The fashion industry has seen tremendous growth in the last few years and a career in this field is rewarding. However, aspirants need to understand that working in this sector is not just about glamour and glitz. It involves a lot of hard work and one needs to put in many long hours, says Neetu Malhotra
The fashion industry — domestic and global — is growing at a tremendous pace and youngsters are opting for designing courses as it reaps rich rewards, both monetarily and creatively. The basic requirements of this field are dedication, creativity and hard work. Every year one sees fresh eager faces excited to start their journey into the world of fashion. They come starry eyed blinded by the glitz and glamour, not able to visualise the hard work and long hours behind the glamour on the fashion ramps. But soon the eagerness and excitement fades away by the time student’s move to the second year. It takes lot of technical knowledge and expertise to come up with one garment let alone a full collection.
Clarity in vision
lot of students struggle with technical subjects. The advise is not to give up on them. For example some people have inborn artistic skills and subjects like illustration come easy and some have to work on their illustration skills. However, the important thing to remember is that practice is the key and if you don’t have certain skills they can’t be developed. Every subject one will learn as part of the curriculum is important. To construct a simple garment one will start with the design, one will have to select the fabric, colour palette and elements that one will like to incorporate in the garment. Even if one doesn’t end up making it yourself one should have the skills to guide technical support people like pattern masters.
Hard work
Many people think that fashion is just a promise of a stunning lifestyle, but a career in fashion design means about two per cent design and 98 per cent is hard work and long hours. One has to design clothes and accessories which can be worn by people and make them look attractive. Clothes don’t sell themselves. One needs to put in a lot of energy and time to make sure the fabulous items are sold.
Key to success
A fashion designing student one will be designing clothes and accessories which can be worn by people and make them look sensational. During the initial semester students learn basics. Extensive industry interaction along with term project to groom their designing and creative skills are some key points of learning. Students are taken to designers’ showrooms to meet with fashion icons and learn from their experience. Students are encouraged to work as volunteers to gain valuable practical experience with some of the industry’s leading fashion companies.
Technical Know-How
The curriculum includes training in foreign languages so that one can deal with the buyers from Europe and US. Supervision of projects is conducted according to the industry needs for cost control and wastage minimisation. Students are basically trained to identify and fulfill industry demands and requirements to the best of our ability. At the same time they learn how to produce a fashion show under the guidance of the mentors. This also includes creating a concept for the event.
Work on feedback
Fashion designing aims to create successful designers and merchandisers. For this, colleges conduct sessions to ensure that the student develops independence in their action and thought. It strives hard to prepare them to face negative feedback and rejection, competitive spirit and handle extreme stress of meeting hard-pressed deadlines and catering to multiple variations as per client’s demands.
The purpose is to make budding designers aware of the hard work and efforts that one would need to put in order to be a successful fashion designer. It’s important to keep the focus and not to get discouraged or let down by the sleepless nights that one will be spending in the near future.
Believe it or not, at the end of the day, a career in fashion designing is worth all the hard work.
(The writer is programme coordinator, fashion design, Satyam Fashion Institute, Noida)