Scope Of Fashion Designing In India – Careers & Opportunities in Fashion Designing
India is a country of rich and eclectic cultural heritage and one of the oldest players in the field of Textiles & clothing. Fashion in India is in some ways is defined and derived by the cultural diversity; Which also makes Indian textiles sector unique when compared to other countries.
To give you an Idea of how big the Industry is, Let’s have a look at the numbers. Indian Fashion Industry holds 13.5 percent of the market share and accounts to at least 5% of India’s GDP. The industry is estimated to be around 108 Billion and is expected to go over 223 Billion Dollars by 2021.
This is from the Industry point of view. If you look at it from Consumers point of view, the average consumer expenditure in Fashion clothing & apparels is over 6% of their total expenditure. 6% of expenditure from a country that is house to 1.3 Billion would be over 68 Billion Dollars.
To sum it up and put it in perspective, Annual Consumer spend on Fashion Clothing & Apparels is over 6,800 Crores. With an increase in average income of Indians and a wave of awareness about Fashion & attires; Fashion Industry might be due for boom in coming times.
PS: All the statistics are based on research. All the numbers mentioned are approximate.
Now that I have interested you with all the statistics and the amount of money Fashion Industry holds, let’s move onto the next part.
Fashion is regarded as one of the most creatively & financially rewarding as well as one of the most glamorous industries (After Film industry of course). But what most people don’t see is the thing that goes on behind the screens. I do agree that Fashion Industry is filled with glamour but it also filled with intense competition; There’s always a catch.
I don’t want to scare you off, If you think you are passionate about Fashion, You should pursue it. Being a Fashion Designer you can create trends, change how people look and there is so much more you can do.
If you want to pursue Fashion as a career but don’t know how to, You can read this article about What is Fashion Designing & How To Become a Fashion Designer?
This is getting too generic, let’s dive a little deeper; Shall We?
Scope of Fashion Designing Positions:
We have gone through the number game and the Scope of Fashion designing on a very high level till now.
Let’s dive a little deeper and see the scope of Different Fashion designing professions. Before we do that, here is a list of major Fashion Designing job roles you can land into after you complete you Fashion Designing courses. We will see the details of each one of them later.
- Fashion Illustrator
- Fashion Stylist
- Fashion Designer
- Fashion Consultant
- Fashion Coordinator
- Fashion Merchandiser
- Bridal Designer
Fashion Illustrator:
We had talked about different skills one requires to succeed in Fashion Industry. One of those skills was Drawing/Illustrations.
What Fashion Illustrator basically does is create sketches based on the ideas of a Fashion Designer. Fashion Illustrator is the person who puts a Fashion Designers Imaginations on paper or a computer screen. In a nutshell, the job description of a Fashion Illustrator is to listen to the ideas of a Fashion Designer, Get a brief about that and give life to those ideas in a presentable manner.
Fashion Designer:
A Fashion Designer can be arguably called as the heart of Fashion Industry. Fashion Designer is responsible for all the great creations & Fashion Trends. The Job role of Fashion Designer is to basically come up with ideas of new design based on the current Fashion Trends that people are going gaga over. If you are a creative animal, think outside the box and persistent enough to tackle through pressure ridden environment; This job is tailor made for you.
Fashion Stylist:
Fashion Designers and Fashion Illustrators are important when you want to get an idea for new designs. But what’s the use of having great designs,if they are not presented in a way they deserve? Fashion Stylists are the ones who take care of that aspect.
Fashion Stylists take care of Makeup, Apparels, Hairstyle and everything else so that the model looks as she is supposed to while wearing the dress to present during Fashion Shows. Looking at the rate of growth of Fashion Shows in India; It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Fashion Stylists are in huge demand in today’s time. That’s just not it, Celebrities hire Fashion Stylists to help them look good during big events.
In a nutshell Fashion Stylist makes the dresses look presentable and prettier.
Fashion Consultant:
Personally, I feel this as one of the most interesting job roles in the list. When you say makeover; Fashion Consultant is the first person that comes to your mind. The designation might be self explanatory, but let me explain it to you anyway.
A Fashion Consultant takes care of an individual’s image – Personally and professionally. Being a Fashion Consultant; You are expected to be up to date with all the current Fashion Trends & the transitions that are going on in the Fashion World. It goes without saying that when you are giving a Fashion Makeover to a client to change their change; You need to possess the necessary knowledge about Fashion Designing as well.
Fashion Coordinator/Fashion Director:
This job role has more to do with the companies and Fashion Houses than Fashion designing itself. A Fashion Coordinator aka Fashion Director is responsible for developing policies and managing the arrangements at a Fashion House or a Fashion Company.
Being a Fashion Coordinator, you will be more into organizing Fashion Events, Advertising, Fashion Research and other aspects of Fashion Marketing than Designing or other kinds of tasks. One interesting aspect of being a Fashion Coordinator is that you will get to study the consumer behavior and predict what they are more likely to buy.
Fashion Merchandiser:
I believe this one’s self explanatory as well. Fashion Merchandiser is one of those job roles which demands the knowledge of almost everything related to Fashion Industry – At Least fundamental Knowledge. If you believe that you are one of those “Jack Of All Trades” kind of a person; this job role would fit you perfectly.
Being a Fashion Merchandise, you are supposed to study the past and current trends and predict the future trend so as to suggest Fashion Companies & Houses on how they can Merchandise. You are basically the person in charge of giving ideas on how you can delight customers with your Merchandise.
Bridal Designer:
Most of you would find this one bit more interesting than everything else mentioned above. I don’t think I need to tell you how big a deal weddings are; Especially in India. That is what makes the demand for Bridal Designer.
Bridal Designer as the name suggests are experts in designing dresses and apparels for Brides. They are responsible for conceptualizing, designing, tailoring and even marketing of wedding dresses. Most of the time Bridal Designers works for Fashion Houses, But you can also do it on a freelance basis to create specialized designs for your clients.
All these are the major job roles in Fashion Industry and the scope of those. Here are some honorary mentions.
- Assistant Designer
- CAD Designer
- Fashion Content Developer
- Costume Designer For Film/ Theater
- Milliner
- Production Assistant
Scope of Fashion Designing Courses at Indian Institute of Fashion Technology:
If you have decided that you want to get into Fashion Industry; Indian Institute of Fashion Technology offers courses that will help you out in your pursuit of a successful career in Fashion Industry. The course are made so that students can gather all the knowledge they would need in the field.
Here is the list & scope of Fashion Designing courses that IIFT Offers:
Diploma in Fashion Designing and Boutique Management – 1 Year
- Diploma in Fashion Designing & Boutique Management is tailor made for students who wants to learn about Fashion Designing from scratch. You will get to learn the fundamental aspects of Fashion Designing during the course duration.
- This course will help you learn how to establish and manage a small scale Business establishment.
- You will get to study about Fabrics, Ornamentation, garment construction to name a few.
- Along with all these you will also get to learn about the implementation of design and marketing the brands.
Weekend Diploma in Fashion Designing – 1 Year
- Weekend Diploma in Fashion Designing is made for those students who can’t pursue a Fashion Course full time.
- Though the syllabus is almost similar to Diploma in Fashion Designing & Boutique Management; The focus would be more towards absolute basics.
- You will get to learn about Ornamentation, Fashion Accessories, Illustration, Pattern Making & Ornamentation as well as Fabrics.
- During the duration of the course, you will also be taught Boutique Management.
PG Diploma in Fashion Designing – 1 Year
- PG Diploma in Fashion Designing focuses on enhancing the professional skill sets.
- The course focuses on both creation & marketing aspects of Fashion Designing.
- During your first semester you will learn about the creation and construction of garments and designer accessories.
- The second-semester centers on the managerial and business applications of the business along with using technology for the purposes of design.
BSc in Fashion Designing – 3 Years
- BSc in Fashion & Apparel Design deals with basics and intermediate topics of Fashion Designing.
- Program is a design program prepares students to think creatively, critically, and diver-gently about the design process.
- You will learn about concepts ranging from Fabrics to Marketing & Management.
- A B.Sc. Degree in fashion would arm a student with the knowledge to join entry level managerial positions such as Fashion Coordinator, Designers, Fashion Stylist, Fashion Analysts, Production Executives, Merchandisers, Pattern makers, Fashion Journalists, Photographers & Freelancers.
Masters in Fashion Management
- The Merchandising & Marketing Program prepares students for a wide range of careers in the global fields of fashion merchandising marketing and brand management.
- Masters in Fashion Management is focused towards the Marketing & Merchandising aspects of the Fashion Industry.
- The Course prepares students for a wide range of careers in the field of Fashion Merchandise Marketing & Brand Management on a Global Level.
- Executive from various companies like Aditya Birla, Arvind mills, various Retail outlets visit regularly in classes that prepare grads for retail careers.
Certification Course in Pattern Making and Draping – 3 Months
- This is a short-term certification course where you will acquire a basic knowledge of Fashion Designing
- The emphasis in the course will be on Pattern Making & Draping aspects of Fashion Designing – As the name suggests
Advance Fashion Designing & Illustration – 3 Months
- Certification Course in Advance Fashion Designing & Illustration is similar to that of Pattern Making & Draping Courses; Except emphasis in this course will be Illustration & Advanced Topics in Fashion Designing.
- You will be learning about Fashion Accessories, Ornamentation and of course Fashion Illustration during the duration of the course.
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You Might Also Be Interested in Reading About Perks/Advantages of Being A Fashion Designer
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Since You have made it so far, so I am going to give a bonus for being patient and reading through the whole post.
Here are some tips for you to make your career a little bit smoother:
- Whatever work you do – Be it in college or at job; Always maintain a portfolio of all your work. This will help you showcase your creative ability as well as work.
- Try to get an internship at a big Fashion House before you graduate from college. You will get the hang of work environment and also your Resume will be stronger than others.
- Before you get into a field; Always do a thorough research about the Market and the scope.
- Make Creative thinking a habit.
- Be patient but Work Hard & Smart – This is the most important; Things come to those who are patient enough to wait for it and hardworking enough to obtain it.
- Don’t take rejection seriously. If you get rejected, it’s an opportunity for you to grow as a person and work on your skills. Take Rejections as opportunities and don’t be disheartened or give up.
- And the Final One – DREAM BIG, But GO ONE STEP AT A TIME TOWARDS That Dream.
So, now that you know the scope of Fashion Designing, Various courses you can pursue to become a Fashion Designer; What will be your next move? You can always comment or reach out on our social medias if you need help. If you feel I have left out anything in this post; Do let me know and I’ll update it.