Fashion beyond your wardrobe

          I think every little girl owns or dreams of owning a Barbie. It’s probably because it is the first image of fashion for tiny feet. India has been a centre for textile and garment trade and is now growing into a centre of innovation in garment and accessory design. Fashion technology in a nutshell is a world offering many vistas. It has become so specialized that it encompasses a vast field of studies in design, concept management, design production management, quality control, planning, fabric design, printing, fashion accessory design, 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 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, jewelry and even luggage.  Manufacturing involves purchasing textiles and fabrics required for the design and making the garment according to the master pattern. It requires large numbers of trained personnel.

            What is the minimum eligibility required for a fashion course? For the Undergraduate course in this field you need to have minimum 50% marks in 10+2 and for Post Graduate courses, admission is strictly on merit- through written test, situation test, group discussion and interview. These courses are aimed at understanding concepts related to costume, jewellery, leather goods and many other similar products. While 10+2 is sufficient for Accessory designing and Fashion Designing, Graduates are preferred for other courses. Prominent institutes in Fashion Technology are National institute of Fashion technology (NIFT), National Institute of Design (NID), International Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi (IIFT); IEC School of Art and Fashion, New Delhi; Indian Institute of Art and Fashion Technology (IIAFT), Mumbai; Pearl Academy of fashion, New Delhi; J.D Institute of fashion Technology, New Delhi.

            Young graduates or diploma holders in fashion have loads of opportunity in this field. They can find themselves employed as merchandising executives, fashion designers, illustrators, fashion co-coordinators, etc. Export houses, textile mills, garment store chains, boutiques, leather companies, jewellery houses, fashion show organizers etc. look for such candidates. With so many fashion magazines and websites around, a whole new breed of nimble, fast-footed in short bindaas folk have evolved. They call themselves fashion journalists, fashion photographers, models, model co-ordinators, stylists and a lot more.

            To put it simply fashion is about fresh ideas in a cocktail of determination, hardwork and opportunity well-sighted. Everybody needs a little fashion to feel good and fit in or uniquely stand out. Take it or leave it in these times, fashion is all around us!!