Career in fashion Communication
In the simplest sense, is a mode of mass communication that aims at promoting trends of fashion among the targeted audience.
Visual merchandising, styling and graphic designing, display, exhibit designing, advertising, public relation strategies and fashion-specific creative writing are the different tools with which the fashion industry reaches out to its potential consumers.
Fashion Communication is one of the newest, most exciting avenues to open up in the fashion and lifestyle industry. With the multitude of domestic and international brands, companies and designers exploding into the Indian retail scenario, it has become essential for each of them to develop a unique brand identity, and maximize its visibility. This is made possible by fashion communication professionals, who excel in extending the design strategy beyond the domain of the product, to include all aspects of communication design.
The Fashion Communication programme encompasses areas such as visual merchandising, exhibition & display design, graphic design, fashion journalism, styling, photography, advertising and public relations, specific to the fashion and lifestyle industry. At the exit level therefore, equipped with an intensive skill, knowledge and concept base, Fashion Communication students emerge as dynamic professionals qualified to offer the most effective and financially viable communication solutions for the fashion and lifestyle industry.
Scope
Fashion communication is one of the industry’s most untapped career resources. Despite being a relatively new mode of study, fashion communication has been warmly welcomed by the career–oriented youngsters as they find it to have immense scope in today’s fashion scenario where Indian brands are increasingly competing with their international counterparts. A student who successfully completes his or her course in fashion communication is expected to provide brilliant communication solutions for the manifold challenges faced by fashion and lifestyle industry.
Fashion communication professionals are held in high demand, as they come up with effective solutions on design strategies in the highly competitive retail sector after considering various aspects of communication design.
Trend prediction, fashion journalism, public relations, fashion advertising, style consultancy, product launches, store events management, catwalk shows, and exhibiting fashion products in galleries are the lucrative sectors of the industry that await their innovative services. Young professionals can also engage in creative sectors of fashion technology that relates to visual imagery, text, information and experiential design.
Eligibility
10+2 pass in any discipline with minimum 50% marks is the basic qualification required for pursuing a graduation program in fashion communications.
Those who can make the most prudent application of the various design tools succeed in this highly competitive sector. When such solutions couple with practical experience, doors of fashion business world are sure to be opened before you.
However, certain institutes such as School of Fashion Technology (SOFT) in Pune, which enjoys technical support from NIFT, New Delhi, require only a pass grade in the Senior Secondary School Examination conducted by the National Open School with a minimum of five subjects.
Most colleges follow a definite pattern in administering the B.Sc Fashion Communication program. During the initial stage of the course, students with diverse backgrounds are brought to a common platform and are given adequate training so as to develop basic fashion communication skills in them. Second stage is that of application under which the students are taught to solve various complex communication problems by giving required consideration to different market influencers and targeted audiences.
Students are then provided with an opportunity to implement their creative, technical and industrial experience through the development of genuine communication design works. Most colleges facilitate active interactive sessions between the students and leading professionals as part of the course.
Some prominent institutes that offer the course:
* National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) Centres across India
* National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad
* National Institute of Fashion Design, Chandigarh, Kolkata
* J D Institute of Fashion Technology, Mumbai, N Delhi, Ludhiana
* Srishti School of Design, Bangalore
* Symbiosis Centre of Design, Pune
* Pearl Academy, Delhi, Jaipur
* Arch Academy of Fashion, Art & Design, Jaipur
* Raffles Design International, Mumbai
* Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai
* Creative-i College of Creative Arts, Pune
* IILM School of Design, Gurgaon
Prospects:
Careers
Fashion Communication is a specialised programme that enables students to acquire communication skills pertinent to the Fashion and Lifestyle Industry. Four exit level profiles are envisaged overall: Graphic Design, Visual Merchandising and Retail Space Design, Styling and Photography, and Fashion Journalism.
Star Employers
Pantaloon, Shopper’s Stop, Marks & Spencers, Christian Dior, Lifestyle, Benetton, Liberty, Freelook, Lopez Designs, Marie Claire, Images, Times of India, Asian Age, Couture Asia, Femina, FDCI, MTV, NDTV, Times Now, Headlines Today, Perfect Relations, Wizcraft, Ogilvy & Mather, Lintas, etc.
Most of the institutions that offer Fashion Communications program have campus placements. Since, this course is relatively new and the demand naturally high for qualified fashion communications professionals, there is a huge scope for graduates in this discipline.
So, if you happen to be a creative person, with a sense of fashion and highly keen to thrive in media, what are you waiting for? Get ready to tailor your dreams.
