Fashion Designers are the ones who create clothing and accessories. Creation and vision are the two things that make them hold a special place in their industry. Their vision is to create an apparel from any sort of fabric keeping in mind latest fashion trends, by using accessories that are easily available as well as bring out the the best in them. There are a list of Fashion Designers depending on their area of expertise. Some of the basic segregations amongst Fashion Designers include sports wear designers, apparel designers, kids wear designers, jewellery designers etc. Some of the top Fashion Designer names include Donatella Versace, Giorgio Arnami, Ralph Lauren etc.
In order to become a Fashion Designer studying fashion trends, sketching designs, selecting suitable materials are some of the most crucial traits that needs to be inculcated amongst all aspiring students. Once the designers are able to produce different pieces they may start their own brand or label and design clothes for the clients. Fashion designing is one of the competitive industries where the students can only move forward with their passion and immense interest.
Candidates interested in fashion designing can study relevant Undergraduate and Postgraduate degree in Fashion Design Courses like BA in Fashion Designing, BSc in Fashion Designing and others from the Top Fashion Designing Colleges across the country. After earning the degree, candidates can either start their own labels or work for the fashion industry. Candidates after completing relevant degrees in fashion designing can earn an average of INR 45,000 – 55,000 per month during their initial years but can go upto as much as INR 2,55,000 per ensemble after gaining substantial years of experience. Read More: Salary of a Fashion Designer
Table of Content
Who are Fashion Designers
Fashion Designers are trained professionals who design clothes and accessories keeping in mind the latest trends. The primary job of fashion designers is to create accessories, footwear and clothing. Depending on trends, the designers create sketches and designs for the customers. The creation takes almost two weeks to six months based on the type of clothing. Fashion Designers need to work for long hours but once they get immersed in the work, they even forget the time sometimes. Passion, creation and vision drives them to be wonderful fashion designers.
In order to become a Fashion Designer aspiring candidates must clear class 10 board eams with a minimum of 50% aggregate marks. One can either learn by self by watching videos and start designing or join a school and practice. After Class 12, students can study Fashion Designing and start their career either on their own or in any of the companies.
Fashion Designer Qualifications
Students who want to become a fashion designer in the fashion industry can pursue Fashion Designing courses. From certifications to PG level, there are various courses available in Fashion Designing. Pursuing any of these courses helps the students involved in Fashion careers.
- With certifications, candidates can apply for starting level jobs in the fashion industry.
- With a Diploma degree, candidates can apply for companies involved with Fashion Designing.
- With a Bachelor's degree, candidates can apply for various jobs in top most companies or either start their own career.
- With a Master's degree, candidates can apply for various superior positions in the Fashion industry.
The different types of Fashion Designing courses and the eligibility criteria are as follows:
Certificate Courses
Tabulated below are the certificate courses that can be pursued by students aspiring to become Fashion Designers,
| Name of the course | Name of the college | Average Fees |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate in Fashion Designing | Madras Institute of Fashion Technology | INR 50,000 |
| Certificate in Fashion Designing | Manipal Academy of Higher Education | INR 1,00,000 |
| Certificate in Fashion Designing | International Institute of Fashion Design | INR 82,500 |
Diploma Courses
Tabulated below are the Diploma Courses that can be pursued by students aspiring to become Fashion Designers,
| Name of the Course | Name of the college | Average Fees |
|---|---|---|
| Diploma in Fashion Designing | Vogue Institute of Art and Design | INR 95,580 |
| NIFT Mumbai | INR 3,00,000 | |
| PG Diploma in Fashion Designing | NIFT Chennai | INR 2,25,000 |
| DOT School of Design | INR 90,000 to INR 1,80,000 |
Undergraduate Courses
Tabulated below are the Undergraduate Courses that can be pursued by students aspiring to become Fashion Designers,
| Name of the course | Name of the college | Average Fees |
|---|---|---|
| BSc Fashion Designing | NIFT Mumbai | INR 3,00,000 |
| BDes in Fashion Designing | Amity University , Jaipur | INR 5,00,000 – 10,00,000 |
| BVoc in Fashion Designing | Periyar University | INR 30,000 |
| BA Fashion Design | Thiruvalluvar University | INR 17,000 |
| BTech in Fashion Designing | Vellore Institute of Technology | INR 7,00,000 |
Postgraduate Courses
Tabulated below are the Postgraduate Courses that can be pursued by students aspiring to become Fashion Designers,
| Name of the course | Name of the college | Average Fees |
|---|---|---|
| MSc in Fashion Designing | Lovely Professional University | INR 3.10,000 |
| MDes in Fashion Designing | NIFT Mumbai | INR 5,50,000 |
| MA in Fashion Designing | ASBM University | INR 7,00,000 |
| MFTech | NIFT Delhi | INR 5,50,000 |
Types of Fashion Designers
Fashion Designers combine new styles with new designs and produce great designer pieces creating the finest accessories. The main types of fashion are apparels, shoes and accessories. Various subcategories are there in fashion, so the candidates can choose their interested field and start their career.
There are different types of fashion designers as follows:
Haute Couture Designers
- These are the fashion designers who design clothes and accessories according to the requirements of clients.
- These are known as the customized designs constructed according to the personality, measurements, style and preferences required by the clients.
- Everything is made by hand starting from the start to finish. It includes sewing, embroidering, seam stressing and other works.
- Since these are customized there is no certain price tag for the Haute Couture garments.
- These designers earn an average salary of INR 5,55,000 per year.
Mass Market Designers
- These are the fashion designers who design clothes in large quantities bringing the pieces available to the open market.
- The designs are available in various sizes and standard designs true to the name of mass Market clothing.
- The garments used to create designs are inexpensive and are available at affordable prices.
- Fashion industry majorly relies on this mass market clothing.
- These designers earn an average salary of INR 5,00,000 per year.
Sportswear Designers
- These designers design clothing for sports purposes including exercising.
- Since most of the people are now concentrating on leading a healthy life, nowadays the fashion of sportswear is in trend.
- So, sportswear designers are in high demand to create designs that are comfortable, convenient, efficient and long lasting.
- The designers take more time and money to design the sports wear. But the quality is good with an affordable price.
- These designers earn an average salary of INR 8,50,000 per year.
Apparel Designers
- These designers design clothes according to the trends evolving. They keep themselves updated with the latest trends.
- Their work includes designing new sketches, selecting right patterns and garments, fabrics and managing the production in allocated time.
- Apparel designers can be considered. self employed. They are creative and work with dedication.
- They are also named as Clothing designers since their work is similar and includes developing a concept, designing and creating pieces.
- These designers earn an average salary of INR 7,00,000 per year.
Fashion Accessory Designers
- These designers conceptualize and create products including accessories such as jewellery, handbags, belts, hair accessories, footwear and ornaments.
- The important thing accessory designers must be good at is understanding patterns and designs and creating pieces according to the requirements of clients.
- They must keep themselves updated and be able to predict the styles that may be in demand according to the trends.
- These designers earn an average salary of INR 2,00,000 to INR 5,00,000 per year.
Kids Wear Designers
- These designers design clothes for kids like toddlers, infants and other children up to the age of 6-7 years.
- Their work includes designing new sketches, selecting right patterns and garments, fabrics and managing the production in allocated time.
- These designers must be very careful while designing clothes.
- As the kids wear these designs, they must be comfortable, convenient, light and soft.
- These designers earn an average salary of INR 6,00,000 per year.
Swimwear Designers
- These designers design swimwear for women, men and people of all ages. Be it a bikini or tankini or one piece swimsuit or Bandeau or Board shorts, the designers design all types of swimwear.
- They are responsible to create comfortable, convenient and impeccable designs so the designers must be detail oriented.
- These designers earn an average salary of INR 4,00,000 per year.
Footwear Designers
- These designers design footwear for everyone.
- Creativity and innovation are two best assets that the designers must contain to create the best footwear designs.
- They may work for various fashion houses, brands, high street stores, catalog companies and other footwear shops.
- Communicating with the customers and designing new sketches with different footwear materials are the duties of footwear Designers.
- These designers earn an average salary of INR 4,20,000.
Eco-fashion Designers
- These designers create designs with eco friendly and sustainable garments and fabrics.
- The best benefit from this fashion is it reduces toxic wastes and carbon footprints.
- This eco fashion accounts for socioeconomic and environmental benefit.
- Also, the concentration of microfibers is reduced with increase in the planet's resources.
- This profession is best suitable for the candidates who feel responsible towards the environment.
- These designers earn an average salary of INR 1,50,000 to INR 2,00,000 per year.
Skills Required to Become a Fashion Designer
A fashion designer must always be open to explore new trends and passionate towards the work. They also must have a good vision of the clothes, fabrics and accessories to bring about great creations. While being creative with a good presence of mind is the most important thing to work in the fashion industry, candidates must also have some skills as follows:
| Creativity | Good business sense |
| Communication skills | Competitive spirit |
| Presence of mind | Artistic ability |
| Sense of style | Exploring new trends |
| Team player | Decision making skills |
| Detail Oriented | Drawing abilities |
Salary of a Fashion Designer
Depending on the company and the type of job profile salaries are paid for the candidates. Also experience is one of the key majors while considering designers. Comparatively, Government organizations and firms pay more than the Private organizations. On an average salaries offered to the employees working in Fashion industry for Fashion designers are as follows:
| Job Profile | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| Haute Couture Designers | INR 5,50,000 |
| Mass Market Designers | INR 5,00,000 |
| Sportswear Designers | INR 8,50,000 |
| Apparel Designers | INR 7,00,000 |
| Fashion Accessory Designers | INR 2,00,000 – 5,00,000 |
| Kids wear Designers | INR 6,00,000 |
| Swimwear Designers | INR 4,00,000 |
| Footwear Designers | INR 4,20,000 |
| Eco-fashion Designers | INR 4,00,000 |
Types of Fashion Designers: FAQs
Ques. What do you need to become a Fashion Designer?
Ans. Creativity, passion and vision are three important assets that drive you forward in the fashion industry. The candidates must have interest and love for designing. Fashion industry has become one of the most competitive industries nowadays. So, in order to become a fashion designer hard work and developing several skills is quite important.
Pursue a degree, work hard and work with various designs to bring out the best out of your work. Fashion is not only about the qualification like any other job. It’s just a part. Your skills about fashion designing and knowledge in visual arts, graphic design and general design helps you to be the best. With good creative, passion and designing skills any of the interested people can become a fashion designer even without any qualification.
Ques. What are the working conditions of a Fashion Designer?
Ans. The work of fashion designers cannot be predicted. According to the requirements of clients and deadlines the designers have to work and submit their designs. If they act according to their plan and schedule, the designers can work for normal hours. But if the work is longer they need to work for long hours. The working conditions may be as follows:
- Work pressure to meet deadlines.
- Hectic work incase of mistakes in any of the designs.
- Mostly working indoors.
- Might have to move to awkward positions to reach the garments and workplaces.
- Have to deal with the customers politely.
- Be creative and detail oriented regarding the work.
Ques. How many hours per week does a fashion designer work for?
Ans. Usually, the working hours depend on the brand’s or companies or the shops the designers work for. Majority of the shops tend to keep the time of 9AM to 5PM as their working hours. And the designers need to work accordingly. Approximately, the designers are expected to work for 40 hours per week.
But this isn’t a profession where working hours are fixed. Based on the deadlines and requirements, the designers have to work for longer hours sometimes. When the work is planned and scheduled correctly there is no need for the designers to work for longer hours.
Ques. How can I start fashion Designing?
Ans. If you believe that you belong to the fashion industry, you don’t necessarily need to have a degree in fashion designing. Learn several skills like drawing sketches, selecting right garments, sewing, draping, trends of fashion and learn to have a vision about your designs.
Learn about the fashion industry. Get to know more about the basics related to fashion designing such as drawing, sewing, making patterns, selecting right garments and accessories. Various courses are available online that help you learn all these. Create your own designs and sketches. Try to select the garments and produce designs. Work for some time for any companies and gain hands on experience. This not only helps you gain skills but also makes your work better.
Ques. What qualities make a good fashion designer?
Ans. More than your qualifications or studies, having several other skills is quite important to make a good fashion designer. The entire work involves a creative process right from the start to finish. Some of the top qualities that a fashion designer must have are:
- Good Business sense
- Communication skills
- Creativity
- Artistic sense
- Sense of style
- Good drawing and sewing skills
- Knowledge about the fashion trends
- Computer aided design skills
- Decision making skills
- Being detail oriented
Ques. What are the challenges faced by a Fashion Designer?
Ans. Like any other job, fashion designing also has pros and cons along with benefits and challenges. Infact, this creative industry involves hard challenges. Some of the challenges every fashion designer faces are as follows:
- Dealing with the customers to produce satisfied work.
- Lack of creativity and innovative ideas.
- Poor marketing.
- Working for long hours at times.
- Handling the work pressure to meet deadlines.
The most difficult thing about being a fashion designer is to enhance your creativity skills. You need to organize all your thoughts and bring out the best sketches. It must be affordable, convenient, comfortable and attractive to the customers.
Ques. Who are the famous fashion designers in India?
Ans. Fashion designers become successful and famous with certain experience, ups and downs and lessons. There are millions of fashion designers across India. But only few are famous. Being creative, detail oriented, passionate and working hard makes everyone successful. The five famous fashion designers of India are:
- Manish Malhotra
- Sabyasachi Mukherjee
- Rohit Bal
- Ritu Kumar
- Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla
Ques. How long will it take to become a fashion designer?
Ans. Majority of the candidates pursue a Bachelor’s degree to work in the fashion industry. After their degree it almost takes four years for them to become a proper fashion designer. Some of them might also pursue online or some other Diploma degrees. Even in such cases, the candidates may take four to five years to become a proper designer.
You can start a career in the fashion industry with several skills. But you cannot survive for a longer period with just mere skills. Qualification is quite important for a sustainable career and portfolio as well. Only then you can be able to build a stable career for yourself within four to five years.
Ques. How can fashion designers be sustainable?
Ans. Being a sustainable fashion designer involves reasonable wages and price, properly planned working conditions, garments and other materials of good quality at cheap price. This shows respect for socio economic and environmental conditions. Some of the ways to be a sustainable fashion designer are:
- Slow down your work. Be wise in producing great designs that are more sustainable. Quality is more important than the quantity.
- Be wise in choosing the right materials at the right price.
- Reduce the waste while creating new patterns and designs from the garments.
- Try to use recycled clothes and materials. Create the trend of upcycled fashion.
- Fix fair wages and costs for the designs.
- Ensure safe working conditions.
- Use biodegradable materials for sustainable packaging.
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