Fashion design has been a trending career option for creative people.

It is about putting your creativity into developing quality garments and accessories that meet the fashion needs of every shape and size.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics, the employment of fashion designers is expected to grow 5% from 2023 to 2033, which is a positive sign for aspiring candidates.

Becoming a fashion designer in India isn’t difficult if you have the right skills and industry knowledge.

Our article provides the necessary steps to becoming a fashion designer in India and explains what other career options are available to you after completing a fashion designing course.

8 steps to become a fashion designer

We have listed below the 8 steps to becoming a fashion designer in India.

1. Learn the basics

To become a fashion designer, you must learn to draw and sketch basic elements, sew, make design patterns, take measurements, understand fabric quality, work on different fabrics, and create unique styles. This makes you a skilled person to step into the industry.

For example, the picture below shows three women with three different body types. As a fashion designer, you must understand which dress will look stunning on which body shape.

An hourglass body shape is a curvy figure with proportionate hips and bust, and the best kind of dresses that fit it well are V-necklines, clinched-in waistlines, and form-fitting tops. Any wrap dress with a belted waist looks stunning on such figures. But you should never recommend wearing baby doll dresses, shapeless styles, or oversized dresses.

Priyanka Chopra, a popular Bollywood actress, has an hourglass-shaped figure. Seeing her appearance at the Red Sea Film Festival will surprise you. The designer created a beautiful dress that defines Priyanka’s body shape in every way, and she looks stunning.

Additionally, having some marketing and presentation skills is also essential so that you can brand yourself. If you follow some of the top fashion experts in India, like Manish Malhotra, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Anita Dongre, Masaba Gupta, and Neeta Lulla, you will see everyone is focusing on marketing today. Someone said, “What is seen is sold” which proves the importance of marketing in selling a brand.

The below picture is an Instagram account of Anita Dongre that shows all her recent works which will undoubtedly attract clients and fashion brands.

2. Obtain a bachelor’s degree

The first step to becoming a fashion designer is getting a bachelor’s degree in a related field. It allows you to get all the necessary skills you require to excel in the field and get connected with top professionals in the industry.

Once you complete your 10+2 education, you can choose any graduation degree and later shift towards fashion designing-related courses. However, I suggest you pursue any of the fashion design courses, like

Bachelor of Design
Bachelor of Science in Fashion Merchandising
Bachelor of Fashion Technology
Bachelor of Science in Fashion Design

Each of these programs helps students learn about textiles and fabrics, how to use technology to streamline the designing process, and get practical experience in designing. However, look for institutions with strong industry connections, good reputations, 100% placement assistance, and practical approaches to training.

Some of the top fashion designing training institutes in India are as follows:

3. Gain hands-on experience

Fashion designers require proper hands-on experience to develop the necessary skills and expertise for the industry. For most degree courses, they provide thorough training and internship opportunities. You can work under the supervision of an experienced fashion designer and gain experience with the business side of the industry.

4. Choose a design field

Understanding which aspect of the fashion industry interests you the most is essential. For example, you might be interested in men’s and women’s daywear, sportswear, knitwear, outdoor wear, bridal wear, men’s and women’s accessories, footwear, etc. Choosing only one type of design isn’t mandatory, but trying one thing at a time is a great idea.

For example, Manish Malhotra, one of the popular names in the fashion industry of India, started his career by designing costumes for the film “Swarg” in 1990 and later added menswear, makeup products, jewelry, and ceremonial uniforms.

5. Develop a professional portfolio

Immediately after completing your fashion design course, the next step is building a fashion design portfolio. This showcases your skills in choosing color, pattern, style and more to employers.

Employers will ask for your work portfolio whenever you search for a job. Anyone can take a fashion design course, but your portfolio defines your true skills and abilities.

We have shared a LinkedIn job post for fashion designers, where the employer is asking to submit a portfolio of all the aspiring candidates.

What does a fashion portfolio look like?

It is a directory of all the fashion projects you did. For freshers, it can be your projects during your course tenure, summer internships, or workshops.

For example, we have shared the portfolio of a fashion designer, Anshika Gupta

What does your portfolio need to have?

Before you get to know what to add to your portfolio, choose the profession you want to enter.

For example, a fashion designer must put technical drawings and photos of final garments on their portfolio, but a fashion stylist must share hair and makeup concepts and photos of styled outfits.

Here are a few things to follow while making your fashion portfolio

A brief introduction about yourself

See this portfolio, and you will understand how to add an introduction to yourself to your fashion portfolio

Include a mood board to explain the inspiration behind your collections. You can include fabric swatches, drawings, textile and color palettes within 1-2 page
Showcase your fashion designs through high-quality drawings and photos of your final collections, and add color palettes and textures for additional impact

For example, the diagram below shows how Paolo Belleri’s design of a Maxi Shirt with a Shoulder Pad looks on real models. You can also share your work on real models.

Creating a fashion portfolio isn’t difficult. You can use the Canva tool to design your fashion portfolio.

Tips: While applying for a fast fashion role, share technical drawings created on Illustrator. These companies are bound to share exact designs with suppliers to prepare prototype samples.

Here’s an example of how the technical sheet of a fashion portfolio looks like

6. Apply for an internship

Internship opportunities are the best thing for fashion designers to learn how to work in a real-world environment and get introduced to the industry. Firstly, you can work with senior designers and learn from them while you earn yourself. Secondly, you can tap into their network and get opportunities to work with top models and fashion companies.

You can find multiple such opportunities on job boards. The best job roles you can try are design assistants and pattern makers. We tried searching for a fashion designer intern role on LinkedIn and found 50+ openings right now.

Interns don’t have critical responsibilities, but they get sufficient chances to learn from experts. The picture below shows the job requirements for designer interns.

7. Improve your network

Networking within the fashion industry is essential to finding better job opportunities and keeping up with the trends. LinkedIn is one the best professional network-building platforms where you can find experts in your industry and fashion pages to follow.

There are multiple other ways to increase your network. For example, you can join workshops and different fashion events, participate in competitions, enrol for different courses, and take up internship opportunities. They allow you to meet with industry experts and connect with them for better opportunities.

8. Stay updated on the fashion industry

To become a fashion expert, you must stay updated with what’s trending in the market and focus on consumer preferences. You can follow fashion experts or brands to see what trends they are following.

Otherwise, you can use social media channels to see what garments and accessories are on the market and how people react to those fashion trends.

Fashion designing job types

Fashion designing opens doors to multiple career paths. Some of them are listed below

1. Fashion Designer

The most common profession that you can enter after completing a fashion design course is becoming a fashion designer. You can work with top brands in creating innovative and customized designs for various styles of their customers or work with street fashion to make cheap and affordable clothing.

As a fashion designer you can specialize in one or multiple areas like childrenswear, footwear, lingerie, sportswear, handbags, menswear, and womenswear.

The career path is unique. You start as an assistant working beside top fashion designers for a few years and then progress to fashion designer and design director.

Salary: ₹0.6 LPA – ₹7.6 LPA

2. Garment technologist

These professionals are responsible for choosing and testing different fabrics, check designs are within a budget, overseeing garment construction methods, and quality assurance of products. Garment Technologists usually work for manufacturing and retail units in the fashion industry. You can also work in companies that produce technical textiles like space shoots, firefighter clothes, etc.

Salary: ₹0.2 LPA – ₹16 LPA

3. Accessories designer

If you aren’t into designing garments, try being an accessories designer. These professionals specialize in designing and creating fashion accessories like handbags, shoes, belts, scarves, jewelry, and other items that complement and enhance your clothing.

Accessories designer have a similar role as garment designers, from researching, designing concepts, and material selection to production.

Salary: ₹1.5 LPA – ₹12 LPA

4. Fashion advisor

Upon acquiring sufficient knowledge working as a fashion designer in the industry, you can become a fashion advisor. These professionals provide necessary advice and guidance to businesses for choosing their clothing line, accessories and merchandise.

Fashion adviser ensure your fashion ideas reflect the brand’s personality and align with industry standards.

Salary: ₹1.3 LPA – ₹5.2 LPA

5. Fashion illustrator

A fashion illustrator is an artist who creates visual representations of designs and concepts provided by fashion designers. They translate ideas into sketches to represent what the final garment will look like.

These illustrations are used in different stages of the fashion design process, enabling designers to experiment with different styles, fabrics, and colors.

Salary: ₹0.3 LPA – ₹6 LPA

6. Fashion merchandiser

These professionals oversee the planning, purchasing, and promotion of fashion merchandise.

They choose styles, products, and brands to restock or feature while keeping up with fashion trends and customer preferences.

Fashion merchandiser also manage inventory, negotiate with suppliers, set prices, analyze sales data, and work with marketing on promotions.

Salary : ₹0.4 LPA – ₹6LPA

7. Fashion journalist

If you have a knack for being a reporter and still work within the fashion industry, fashion journalism is a good career option.

These professionals report on various aspects of fashion, including trends, runway shows, designer interviews, industry news, and cultural influences.

They can work for newspapers, magazines, websites, television, and other media outlets to provide valuable insights about the fashion industry and entertain their audience.

Salary : ₹0.5 LPA – ₹6 LPA

What are the skills required to become a fashion designer?

Fashion designing requires knowledge in multiple fields. Market trends, culture, and climate influence a garment or accessory design. For example, autumn wear isn’t the same as spring wear, Bengalis have different costumes than Assamese, and Lace-Up Jeans aren’t in fashion anymore. Listed below are some of the skills that fashion designers need to have.

1. 3D designing and modeling

3D designing allows designers to accurately see how their fabrics will drape, fit and look on virtual models. Using this technique you can save time in producing good fit clothing.

Some of the best tools to use for 3D design and modeling are CLO 3D, Browzwear, and Optitex. You can use this software for fittings, making patterns, visualizing colors and styles, and other details throughout the design process.

They help create realistic garments simulations allowing you to get better designs and make adjustments whenever required.

2. Clothing construction techniques

Every fashion designer must have a better understanding of clothing construction techniques. It includes learning how to sew, tailoring and garment assembly. You must also understand different fabric qualities and patterns, selecting the right fabric, working on them, and using materials to get the desired fit and finish of the clothing.

3. Fashion illustration

You must develop strong fashion illustration skills, which means the ability to communicate your fashion ideas visually. This requires proper drawing and sketching skills, both hand-drawn and digital, to represent different design concepts and present ideas to clients, team members, or for marketing purposes.

4. Color theory

Knowledge of color theory is important in fashion design as it forms the backbone of creating visually attractive garments. You must understand how different colors interact and clash with one another to create the desired impact in your garments. It requires knowledge of color harmonies, contrasts, and color psychology to create specific emotions or messages through your designs. It ensures your garments are well-crafted, visually influential, and captivating.

5. Surface ornamentation

This skill is about adding decorative elements or ornaments to your garments. You can use techniques like embroidery, tie and dye, beadwork, applique, and other embellishments to enhance the design and make your garments look unique. Fashion designers must understand how different materials and techniques can be used to add texture to clothes. In ornamenting your garments, you can use mirrors, sequins, threads, beads, buttons, etc..

6. Textile designing

Textile designing focuses on creating fabrics and fabric designs using different techniques like printing, weaving, knitting, and embroidery. However, textile designing refers to the whole process from conceptualization, sourcing raw materials, designing, and presenting the finished product.

7. Draping and pattern-making

Draping and pattern-making skills are essential for fashion designers. Draping designs refer to the quality of a fashion designer in wrapping around fabrics and fastening them into different shapes and styles. Pattern making is about shaping fabrics such that they perfectly fit on a human figure.

Digital draping and pattern-making have made this process easier. You can now see how the drape and pattern look on human figures virtually and then start with the mass production process.

8. Proper knowledge of fabrics

Fashion designers must have an independent knowledge of different fabrics and textiles. The major challenge of working with some fabrics is their durability and their sourcing channels. Some major fabrics you need to work with are cotton, chambray, chiffon, jersey, silk, denim, flannel, gingham, damask, and brocade.

9. Use of digital tools

It is good to learn to use digital tools as it makes your tasks easier and faster, and enhances the entire designing process.

For example, you can learn using Adobe Illustrator and CAD. They help you virtually experiment with colors, fabrics, and textures and modify designs quickly.

CAD can assist you with creating accurate digital sketches, developing patterns, and producing realistic design prototypes.

It also offers 3D modeling and virtual fitting capabilities to visualize and evaluate your designs in a virtual environment, thus saving time and resources.

10. Soft skills

Fashion designers are creative people who require multiple soft skills to survive in the industry. This includes

Proper communication skills to work with different people, including assistants, interns, press members, influencers, creative directors, etc.
Interpersonal skills like patience, empathy, strong listening skills, ability to handle positive and negative feedback, etc., to create positive interactions with team members
Attention to detail is important to notice small details and make better design decisions
Strong dexterity and ability to see and manipulate small items to work with small tools
Time management skills to handle the fast-paced and high-stress environment

What qualifications do I need to be a fashion designer?

The qualifications you need to be a fashion designer include completing a 10+2 education and acquiring a UG degree in fashion design, fashion merchandising, or any related field.

Additionally, completing courses in textiles, pattern making, sewing, and other skill enhancement courses can be beneficial. To get into top fashion colleges, you must also crack their entrance exam or certain general entrance exams like NIFT, NID, CEED, SOFT, etc.

How much does a fashion designer earn in India?

A fashion designer earns between ₹1 LPA – ₹10.2 LPA in India, with an average annual salary of ₹5.8 LPA.

In the table below, we have listed some of the fashion designers’ salaries as per their industry

Industry	Annual salary range
Fashion and textile in India	₹1.3 Lakh – ₹8 Lakh
Retail	₹1 Lakh – ₹10.2 Lakhs
Manufacturing	₹1 Lakh – ₹7.2 Lakhs
Advertising and PR	₹0.3 Lakh – ₹8.5 Lakhs
Consulting services	₹2.5 Lakhs – ₹6.3 Lakhs

👉 Find our study on fashion designing salary scope in Kolkata.

How long is the fashion designing course?

The fashion designing course is usually 3-4 years, lasting 6 to 8 semesters. However, you can find numerous short-term certification courses ranging from 10 weeks to 11 months and beyond, depending on the course curriculum and the practical training they provide students. Diploma courses are also good for fashion designers, usually for 2 years, covering major sections of the fashion designing curriculum.

To enhance your knowledge and skills, or as a beginner if you want to know about the industry, you can join different online courses.

How long does it take to become a fashion designer?

It takes more than 6-8 years to become a fashion designer. The first 3-4 years is when you acquire the skills and get hands-on practice; the next 6 months to 1 year, you work as an intern, and the next 2 years as an assistant of any fashion designer.

After acquiring sufficient knowledge from seniors, you can build your creations and enhance your fashion portfolio to attract recruiters or clients.

Fashion designers must have a strong business sense, commitment to sustainability, and understanding of technology, besides being artistic.

Learning these skills also takes time, so becoming a reputed fashion designer is time-consuming but fruitful in the long run.

Somrita Shyam

How to Become a Fashion Designer in India