Introduction: The Fashion Designer profession, has recently
emerged as one of the most sort out careers among
the youths . These youths have their own creative
style of dressing and believe in setting a trend
rather than following a trend set by others. A
career in Fashion Design not only involves meeting
glamorous people and interracting with rich and
famous but also gives a impetus to the creative
flair of the people who possess a sense of style.
The major functional areas in the industry are
designing garments, cutting the cloth, sewing the
pieces together and finally merchandising.
Popularising and marketing of the various styles and
products is done through ramp shows and fashion
write-ups.
Fashion is a term commonly used in relation to
clothes, dresses, garments, textiles, etc. There is
an increase in quality textiles and materials for
the fashion designers to work with. Fashion is
identified today with status, acceptance and it
almost implies social involvement. India enjoys a
prominent place in the international market with its
rich silks, traditional handloom fabrics, rustic
textures and vibrant dyes. The creation of a
worldmarket for Indian garments is largely the
contribution of Indian fashion designers. The trend
for growth are set for upcoming fashion
entrepreneurs.
FASHION & APPAREL DESIGNING:
FASHION INDUSTRY IN INDIA: Fashion
is what we wear, through a constant process of selection, adoption and change. It is triggered by people, events and
social, economic and technological change. No wonder, fashion
and apparel designing have become one of the fastest growing
professions in India in recent years. The world of cloths and
accessories has expanded into a giant industry, both for
domestic requirements and for export. Today, the Fashion
industry in India is a high growth sector with a multi-core
turn over.
JOB OPPORTUNITIES : There is an
ever-growing demand for more designers who can come up with
the innovative designs that are commercially viable in the
export market. With fashion becoming a big business and India
emerging as one of the major players in the global garment
market, the need for qualified professionals in this
field has increased tremendously.
More over, you can find a job in accessory designing-
designing anything from hair clips and sunglasses to footwear
and luggage. There are a lot of opportunities for you in
designing leather accessories.
HOW TO BECOME A PROFESSIONAL IN FASHION DESIGNING?
The industry
demands the vision to see beyond what is already there and the
ability to see market trends. What you need is a flair for
designing a willingness to learn, Imagination, manual
dexterity, organizational skills, a sensibility for colours,
textures and style and a business acumen.
Like any other creative
field, Fashion design does not depend so much on
qualifications as on talent and creativity. Styles and tastes
keep changing all the time and a good designer needs to be on
his toes to give the consumer the best and the latest. In the
realm of designing, fashion is a business and it must not be
misunderstood for an art form. Its dynamics are guided by
commerce.
Unlike popular belief,
fashion design does involve a certain amount of technical
knowledge, of types of material, their adaptability to
weather, wear and tear etc. Production facilities and costs
also need to be taken into account. In the field of apparels,
careers can be made in design, production, merchandising and
marketing.
As a designer, your job is
to forecast fashion and translate the requirements of the
market into saleable designs. It calls for a rare combination
of talent and business acumen. If you want to be successful in
this field, you need to have confidence and optimism, keen
powers of observation, an eye for detail and a high level of
creativity. You should be able to withstand the stress of
failure and long and irregular hours. There must be a
flexibility to adapt a disorganized environment with day-today
challenges and many ego problems. A flair for computers also
helps since most design work in future will be done on
computers.
Above all, you should have
some training in the field. Some of the institutions offering
courses in Fashion Technology are here for you:
Nature of Work: Fashion Designer create designs for almost
anything which is part of the garment of men, women,
and children. Designers understanding the needs of
their clients create attractive and functional
garments and accessories according to the latest
trends, market conditions, weather and also keeping
a close watch on the fit, style, colour, texture,
size and material. The process of making a dress
starts with the sketchingthe original idea on paper.
Then shaping the pattern pieces which make the
garment. The pieces are then drawn in actual size on
paper and cut out on a rough material. These pieces
are stitched together and fitted on a model. From
the rough model sample garments are made in the
final fabric. Much time of the designer is spent in
exploration and research. Knowledge about fabric,
weave, draping qualities, material, colour and
design and the changing trend is important.
Personality: A Fashion designer should be artistic and
creative. They should be able to express their ideas
in sketches. They may not be a brilliant artists but
must be able to combine colours, shades, and tones.
Designers have the flair for creating with fabric
and know how to use textiles effectively. Designers
need to have visual imagination and the ability to
think in three-dimension to translate into garments
what they visualise.
A fashion designers must be fashion conscious and
must be aware of market requirements. In order to
have an International perspective, they must read
more and more of international fashion journals,
books, on history and art. They must also visit
various art gallery and exhibition and interact with
traditional artists whenever they get a chance. As a
designer one should have knowledge and experience of
basic tailoring skills i.e. cutting, sewing,
draping,etc. Besides this they should be able to
distinguish among various fabric quality and
particular about choosing a good cloth to work on .
An understanding of the market and customer
lifestyle is required, so that design are suitable
for people they are made for. Designers must be good
communicator and very clear with their ideas which
is reflected in the presentation of fashion shows.
Top designers must be highly original and inventive.
Specialization in Work
The main area of work in the fashion industry are :
- Design Department : Manufacturing units work
on a large scale. They employ designers, cutting
assistants, sketching assistants, junior
designers. Cutting assistants have to cut samples
as per specifications of the designer. This is
followed by draping and garment construction.
Sketching assistants make the technical sketches
of the garment which are passed on to cutting
assistants. From the making of specification
drawings decide how a garment has to be fabricated
to the selection of fabrics is often the duty of
the sketching assistant. Junior designers
generally do the first pattern cutting. They
assemble the first samples with fabrics they have
selected from the market.
- Marketing and Merchandising : Fashion trends
are constantly changing, the people in the
merchandising and marketing have a good knowledge
of fashion trends, of sales data and the
organisations marketing objectives. Based on this
information the marketing department plans the
company's overall direction. It determines the
price, product requirement, and hence they often
work with the styling department when a new
product id concieved.
- Manufacturing department : The production
manager is at the head of the manufacturing unit.
He is responsible for scheduling work goals,
training of workers, managing all activities in
order to maintain quality in production. The
Production manager oversees the work of pattern
cutting - from pattern grading, spreading and
marking to cutting, assembling and finishing. With
the production manager are the production
assistants who supervise the work at each stage.
- Fashion coordinators : They coordinate with
the buyer and the production manager. The fashion
coordinator makes sure production schedules are
kept, meets buyers goes through specification for
fabrics, colours, designs, and keeps an eye on the
quality.When buyers give their own designs, the
coordinator helps decide the fabric coloursand
accessories that should be used to suit the
designs. They explain the design to the production
pattern makers and get sample pieces made. The
sample is draped on a dummy to see if some changes
in details or style are required. Once the sample
is finalised, its pieces are measured precisely.
It is the coordinator who suggests how the cloth
should be cut so as to minimise wastage. The
garment is then finally presented for sale.
Career Prospects
There are opportunities for work with the various
sectors dealing with fashion. The opportunities for
job exist in the following sectors :
- Export houses dealing with
garment/textile/handloom exports. Retail and wholesale garment businesses in
men's/women's/children clothing in sportswear
/casual wear, etc. Haute Courture Government/Semi government-handloom/textile
manufacturers Fashion show organisers/Fashion publishers
- TV/Film fashion programme producers/comperes/costume
designers, etc.
Fashion designing offers unlimited opportunities for those who
are good at it. The status and income of the person goes up as
he establishes a reputation of his own. Exposure to the
fashion industry abroad may help in widening horizons since
Indians still tend to copy western styles. With beauty
pageants, fashion shows, foreign labels and a public that is
increasingly becoming fashion conscious, you as a fashion
designer have enough chances to exhibit your talent. If you
are enterprising, you can set up your own manufacturing or
export units, which will bring big financial benefits or you
can find a lucrative job in the textile industry. A fashion
designer is no longer an anonymous entity- designer labels
give him an identity. As long as people feel the urge to dress
well, there will always be a need for more designers to
provide a variety of clothing that is both appealing,
fascinating and up-to-date.
Export houses, domestic markets and manufacturing units throw
up ample opportunities for you to work as a fashion designer
in textile designing. It involves working with different
fabrics and material. Textiles account for a major chunk of
exports. The textile industry calls for technically skilled
executives who are specialists in designing interpretation,
pattern creation, garment construction, grading, product
development, marketing and computer aided design. So you could
make a beginning with any of the export house or manufacturer.
