FASHION & TEXTILE DESIGN PROGRAMME

Duration - 4 years

The Fashion and Textiles discipline offers a broad spectrum education in textiles while developing creativity, originality and design application in apparel and home fashion industry. The course has been designed to meet the requirements of the emerging market realities and enables access to wide range career opportunities with Indian and International organizations, textile mills and exporters, buying houses, design houses and designers.

The Fashion & Textile discipline is based on the belief that the textile discipline of knitting, weaving and printing are complementary and together can give a rich and more versatile education. Simultaneous inputs about the broad historical, social and cultural contexts in which the designers work today are imparted to students to sharpen their perspective, while those on CAD/CAM/IT, enhance the abilities to work with emerging tools of the trade.  

Textile design forms the core of the whole business of fashion. The rapidly expanding activities in the export and domestic sectors of the Indian apparel and home fashion industry demands professional inputs in design and development of textiles and raw material, which is responsible for 60-80% of the product cost. Textile Design today is that strategic value adding activity that can make all the difference in transforming a fashion business into an economically viable and profitable proposition.

Fashion & Textile course was introduced in NIFT –Hyderabad from July 2000.

Course Contents

Year 1
1st Year (2 Semesters) of Fashion & Textiles student is common foundation programme. All the students have common subjects to learn are:
Elements of Design, Geometry, Visualization Representation, Overview of Fashion, Material Studies, Computer Application, Field Study, and Integrated Term Project.

Year 2
Focuses on introduction to textile terminology namely, weaving, printing, embroidery and dyeing. It will also lay emphasis on fundamentals of graphic software and its usage for image creation. The important subjects taught in second year are:
Design Methodology, Fashion Studies, Surface Techniques, Textile Science, Introduction to Weaving Skills & Knitting Skills, Appreciation of Traditional Textiles, Computer Aided Design for Print, Digital Imaging & Editing Techniques, Textile Design Development Project.

Field visits and internship with textile mills, printing units and other processing houses are an important part of the curriculum.

Year 3
Further to the subjects taught in the second year, it will strengthen the knowledge base of students, imparting design, technical, and marketing and communication skills. The subjects taught are:
Dyeing, Printing and Finishing, Quality Analysis & Assurance, CAD and Weave Design, Print Design, Styling for Apparel & Home Furnishings, Woven Design Project, Dobby & Jacquard Design, and Marketing & Merchandising.

The students will also undertake a Craft Survey and Documentation to be exposed to a craft environment.

Year 4
Students will undertake a number of elective subjects to fine tune their understanding of the industry and also an independent research based project. In the final semester, student will undertake a Diploma Project with an industrial client, export house, designer or a NGO. During this period the students will be required to work on the brief given by the sponsor. The programme will culminate into a graduate show.

The programme introduces students to design sensibility, and helps prepare the students to find creative and innovative design solutions with the understanding of production particulars. It also provides the students with field-level exposure at all levels of craft based and industrial production, laying importance on technology and market-related inputs. The students translate their designs into samples/ prototypes by working in dyeing, printing and weaving workshops.

Opportunity / Careers

The programme prepares students for a wide range of careers in textile mills and export houses, with fashion designer, design studios, mills, buying house, handloom cooperatives and buying agencies as Design or Fabric Managers, or work independently as Designers or Entrepreneurs.