Introduction::
It relates to the applied art which is dedicated to clothing and lifestyle accessories which are created within the cultural and social influences of a specific time. Fashion design is done in accordance with two seasons namely autumn/winter or spring/summer. Fashion designers can work in a number of ways either full time for a fashion company and are known as in-house fashion designers which owns the designs or work alone or part of a team and they are called freelance designers and they work for themselves and usually sell their designs to fashion houses, or directly to the shops, or to clothing manufacturers. Also, some fashion designers setup their own labels, under which they market their designs. The self employed fashion designers design for individual clients whereas the high order fashion designers cater to the specialty stores or high fashion department stores. However, most fashion designers work for apparel manufacturers creating men’s, women’s, children’s fashion designs for mass market.
DESIGNING A GARMENT
Usually, fashion designers works in different ways i.e., some sketch their ideas on paper whereas others drape fabric on a dress form. When a designer is completely satisfied with the fit of the garment, he/she will then consult a professional pattern maker, who makes the finished working version of pattern which is very painstaking job and the pattern maker have to be very precise as the fit of finished garment depends on their accuracy. Finally, a sample garment is made-up and tested on model.
TYPES OF FASHION
There are 3 types of fashion and they are:
• Haute couture
It’s a French term which denotes high end fashion with the garment created exclusively for a specific client. Garment is made from high quality, expensive fabric and is sewn with extreme attention provided to each and every details and finish and time consuming.
• Ready to wear
These types of clothes are a mix between haute couture and mass market types. These fabrics are rather expensive as they are made in small quantities to guarantee exclusivity and great care is taken in making and they are not for individual customers and they are presented during fashion week.
• Mass Market
Nowadays, fashion industry relies heavily on mass market sales and mass market sales usually cater to wide range of customers, and ready to wear clothes are made in large quantities. Cheap materials are used to produce affordable fashion.
SCOPE
The fashion designers are of high demand and fashion designers are highly paid and the average annual income of fashion designing in USA is about $ 39,440 to 93000 $
Nature of Work:
Fashion Designing
Introduction
Eligibility
The primary areas of work in the fashion industry are:
Designing
This is the most important area of work in the fashion industry. This involves designing garments for different age groups and according to specific requirements (for instance, costumes for television, film etc).
Designers are involved in:
Research
Designing according to needs of the clientele, (functionality, budget and choice of textile are the key considerations here) Patterning, Presentation to clients,
The designer begins the designing process only after thorough market research, i.e., understanding the needs of the client/market in terms of functionality, budget etc. Single designer or a team could undertake the designing process.
On completion of the designing, a presentation is made to the client and the production department. Changes if any,are incorporated at this stage. The final design is created and passed on to the production department. This master design becomes the basis for production in the manufacturing department/unit.
Market Research
The global fashion market is extremely dynamic; hence, the need to constantly keep a tab on changing trends. Market research is crucial to manufacturing units, retail businesses and export houses. Pricing and product requirements are directly dependent on market research statistics.
Market research is conducted by researchers with at least 5-10 years experience in the fashion industry or by designers themselves.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is an important area of work in the fashion industry. It includes:
Purchase of textiles and fabrics
Training
scheduling
Pattern making
Finishing
Quality control
The production process begins with the receipt of design from the designer/s. The required textiles are then purchased and the production process begins. The master pattern is created according to the design prescribed. The master pattern is then reproduced in a variety of sizes. With the help of the trained personnel (such as tailors, assemblers, embroidery experts etc), the garment is created. So let\’s hope I will keep the promise.
Wherever machinery is used in the production process, machine operators are employed. Quality control is also an important focus area especially if garments ar e being produced for the export market. Packaging is also a part of the manufacturing process.
Eligibilty:
The aspirant ought to have 10+2 (Arts, Commerce, Science) /P.U.C./Polytechnic/equivalent with 45% marks in aggregate (40% is sufficient for SC/ST candidates). Admission to the course is open to foreign nationals also possessing equivalent educational qualification.