Web site : www.nifd.net
? JD Institute of Fashion Technology
3 Lal Haveli, Hauz Khas Village
New Delhi-110016
Tel : 6964151, 6856457
Fax : 6519482
Web site : www.jdinstitute.com
? IEC School of Art & Fashion (IEC-SAF)
IEC House, M-92, Cannaught Place,
New Delhi-110001
Tel : 3325667, 3325938
Fax : 3353913
Web site : www.iecsaf.com
? International Institute of Fashion Technology (IIFT)
H-12, South Extension Part-I
New Delhi-110049
Tel : 4620430, 4629370
Web site : www.iiftindia.com
? Apeejay Institute of Design & Information Technology (AIDIT)
54, Tughlakabad Institutional Area
Meherauli Badarpur Road
New Delhi-110062
Tel : 6981050, 6989459
Fax : 6980208
Where to find additional Training Institute information?
You can visit SKILLS4U.COM - India's No.1 Training search site to browse Fashion Design course classifieds to find everything from simple outfit design to latest training to launch your own fashion brands offered by leading institutes based on your search criteria. You can search for Fashion Design courses in all the major metros like Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmadabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore. Within the city, you can search the classes by Zip code as well. Once you find the provider or class of your choice, click on send enquiry to request information regarding a specific course or contact Provider for any information. The system will prompt you to enter required information and send message to your selected Training provider. Once the Provider receives the message, you will get a response regarding further steps to register for the Course.
About the AuthorVisit Skills4u.com, India's No.1 training search site to explore fashion design courses and institutes with in-depth information. Find details about any college in India.
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