Rohit Bal, Ritu Beri, Manish Malhotra are the famous icons who had walked out of NIFT and carved a niche for themselves in the world of fashion. When the global scenario boasts of Gucci, Versace, Ralph Lauren etc, our Desi designers such as Manish Arora, Ritu Beri, Salim Asghar Ali, Anita Dongre, J.J. Vallaya’s etc. have worked their way to the top through outstanding creativity, penchant and toil. Most of them also have their own designer labels and exclusive boutiques. Many of them design for local, national and international retail brands like Roopam, Harrods etc. and did leave their mark in this world of glitz and glamour. What inspired them to enter this scintillating world of fashion? Is it really as rosy as it appears? Is the truth as bitter and harsh as shown by Madhur Bhandarkar in the film Fashion? Is this a part of the package deal that comes with fashion? What is it that attracts aspirants to take up this career path? Is creativity all that one needs to become successful in this field? TCG meets the Director and the students of NIFT to find out more about the ‘fashion passion’!
Director Dr. Pratap Kumar of NIFT speaks….
Q: How did you come to NIFT Hyderabad?
A: I was In the Indian Police, UP cadre. I worked in different capacities in the IPS as Superintendent of Police, Senior Supt of police in various districts of UP. After becoming the DIG, I decided to go on a deputation and landed here, Hyderabad being my hometown, this was my choice naturally and here I am! The basic idea was to do something different. I wanted to hone my administrative skills and get back to my original career in a more rigorous fashion. In short, it’s a job enrichment cum personality development. Of course an IPS officer deals with public/people at large and is in to administration and management. In addition to that, fashion fascinated me and policemen never ventured in to this field, hence I chose to give it a start!
Q: How is fashion picking up in Hyderabad?
A: Hyderabad is definitely picking up as a fashion hub, thanks to the IT, International airport and modernization! Andhraites are slowly coming out of their conservative mode and blazing new trails rather than sticking to the old professions/traditions. This transformation is seen in each and every field and fashion is no exception.
Q: What kind of career prospects are there in fashion designing?
A: Career prospects are very bright though the recession has taken a toll in this field too. Graduates from NIFT end up as professionals in fashion industry as designers, freelancers, start their own boutique etc. This is one industry that doesn’t involve much investment unless you plan to start something on a large scale. Apart from freelancing, being an employee or entrepreneur, one also sees emerging trends like fashion communication/ lifestyle journalism. If one has a flair for writing, he/she can get in to fashion communication, which is a four-year course. One can become a fashion journalist writing on fashion issues, fashion choreography, modeling etc.
Emerging Trends
Apart from this, merchandising is another very vast avenue. It is all about picking up the right stock at the right place for the right price. These are the key people. Especially in all the retail outlets, their need is more. Vision merchandising has also picked up in a big way.
All the advertisements and banners speak about this. Students are given practical training which is a part of their course. Our pedagogy is hands on activities. Seventy percent of the curriculum is taught outside the classroom like hands on activity and only thirty percent is inside the class.
Q: What is the most preferred branch in NIFT?
A: It is not all about glamour, ramp, style and showbiz but it is creativity unleashed! One has to have abundant originality to survive here.
Q: How to choose the right course?
A: One has to make the choice before appearing for the entrance exam itself. We have counseling sessions after the classes start, based on talent of the students in different areas like fabric, tailoring, design, accessories etc, the choice is made. The skill is taught and developed subsequently. For those who do not want do any of these, yet want to take up a career here, we have MBA in fashion designing. Skill here is not mandatory but flair for fashion is a must.
Q: Many students from our state still seem to have conventional choice of career like engineering or medicine, why are they moving to other fields like fashion technology, design, journalism or any off-beat career?
A: This is indeed an unfortunate trend, but the interest and figures seem to be changing now. Thanks to the media today which is roping in many youngsters. The number needs to grow further. I feel a person’s career path should be based on his or her abilities, skills and passion. It shouldn’t be dictated by the herd mentality, but unfortunately even I was a victim of this! I went in to medicine by default not consciously. After taking degree in medicine from the Osmania medical college, I worked in the Mahavir Hospitals for 6 months and moved to Civil services.
I strongly feel that students should be well informed about different careers. This can happen only when they are trained to look into themselves about what they are good at and what is it that they really want. For example, if someone has a passion for fabric, design, color etc, they will be doing very well in that field rather than medicine. In fact all the creative fields are like that. Only if you have ‘it’ in you, you survive, otherwise you wouldn’t. This is not the case with medicine or engineering. With due respect to these professions, they involve a lot of hard work. The point is determination, intelligence and hard work, it will fetch you success in these conventional fields, but art and fashion thrive on creativity only. I have many friends who are doctors but do not want their children to become doctors as they can see their kid’s interest and passion lying elsewhere.
My sincere advice to all those who are interested in this field is: “Just follow your dreams and passion”, it will take you to great heights. I wouldn’t like to sound pessimistic because things have changed today. More and more youth are turning towards these unconventional professions. It’s good to see parents not advocating their children take up the beaten track.
Q: Is their any increase in number of local applicants opting career in
fashion designing since NIFT came to Hyderabad? How is the trend
passing from time of its formation to present scenario?
A: Number of applicants is steadily increasing. We have 200 applicants this time for the NIFT
Hyderabad. Trend, needless to say, is improving.
Q: Are there any sponsored courses available in NIFT?
A: We do have sponsored courses both government and non government. For example, we trained 30 students for vocational training sponsored by Board of Intermediate AP. This was 15-day training in Fashion Designing. We have also trained destitute people and widows through Rangareddy District Collectorate. Coming to the private sector, we trained 30 sales executives from Shoppers Stop in Retail Store Management for a period of 3 months.
Q: What is the standard of fashion designing in our state as compared to the other states?
A: Delhi and Mumbai stand out in fashion. Hyderabad is on the way too especially with the city being an IT hub, fashion, designer wear etc is picking up. Basically for a city to be known as a fashion hub, the three prerequisites are: it should have a vibrant and strong industry, retail sector and qualified creative designers. While the latter two are already there in our city, it is the first one which needs to grow. We do have famous fashion designers like Anand Kabra, Kedar and Sagar (latter two are the NIFT alumni)
Job Opportunities for NIFTians…
“Apparel manufacturing companies like Madura Garments, Golkuldas, Orient Craft, Arvind Mills etc absorb our students. We have export houses where our graduates work. Fashion designers are recruiting our students apart from the retail chain. I would like to tell you about the BF Tech students, Bachelor in Fashion Technology, who are highly trained in IT (Apparel Production), some of them directly join IT. As we all know apparel production today is mainly IT driven. This helps them to reduce cost and wastage of garment.
Converge was our recent inter-NIFT all India Sports and Cultural meet in which 600 students took part across India. It is a matter of pride and honor for the NIFT Hyderabad to be a host for this. We had 30 events and probably it is the first time that an event like this happened on a massive scale. All the NIFTians got together in camaraderie and goodwill and celebrated through learning. They exchanged best learning practices, creativity; keep themselves abreast with various new trends in fashion. Apart form this, it is also a platform for the students to display various other skills.
Your Message to those aspiring to take up a career in Fashion Industry….
Follow your passion! If the students anywhere in India feel that they have a passion for fashion or a talent for fabric or if they are naturally gifted to play with materials like wood, clay and accessories or even love leather or want to do an MBA in fashion, then they can straightaway appear for the entrance exam (first or second week of February every year) and take up a career in this. One can actualize one’s own talents, explore strengths and unearth creativity in different ways! Success would be undeniably theirs! Surely this is an enriching and fulfilling career!
TCG speaks to the NIFTians, Hyderabad.
TCG: What made you to choose fashion designing as career?
NIFTians: Our general interest in art and creativity, and the wonderful photographs showcasing the inspiring creations of famous designers in the fashion magazines portraying their freedom of work prompted us choose this career.
TCG: Why only NIFT? How did you get to know about NIFT?
NIFTians: NIFT is the most prestigious and recognized institution in India for Fashion designing with the state-of-the-art facilities. Moreover NIFT is ISO certified and the only institute which provides certified courses in Fashion designing. We got to know about NIFT through our friends, internet, colleges, coaching centers and the office of NIFT itself.
TCG: Did you attend any coaching classes for the entrance exam in NIFT?
NIFTians: Yes, Of course. We (Students from
Hyderabad) have taken coaching from Takshashila Coaching Institute at Begumpet, Hyderabad. Students from other states took coaching from their respective coaching centers in their native places and some followed the guidelines of NIFT entrance examination.
TCG: What kind of coaching was given?
NIFTians: We were to learn and excel in areas of general awareness, logical reasoning, general aptitude, and the best part about joining the classes was the massive teaching on sketching and creating designs. We were trained in theory and practical aspects of NIFT entrance exam in the coaching.
TCG: How do you find NIFT as an institute? What role does it play in shaping up your career?
NIFTians: NIFT as an institute imparts all the necessary training to become a fashion designer. It instills a sense of innovation in students as the activity is not just confined to classrooms. We are taken on tours to visit textile exhibitions; we are shown documentaries, exposed to professional presentations; we are trained to develop respect for art and culture. ….the journey in NIFT is fulfilling.
TCG: How is your faculty?
NIFTians: Explicitly interactive! Our faculty is well trained and highly knowledgeable in the fashion designing concepts. They are very adaptive to the changes in fashion industry and keep an eye on each and every move in the fashion industry. They are easy to approach and
we maintain a good rapport with them.
TCG: How well equipped is your resource center?
NIFTians: Thanks to NIFT, we are really very lucky to have an enriched resource center like this. We have access to the most prestigious art and creative work from famous designers from all over the world. We have a wide range of collection of books on fashion, textile, design, sketches and business and management references.
TCG: How are lab and hostel facilities?
NIFTians: We have well established and well equipped labs for pattern making, sewing, accessories designing, textile weaving, different types of paintings and printing methods. Hostel facilities are also good enough.
TCG: What are your academic activities?
NIFTians: We participate in back staging for fashion shows and styling. We do extensive research on textiles, weaving, painting and printing.
TCG: What are your plans after you step out of NIFT?
NIFTians: We will be highly trained professionals and will be established as fashion designers, textile designers and accessory designers. We would like to go for higher education abroad i.e. Post graduation from London or Milan. NIFT definitely will give us a promising future. We want to get practical experience in a company and maybe start our own label to exhibit our talent and creativity. Some of us definitely want to be in visual merchandising and textile designing. We have all roads open in the land of fashion.
TCG: How do you find Hyderabad and its people? (For students from other states)
NIFTians: Since Hyderabad is not as cosmopolitan as Delhi or Bombay, it reflects on the students’ outlook. We do not have industry exposure here. Hyderabad people are good and have helping nature.
TCG: How did you enjoy the recent Converge-2008? What was the event all about?
NIFTians: Converge -2008 was a big interactive event as we had opportunity to meet students from other centers and exchange vibes. There were a lot of interesting cultural events including rock bands. We surely are going to look forward to it every year. It included everything from sports to rock shows to skits to photography to DJ nights and the crowning of Mr. and Ms converge was delightful. On the whole, it was very eventful and ended on a grand note.
Enterprising NIFTians……!!
Meet Pawan Kumar who has done his Bachelor’s degree in Fashion technology, specialization in Apparel Production. He says “I always wanted to join an institute which is best in its field. Moreover, I wanted to take up a specific area and establish an expertise on that rather than graduating with a generic area. Thus, I joined NIFT with a dream of excelling in the technological aspects of Apparel / Fashion Industry.”
Pawan is also President of Environment and Social Service Club of NIFT. He believes that every human being has to excel in some area to survive on Earth, but in the due course of our hassles of our lives and busy schedules, we often forget to serve our own species (Human Beings), we often ignore the necessity to serve those who are underprivileged and also forget to respect, nurture and safeguard our own Mother planet, the Earth because of our own selfish reasons and ignorance.
In addition to the above, one will be surprised to know that Pawan is into modeling, arranging stage shows and Blood Donations Camps too!
Hats off!!
Let’s ask Pallavi what made her come to NIFT….
Pallavi: I am doing my Fashion Designing in National Institute of Fashion Technology, Hyderabad. NIFT has given me the opportunity to display my art by showing me the various fields of designing. I wanted to do something different from usual engineering and medical. Apart from this, I liked designing and had a passion for it since childhood, so I took up this course. The courses here are well organized and coordinated. Most of the parents are not happy with the Institute as they are not well informed about it, and this is dangerous. The institute is related to designing, technology and management and not to modeling which is misleading. My parents were not happy when they heard about NIFT as they had not proper information about the Institute. They were very eager to get me enrolled in the engineering college, but then my dad wanted me to stand tall in the crowd! And then I appeared for my entrance test for NIFT and secured 45th rank in All India Entrance. Seeing my interest towards this, my parents enrolled me in this college. I am very happy that I have taken up this course, because this is the right place for my career and has given me information of what has happened, what is happening and what is going to happen in fashion….. that means a lot to me. One needs the support of parents to encourage their children in whatever field they are, which stands as a foundation to their career, and I am proud to say that my parent’s interest and encouragement are the foundation to my career.”
Specializing in women’s wear is her area of interest.
Mr. Annaji Sharma, Associate Professor, Department of fashion Management Studies, NIFT, who has been recently deputed to the Mauritius branch, says it is fun interacting with students and tapping their latent talents is a matter of pride for the entire faculty. He proudly claims NIFT has state of art facilities and campus tour did actually show us that!
When fashion industry has so much to offer, along with the glitz, fame, and a lucrative pay pack, what are you still waiting for???
Parents’ Perception:
Mr. and Mrs. Mudaliar speak...
My daughter, Vaishnavi Mudaliar, is doing her Bachelor degree in fashion designing in NIFT, Hyderabad. She was very much interested in art and design and always had a flair for creativity. She wanted to take up fashion designing as her career option. We encouraged her to purse her interest and we got her enrolled in NIFT. We wanted to dispel our misconceptions generally held by people associated with fashion industry. After enrolling her in NIFT, we feel really proud to discover that she is learning so many new things about design, textile, colour, weaving, accessories and sewing. We also had many things to learn from her about the designing. We strongly believe that she will have a bright future and realize her dreams of becoming a successful textile designer.
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