Ever went through a show or series and wondered about the styling and dress styles of various celebrities? Yes, we all have been through the phase where we see the attire and look for the same dress over the internet. In the very same process, we sometimes get to the fashion designer who was behind this masterpiece.
This article will take you to the lane of the fashion designer. Moreover, it will provide you all the aspects and tips on how to become a fashion designer from the scratch.
First and foremost, it is very crucial to know what is meant by fashion designing.
It is a course designated to study the design, aesthetics, draping, styling and the various aspects related to fashion. Some designers study the fashion trends and work accordingly on them.
Here are the keys stepwise to unlock the path to fashion designing:
STEP 1: Look for your passion!
The first and the very mandatory step is to look after your passion. Knowing yourself and your passion for skills in fashion designing is the key to the first step, creating a backbone to the pillars of a fashion designer. In addition to this, it backstops to sustain the market for a longer perspective.
Ask these five questions to yourself to know yourself:
1. What I’m passionate about?
2. Am I going to give up considering the exponential increase in competition?
3. This is what I’m passionate about doing for the rest of my life?
4. Will I dedicate myself to work even if I’m getting tired ?
5. Honestly keeping up the work up to date?
STEP 2: Select your niche.
Fashion designing is not just limited to a single niche of clothes. This field gives a wide range of scope such as leather designing, accessory designing, textile designing, etc.
STEP 3: Take up a Bachelors’ degree in Fashion design
Go through the various designing colleges and their requirements for fashion design courses. Look for the opportunities provided by the college which will be going to help you in the future.
STEP 4: Learn, Practice, and master the skills required in this field.
The last and the mandatory part of the education so acquired from the university is to practice and master the skills. Create a market presence through your portfolio and do as much branding as yours stuffs.
STEP 5: CONSISTENCY AND PERSEVERANCE
The efforts you have put in all throughout the years require patience and time. Consistency and perseverance are the skills to grow over a very long period of time.
We are done with the part of skills, colleges, and procedures to become a designer. Here, are the tips for pursuing the course in India.
How to become a fashion designer in India: Skills/Colleges/ Requirements
Aspire to be a fashion designer in India? Yes, you are definitely at the right spot and at the right time.
India has top-notch colleges that not only provide you ample amount of exposure to the fashion industry but also teachers who will upgrade you to day to day changes happening in the industry.
There is a wide range of degrees offered by top-notch institutes. Here is the table mentioning the course diversity with the specialization.
| COURSE TYPE | SPECIALIZATION OF THE COURSE |
| Diploma courses | Fashion Design, Fashion Communication, and Fashion Accessories, Illustration (Fashion design oriented), Marketing and management. |
| Bachelor’s Degree | Design, Styling and image designing, Leather design, etc. |
| Master’s Degree | Designing, Fashion Merchandising, Retail Management, Fashion Communication, Textile design, Fashion Design and Business Management. |
Here are the top colleges in India with the courses with the UG and PG courses:
| NAME OF THE INSTITUTE | UNDERGATUTE COURSES OFFERED BY INSTITUTE | POST GRADUATE COURSES |
| NIFT New Delhi | Bachelor in designing-(Fashion Design/ Textile Design/ Leather Design/ Accessory Design/ Knitwear Design/ / fashion communication) Bachelor in Fashion Technology (Apparel Production) | Mater Of Design (M.Des.) Master in Fashion Technology Master in Fashion Management (MFM) |
| NIFT Mumbai | Bachelor in designing-(Fashion Design/ Textile Design/ Accessory Design/ Knitwear Design/ fashion communication) Bachelor in Fashion Technology (Apparel Production) | Mater Of Design (M.Des.) Master in Fashion Technology Master in Fashion Management (MFM) |
| NIFT Bangalore | Bachelor in designing-(Fashion Design/ Textile Design/ Accessory Design/ Knitwear Design/ fashion communication) Bachelor in Fashion Technology (Apparel Production) | Mater Of Design (M.Des.) Master in Fashion Technology Master in Fashion Management (MFM) |
| National Institute of Design (NID) | Bachelor in design- 4 Years | Master in design – 2.5 Years |
| Pearl Academy | Bachelor in design- 4 Years | Master in design- 2.5 Years |
| Symbiosis Institute of Design (SID) | Bachelor in design- 4 years | Master in design- 2.5 years |
Know how to become fashion designer right after 12th
To pursue Fashion Designing course right after 12th, requires some benchmark skills (Well versed with drawing so as to clear examinations).
The institutes conduct their own examinations and has certain parameters. Here are some of the entrance exams and their eligibility criteria.
| Entrance exam | Eligibility criteria | Syllabus | Exam Pattern | Participating colleges |
| AIEED (All India Entrance Exam for Design ) | Candidates must have break through 10+2 and cleared the same are eligible to appear in AIEED.Candidates should have passed the 10+2 from CBSE or ICSE or IB or State Board or NIOS or equivalent as per the guidelines issued by the UGC.In the qualifying exam candidates need at least 48% to sit for the AIEED Entrance exam. | GATLogical ReasoningAwareness related to design.Design sensibilitiesAwareness of Global issues happening currently.Comprehension of concepts.CATDesign ThinkingLateral thinking.Problem solving (related to creativity)Design Principles concepts.Personal InteractionFocusClarity abut conceptsWork in portfolioThinking process Articulation skills | The first stage of the examination is GAT followed by CAT and personal interview. GAT which is of 100 marksCAT totals up to 200 marksVideo, Portfolio and personal interaction which is of 200 marks. | ARCH college of design APEEJAY STYA University |
| NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology) Entrance Exam | The age limit for the examination is 23 years as of 1st October 2020.Some relaxation has been given to for the candidates belonging to Scheduled castes or Scheduled Tribe or Person with Disability (Pwd) ie, 28 years. Candidates are required to have a passing grade with minimum of five subjects in the board.For Bachelor’s in Fashion technology candidates must have Physics, Chemistry and mathematics as their subjects in 10+2. | GATQuantitative AbilityCommunication Ability and English ComprehensionAnalytical ability and logical abilityGeneral knowledge and current affairs Situation test Personal interview | For B.Des. GAT – 100 Marks Situation test- 100 marks Group discussion and personal interview For BFTech. GAT Exam of 150 marks. | There are 16 colleges of NIFT all over India under the Ministry of Textiles. Recently a new campus was set up at Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir. |
| CEED (Common Entrance Examination for Design) | No age barrier for CEED Entrance examination.The exam can be taken by the candidates multiple times as it has no limitations on the number of attempts. | Part A- NAT, MSQ, MCQ Part B- Questions related to drawing. | Part A- NAT (numerical answer questions): 8 questions MSQ (Multiple selection questions): 10 questions MCQ (Multiple choice questions): 23 questions Part B: SketchingForm SensitivityVisual SensitivityProblem identification Creativity Total questions – 5 questions | IIT BombayIISc BangaloreIIT DelhiIIT GuwahatiIIT HyderabadIIT KanpurIITDM Jabalpur Other colleges accepting CEED Scores are: |
| SEED (Symbiosis Entrance Exam for Design) | Minimum of 50% in 10+2.Reserved category has relaxation of 5% in marks.Diploma final year students can also apply for the same.Indians and abroad students can also apply for the SEED entrance examination. | CreativityProblem solving abilitiesVisualizationBasic knowledge of mathematics and science.CraftArtDesignCultureEnvironment | Objective type questions-150 Entrance test- 40 PI-20 Studio test-40 | NIMS UniversityAmity universityChandigarh universitySage universityMody universityLovely professional universityPP Savani universityApex universityInternational school of design (INSD) |
| AIFD (Army Institute Of Fashion Design) | Minimum marks in 10+2 must be 35%. A regular 10+2 candidate can only apply for the AIFD entrance exam. Seats are also reserved for army personnel. | Part A- online based examination(CBT) Part B- design based examination held in offline mode. | Part A- 70 marks Part B- 30 marks Total marks- 100 marks | AIFD (Army Institute Of Fashion Design) |
| FDDI (Footwear Design and Development Institute) | Age limit for FDDI (Footwear Design and Development Institute) is 25 years. Candidates can give the exam in appearing also. No stream restrictions to sit in the examination. | Quantitative aptitudeVerbal abilityVisualizationGeneral knowledgeGeneral awarenessColour and composition | Total number of question will be 200. A duration of 2 and a half hours will be allotted to candidates. Exam will be conducted in offline mode. | FDDI Kolkata FDDI Delhi FDDI Hyderabad FDDI Rohtak FDDI Chandigarh FDDI Chennai FDDI Jodhpur FDDI Chindwara FDDI Guna FDDI Patna FDDI Fursatganj FDDI Ankleshwar |
Notable personalities in fashion designing:
Chanel now stands as one of the world’s best brands all over the world. Coco Chanel is a self-taught fashion designer, who was raised in an orphanage where she was taught to sew. She opened her first shop related to clothing in 1910 before which she used to work as a singer.
The brand Coco Chanel is remarkably known for suits and little black dress. The concept of jersey fabric was used in women’s undergarments by this designer.
- Georgio Armani
Georgio Armani is an Italian fashion designer. His designs are known for their uniqueness, elegance, and style. In addition to this, he has expanded his business to perfumes, hotels, restaurants, and cafes all over the horizon.
Georgio started freelancing his designs and used to send them to garment manufacturers. Within this period of time, he decided to start his own business, establishing his own brand Armani in the year 1975. The rest is history.
Armani has also designed for Hollywood by designing costumes for Penelope Cruz, Anne Hathaway, and Megan Fox, etc. in more than a hundred films.
- Calvin Klein
The international best-dressed list listed as the youngest fashion designer Calvin Klein was in love with art and fashion since a very young age. Calvin Klein is self -taught who learned the art of fashion and sketch all by himself.
He always dreamt of starting his own business as a fashion designer. He worked at a grocery store so as to make extra money to pursue his dreams.
With passion and will he established his own line in the year 1968 named Calvin Klein Ltd.
- Donatella Versace
The renowned Donatella Versace inherited the Versace empire and later gave up her own label—versus. Donatella launched her fragrance named Versace woman.
- Rohit Bal
Rohit Bal is a famous Indian fashion designer known for his motifs and the use of lotus in intricate designs. He has been awarded a lot of times, one of the best being the ‘Designer of the year’ award at Indian fashion awards.
Rohit Bal has also designed for the Amitabh’s show “Kaun Banega Crorepati” as well.
Throughout the whole discussion on the notable fashion designers, it is very much clear the none of them were spoon fed from the start. All of them struggled and strived to be the best in the market. Some of them being self-taught and turned entrepreneurs in fashion designing. One of them even worked as a freelancer during his early stage.
Here are some tips to work as freelance designers:
- Start building connections.
- Use mediums such as Behance, LinkedIN to connect to people all over the world.
- Make portfolio.
- Use instagram to showcase your designs.
Career options as a fashion designer:
- Fashion coordinators
- Fashion consultant
- Textile designer
- Sketching artist
- Fashion journalist
- Fashion stylist
- Graphic designer
- Lingerie designer
All it takes hard work and perseverance to excel in fashion industry. With time it is possible to be a successful designer in India.
image credit: Woman painting photo – Free Fashion Image on Unsplash
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