Schools for fashion

THE CBSE has decided to introduce fashion design at the plus two level in schools. This innovative course, aimed at meeting the demands of the industry, has brought cheer to the fashion fraternity as well as students, writes Gitanjali Sharma

COME the new academic year and fashion fundas would no longer be the half-baked stuff that schoolgirls pick up by seeing shows where models sashay on the ramp. The CBSE’s decision to offer Fashion Design as an elective subject for classes XI and XII from the coming session has got teachers, students and parents excited about the ‘glamorous’ course of education. Like any other subject, it would involve a lot of hard work. But right now the mood is upbeat. As a career option, it appears no less promising than IT.

Fashion design is witnessing an unprecedented boom, and Indian designers, textiles, garments are making waves in the global market. Our brand designers can choose where they want to launch their collections, from New York to Paris and Milan to Hong Kong. India’s designer-wear industry accounts for only Rs 180 crore of the $40-billion global fashion business. There is immense potential, both in terms of business abroad and employment at home, for as a KPMG study says the figure of Rs 180 crore can touch Rs 1000 crore in the next decade if the fashion industry makes the right moves. Union Textiles Minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain has also struck a positive note by saying that India’s future lies in fashion designing. The textile industry, he is convinced, would create an additional one lakh jobs in this decade.

Sceptics may scoff at the hype over the introduction of this vocational course, but few appear to be affected by them if the cheer spreading in the fash frat, thanks to the latest CBSE decision, is any indication. The mood in campuses is one of rousing welcome. CBSE Director (Academics), G. Balasubramanian, is confident that the new course will be immensely popular, for NIFT is oriented towards the demands of the industry. Therefore the route to higher education in this discipline geared towards employment and entrepreunership would be more goal-specific. The Fashion Design Council of India is unabashedly rooting for the course at the school level. Appreciating the CBSE’s "vision", FDCI Director, Vinod Kaul, says, "Though the course may not be of direct benefit to the design industry, it will help develop students’ awareness of the subject. The textile industry, the second main source of employment after agriculture, unfortunately has not got the visibility it deserves."

Students, keen on pursuing higher fashion studies, too are all agog about the new option. Sixteen-year-old Jaspreet, of Sector-16 Government Model Senior Secondary School in Chandigarh, who has enrolled for coaching to join the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, is thrilled. "It will give us a feel of the subject before we apply to design and fashion institutes." Himani, who recently took her NIFT entrance test, is no less exuberant. "I would have grabbed this opportunity had it come two years ago."

Though fashion technology is already popular as a vocational course at the plus two level, Balasubramanian says, the new course would be made accessible to students of all streams, science, arts and commerce. More importantly, the course will stress on the latest in fashion, unlike the vocational course, which has become dated. In all likelihood, says the CBSE Director, once the elective course stabilises, the board would start withdrawing the vocational course.

Nearly 500 schools have approached the Board for the course, which is initially to be introduced in only 200 schools in the country. To make it competitive, each school would have more than 25 to 30 seats. Sudha Dhingra, Chairperson, Textile Design, NIFT, who is part of the team chalking out the curriculum, says the course, with four papers each of the two years, would cover garment manufacture, design and marketing. Thirty per cent of the course would be devoted to practicals and, the theory would be project-based with a view to stimulate creative and artistic potential. Since the study of fashion needs constant exposure, the faculty would be required to upgrade their knowledge and practical experience periodically.

By diversifying the curriculum to take in this non-conventional subject—which is still viewed by many as indulgent, if not frivolous—the CBSE has given it credibility and a stamp of seriousness. This, along with the Board’s emphasis on the employability gains — the USP — of the new course, parents with a conventional mindset too are coming around. Reema says when her older daughter wished to go in for fashion studies, she had dissuaded her, since she considered it suitable as a hobby but not as a serious career choice. But now with so much talk about this industry’s employment and even the CBSE pushing the case, she would not oppose her younger daughter if she decided to opt for this creative field.

The word fashion conjures up images of glamour, haute couture, beautiful models, a lavish lifestyle and a fun ‘n’ happening existence. Fashion aspirants who are swayed by such notions are likely to be disillusioned and may even repent their career choice when they encounter the real world of fashion. The world which speaks of gruelling schedules that pack in more hours than those in a day and competition which is slit-throat, to say the least.

The new course, says Dhingra, will familiarise the students with the subject. Giving them a feel and taste about what they’ll be in for, it will help them decide whether they should take up fashion as a career. It will brief them about elements of design, tools required for garmenting, pattern-making and construction`85 all such stuff which will be miles away from glamour.

While this option would help students build a foundation in the subject, it would not be a pre-requisite to enter a fashion institute. Maintaining that coaching is not recommended for entrance tests to NIFT, Dhingra says, "Coaching gets reflected in the paper. We always prefer original work."

The new course, however, as the Director of the Northern Indian Institute of Fashion Technology (NIIFT), Mohali, Vijay Sharma puts it, would give the students an update on various segments and options available in the vast textile and apparel-manufacturing industry. Boasting of 100 per cent placement at her institute, she says since the future of fashion lies in pr`EAt, merchandising and retailing are now more popular with students. The course at the school level would help students pinpoint their area of interest as well as the field which would be more rewarding.

For Diksha, member of the senior faculty, fashion and textile, National Institute of Fashion Design, Chandigarh, fashion design is a career choice that can never allow anyone to starve. "Textile and fabric can never get outdated or lose their importance. In fact, the course should have been introduced a long time back," she says.

Exhibiting yet more enthusiasm for the new course, Harleen Sabharwal, a fashion trend forecaster based in Mumbai, remarks: "I never expected India to react so fast to the global temper. As a trend forecaster, I would like to say by 2005, 50 per cent of the world careers are going to be from the creative class. 

The lifestyle industry stands on fashion, thus the capacity for the latter’s growth is immense. And, what better way to make people creative then to start from schools?"

Though the CBSE has given an indication that it is keen to lead Generation X towards specialisation and creativity — the two buzzwords of this century — only the days ahead shall tell whether the schools can take up the challenge and treat inventive courses, including fashion design, as a base to nurture creativity or will they, as usually is the case, allow artistic talent to trail in the race for marks or other paltry academic gains.

INDIA is known more in the international market for its paisley prints, tie-dye designs, and its other strong cultural influences. The textile industry, which is the base of fashion, however, has immense scope and shall continue to grow.

Students, who opt for fashion studies, must protect themselves from the danger of being influenced by the glamour associated with it. Like the film industry, the fashion industry too appears very alluring from the outside. Students must opt for it with eyes wide open. They must realise that they cannot become designers overnight.

— Fashion icon Ritu Kumar.

— Sudha Dhingra, NIFT.

New York, Italy, Paris and Japan may be the pillars of the global fashion industry, but India is viewed by the world as the last frontier of fashion. We must capitalise on our unique heritage and all the basic ingredients that we possess like a sound textile industry and know-how. Indian fashion design is still at an early stage of growth. The new fashion course will make the youth more aware of the potential of this industry.

Any subject that would help students, especially girls, to conduct themselves gracefully is welcome.

— D. S. Mangat, DPI, Schools, Chandigarh