For a fulfilling career in Fashion designing

To be successful in this highly specialized field, not only should one be extremely creative but also be good at communicating the designs to the artisans and the manufacturers. And this is exactly what fashion design schools teach you when you train under them. So attending a good fashion school should be your first step if you want to make this your career.

In these schools you will learn all the elementary principles that you need to know to kick-start your foray into the world of fashion. You will get proper classroom training which will coach you in the fundamentals of design. By this we mean that you will learn how to draft designs on paper which will help in giving a live shape to your bright ideas. You will also learn how to select the right fabric, about textiles (and India is so rich in textiles that this will be a never-ending lesson), and other raw materials that you will require for the designing process. Another important learning curve would be the interpretation of changing fashion trends.

A few pointers to keep in mind when selecting a school:

• Find out about the fee structure and see if it fits into your budget. There are many expensive institutes out there with state of the art courses. If money is no constraint, or if you have wangled a scholarship, go for the best. It is after all a long term investment for your future.
• If you are planning to do a course abroad, go for the cities that are drenched in fashion like Milan, Paris, London or New York. A stint in any of these might cost the earth but in the end the opportunities that will open up for you are mind boggling.
• There are also a few online courses that offer training which might also serve the purpose if you are doing something else and still want a career in fashion.

Schools in India that offer courses in Fashion Designing

• NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology) with a presence in Delhi (011- 6965080), Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Gandhinagar and Chennai is the school most coveted by aspirants to a career in fashion.
• IIFT (Indian Institute of Fashion Technology), New Delhi (011-4620430)
• NID (National Institute of Design), Ahmedabad (079-26623692)
• Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai (022-23513157/ 4157)
• JD Institute of Fashion Technology, Mumbai (022-6154949 / 8988914)
• Apeejay Centre for Creative and Productive Arts, New Delhi (011-6981050)
• B.D.Somani Institute of Art & Fashion Technology, Mumbai (022-2218818 / 7102)
• Lamark Institute of Arts, Mumbai (022-3296745 / 54 / 55)

These are some of the more well-known institutes that offer full-time courses in Fashion designing. Other than these there are hundreds of smaller schools in various cities that have fashion design in their curriculum – but these you have to research well and also talk to people who have studied there before you decide on one. So good luck in your pursuit!