Fashioning success

Updated on: Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Courses that come with a name tag of fashion have generally fascinated students and irked parents. The makers of trendy outfits that hit the market and create waves among fashion-conscious lot are glad that fashion courses are doing well even at a time when other professional courses are struggling to cope with the economic downturn.

Courses such as fashion technology, fashion, textile or accessory designing and fashion management are increasingly finding takers with growing awareness level and exposure to fashion world through media. “The demand, as such, has always been high. But of late, the courses have become very competitive. It is now as much a preferred course as engineering or medicine,” says A. Devadoss, director of National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT).

But the course was less fancied a decade ago, agrees the director of Madras Institute of Fashion Technology, A.K. Senguttuvan. The prospects for the fashion-related courses were seen as “dim” and the students found it difficult to get jobs. But things have improved since then and the job market has opened considerably. In fact, the demand is higher than the supply. While the glamour quotient attached to the fashion courses is a major attraction for students, often the hard work behind it is not taken too seriously.

“Students struggle initially to cope with the syllabi as they would not have thought that fashion courses can be as rigorous as any other professional degree. We tell students not to get carried away by the glamour as it is the on-camera element. Behind it, there is a lot of hard work involved and only creative minds can get the best out of these courses,” says S. Ramalingam, director, Pearl Academy of Fashion, Chennai.

The courses that prepare students to take up job as designers, stylists, freelance consultants, illustrators and entrepreneurs could focus more on the Indian market, Mr. Devadoss feels.

“We design for Western audience. But a good designer must be able to design for global customers. NIFT focusses on training students to design ethnic wear, as these decide the career of the students when they take up a job in India.”

But the trend of designing for the Western audience cannot be changed, according to Anitha Mabel Manohar, professor of fashion designing. “The world designs for the European market. That is the first lesson we teach the students. Of late, designers are introducing versatility to suit the interest of different clients. But targeting just Indian customers may not help students.”

A lot of industry-institute interaction should be made possible to raise the fashion education to global standards, Mr. Senguttuvan suggests.
Expanding scope

A student of NIFT, Hyderabad, Barsha Baruah finds the scope for the fashion courses expanding.

Students of accessory designing, which she is graduating this year, have landed in attractive jobs. While economic slowdown has not cut down the jobs, it certainly reflects on the pay packages.

Salary scale, which could vary from Rs.15,000 to 50,000, has shrunk considerably. But for the students of fashion, entrepreneurial options are aplenty.

Courses like boutique and fashion management could be picked up by those who prefer to start their own business or join their family-run trade.

For more information visit : www.hindu.com

Fashioning success

More Education news