Types of fashion design courses

The urge to express oneself has been embedded in humans apriori. They dance, sing, and paint to communicate thoughts, feelings, and emotions with other people. Even as humans build functional structures to ensure survival, they infuse creativity and self expression which gives birth to the disciplines like architecture and interior designing. Fashion has also been a medium of creative self expression since time immemorial. The way one wraps a fabric around their body has been a significant aspect of culture as well. Culture is a necessity for human survival and fashion is its inalienable part. Consequently, in a civilized society, fashion is studied as a discipline and evolves constantly. Many reputed colleges and universities have fashion courses available; from design to marketing to merchandising, there are no limits for opportunities in the fashion industry. 

Types of courses offered

With the inclusion of varied fashion designing systems and sequences, the courses offered by reputed universities are projected to meet the demand of people concerning the corresponding diversity. This plethora of courses empowers aspirants to excel along a particular system with specialization and gain expertise to generate a creative framework. The different types of fashion designing courses provide a guiding light to the students following which they can hone their skills. With the increased development and demand for different types of fashion designers, marketing specialists, and administrative officials in the fashion industry, distinct systems are followed to creatively express ideas and artistry. 

Textile design: This geometry is essentially focused on the structure and appearance of fabric and follows the productive process by which any thread or yarn fibers are interwoven to develop a functional textile. Textile design involves the interface of material to result in certain elementary characteristics like knots, embellishments, patterns, weaves, etc. It is the nature of the fabric that decides what apparels can be designed by it. Specialization in textile design through courses like bachelors, masters, diploma, etc deals with multidimensional characters like clothing patterns, incorporation of textiles, and designing a variety of products from home furnishing to office furnishing.

Jewelry design:  Following diverse aspects like market trends, composition, wearability, metal study, etc, jewelry design involves the creative manipulation of various precious metals like gold, silver, gems, etc. Jewelry design courses are directed at the various technical aspects of jewelry manufacturing designing, including gemology, jewelry rendering, ergonomics, anthropometry, etc. A jewelry design course can open doors to various positions like a gemologist, jewelry designer, brand manager, production manager, etc at various leading MNCs in India and internationally.   

Fashion merchandising: A fashion merchandising course is essentially composed around serving the exploration of strategic analytic insights, marketing, and management, to maximize the sales profit of a design. This generally involves the planning and promotion of sales by marketing the design products concerning the audience's demand. This particular domain of fashion design involves versatility correlating the inclusion of types like product merchandising, visual merchandising, retail merchandising, digital merchandising, etc. 

Pattern making: This domain of fashion designing also known as ‘technical designing’, involves the development of flat and creatively draped patterns. This domain differs from a textile design by the inclusion of craft and sketched items and the final product in this case is a garment or a drafted fabric that is designed according to human measurement. Numerous fashion schools offer courses in pattern making to produce designers who work along drafting patterns, cloning existing clothes, deconstructing fabrics, draping on the stand, etc.       

Design and technology: This type of fashion design is focused on the inclusion of a technical bend in the design through accessories, patterns, layouts, etc. The fashion design and technology courses, primarily enable the aspirant to skillfully generate a Computer-aided design and drafting projection of various fashion designs. Along with specific technical skills, this domain of fashion design also focuses on garment construction, pattern building, fashion illustration, graphic designing, etc. 

Levels in Fashion Design Courses

Fashion design has become one of the most saturated and creative fields among the youth in the contemporary world. Despite the saturation, it is ever-evolving because the need for innovative perspectives and extraordinary skills can never deplete in a field as creative as fashion. The field provides the aspirants to showcase their creativity and artistically express themselves in diverse ways. This scope of immense creative liberty has paved the way for the youth of today to pursue fashion design courses at various levels. Based on the creative course option and the type of specialization an individual aspires to, fashion schools offer courses at 4 levels to pursue a design course: 

Bachelors: This undergraduate course can offer a plethora of opportunities for students aspiring to build a career in fashion design. Aspirants after completing their senior secondary schooling from any stream can pursue a bachelor's course in fashion designing which will open doors to their basic understanding of the field. Any person possessing a creative personality and artistic understanding can apply for this course as a bachelor's will provide them a head start for a professional career. Students can choose from options like Bachelor of Design (BDes), Bachelor of Fashion Technology (BFTech), Bachelor of Arts (BA), or Bachelor of Science (BSc), based on the specialization they deem to pursue. 

Masters: Graduates from any field can apply for a postgraduate course in fashion design to artistically excel in the field. A master's program offers a more niche and research focussed curriculum than an undergraduate course and can open doors for aspirants to work for renowned labels internationally and develop the management skills that can help them to start their fashion labels. A masters from reputed institutions enables the aspirants to network in various domains as Fashion Bloggers, Costume Designers, Fashion Show Organizers, Fashion Coordinators, Fashion Journalists, and lecturers. Graduates can choose from options like Masters in Design (MDes). Master of Arts (MA), MBA in Fashion design management, Master of Science (MSc), etc based on specific long-term aspirations.  

Diploma: 12th-pass students can pursue an undergraduate diploma from any certified institution while a graduate can pursue a post-graduate diploma. A diploma in fashion design provides all the necessary knowledge and training involving domains like the latest designing techniques, various ways of execution, selection of fabrics/materials, and necessary industry exposure, gained through a professional degree. A diploma, however, is of a shorter duration compared to a degree. Students willing to gain basic or extended training in the field of fashion designing can apply for a UG or a PG diploma which is offered in almost all repeated institutions. A diploma can enable aspirants to creatively form their careers along the lines of  Fashion Illustrator, Apparel Industry Management,  Merchandise Marketing, Textile Design, Fashion Communications, Textile Design, etc. 

Certificate: This post-secondary course is designed for students seeking a special program for understanding basic aspects of fashion including color, fabric, sewing, technique and design, cornerstones of creating garments, and offering them to clientele. Any 12th-pass student can apply for a certificate course with the duration of their interest. A certification course is programmed for at least a year and a maximum of 5 years. Apart from pursuing their careers as fashion designers, students can work along the lines of becoming a buyer, publicists, merchandisers, marketers, and stylists after completing a certificate course. 

Career Paths in Fashion Design 

International and national fashion schools in India have begun to offer a diverse range of courses to meet the ever-increasing demand of the audience to establish design as a vast subject. These courses are specifically designed to formulate the curriculum in a way that professionals are produced to work along the principles of a particular domain. These courses are designed to meet the characteristics of the developing forms and types of fashion designs which include; 

Haute couture: This type of fashion design revolves around the concept of customization. Haute couture is a high-end design, customized objectively for a particular measurement and body stance in sync with the customer’s demand. Originating from French culture, haute couture witnesses the inclusion of specifically attached handmade embellishments, notions, and trimmings, with the boosting image and demand, haute couture is essentially a representation of luxury targeting the wealthy minority of the society.   

Mass market: As the name suggests, ‘mass market’ fashion is designed in bulk according to the demand of the masses in society. These are built under a more standardized and general measurement to meet the demand of a larger section of society. This domain, therefore, has greater versatility and scope of creative expression leading to a wider scope as a career. This domain of fashion marketing works beyond the lines of social elements and tries to attract the whole market as a unit. 

Ready-to-wear: Contrary to haute couture, ready-to-wear designs are constructed in a relatively large quantity for a large section of people. This is relatively less high-end and more affordable which makes it a more demanding fashion item. The ‘ready-to-wear’ fashion is generally a replication of haute couture, making it more accessible to a relatively larger audience.  

Fast fashion: This aspect of fashion focuses on replicating recent catwalk trends and high-end items, making them accessible to retail stores at a relatively lower cost.  Since this domain of fashion is constructed around a reference item, it involves a relatively less creative liberty yet larger scope in the career. It involves the design, production, and consumption of cheaply made clothing that reaches a larger audience.  

The captivating scope of the fashion industry arises from the diverse range of work options available. After pursuing any fashion design course at any level, students have opportunities to work at any international label to explore the field in a global position. One can pursue fashion design to eventually work as any one of the numerous options available;  Graphic Designer, Fashion PR Specialist, Creative Director, Product Developer, UX Designer, Textile Designer, Retailer buyer, Retail manager, or Fashion stylist. With the inclusion of fashion technology in the field, there has been substantial captivation in the scope of the industry concerning the youth of today. The fashion industry has several weak areas that require innovative thinkers who can change the course of events with their divergent thinking. Lately, fast fashion has been criticized for its highly commercial nature that prioritizes voluminous sales and profits over quality clothes or sustainability of resources. Perhaps innovative minds of the future can mold this trend such that it becomes a fruitful mode of self expression and becomes environmentally sustainable, while fulfilling the fundamental clothing requirement of an individual.