Smart Skills
Bag a job in accessory designing
Usha Albuquerque

Where would the latest designer collection be without those funky bangles? What makes the little black dress stand out is the silver broach.

Fashion is nothing without accessories. Jewellery, watches, bags, shoes, scarves, belts and broaches have become necessities today. Your accessories can, without exaggeration, make or break your outfit. And all these accessories need to be creatively designed before they are manufactured.

In India, jewellery has traditionally been the essential accessory. Today, although jewellery continues to be a big attraction, new designs, costume jewellery and other accessories have also entered this field.

In India, leather too is a major deal, maybe even bigger for accessories than for clothes. Look no further than the random office-goer with his leather belt, briefcase, wallet and shoes and you’ll know leather is going far and wide. Women too mainly carry leather bags to work.

Footwear design and technology is also coming up in a big way. There are many kinds of footwear… leather and rubber, synthetics and plastics and assorted others…including canvas and jute that are designed in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Work opportunities

Jewellery design: Jewellery houses and export companies employ accessory designers to recreate old designs or, of course, create completely new ones. Jewellery designing is undertaken for costume jewellery and for precious jewellery. As costume jewellery can be made of any material or stone, it requires great imagination and innovation. Precious jewellery is valued for the quality of the gem, such as diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphire, their rarity and appearance as well as the design of jewellery. Designers therefore need to be knowledgeable about the raw materials and their handling. Good designs in jewellery ensure greater marketing prospects, particularly for export and therefore today there is great scope for employment of jewellery designers. Jewellery designers also design other accessories such as watches, broaches, badges and bracelets.

Leather design: Leather designers create and develop new patterns. This is done keeping in mind the latest fashion trends. They ensure that the texture of the leather is good and that there is a variety of colours. In fact, with the growing demand for leather goods, the Computer Aided Design (CAD) system is being widely used in some of the prominent leather and footwear design institutes. This has led to a boost in the production of a variety of leather goods.

Technical qualifications are needed for this aspect of design since designers need to work with leather technologists and marketing specialists.

Footwear design: Stylists in this area create designs that not only look good, but feel good and are easy on the wallet. Their work involves creating new styles of footwear, and sometimes new uses for particular designs. Shoes are generally designed, keeping in mind the demands of clients, and the popular demand in the markets. Often, footwear designers are employed to design Shoe collections for leading footwear companies. They develop patterns and grade them, according to which samples are made. The entire design process has now become highly mechanised, involving the use of computer aided design systems.

Course clues

Formal training is essential at different levels. In many institutes training in different kinds of accessories is offered. Some, like the programmes at NIFT, include a wide gamut of lifestyle accessories, lighting accessories and children’s toys.

At the undergraduate level:

Diploma/ degree in Accessory Design: eligibility — plus two, science stream is preferred but those doing fine arts are also accepted.

At the postgraduate level:

Postgraduate diploma/ degree in Accessory Design and Technology: eligibility — B.Sc./ BA/ BFA.

Knowledge of CAD is an asset.

Not everybody can be a designer, though. There are certain personal attributes that you need to before you decide to become an accessory designer. You must have natural talent and a flair for sketching and designing; creativity; sense of colour and an eye for details

There are certain personality traits that you can also acquire and these involve, being computer-friendly; aware of international fashion trends; and of course you must develop an interest in fashion in the first place

Most of the training institutions admit students on the basis of their performance in entrance tests, which usually includes a drawing test, followed by personal interviews.

Most courses can last from 6 months to 2 years in duration.

Placement prospects

Variety, they say, is the spice of life. An accessory designer has a variety of work areas in the fashion industry to choose from. You can go in for any of the following:

Working with a known accessory designer;

Working with a company manufacturing fashion items like watches, scarves, buttons, broaches, hairclips, etc. Companies like Titan and Tanishq are taking on accessory designers.

Working with a jewellery manufacturing house. Even traditional jewellery houses are now employing trained designers, specially for the export-oriented items.

Working with a leather manufacturer of handbags, belts, wallets, etc.;

Working in a footwear manufacturing company;

Working freelance for a domestic or export house;

Self-employment.

Accessory design is a major growth area today. Indian jewellery and leather exports have been growing very rapidly, India is the flavour of the year in western countries. And footwear companies are striding ahead in leaps and bounds. So, accessory design seems to have it all…solid work, good money, big names, and, of course, certified glamour, that comes along with the hard work.

Training talk

Prominent training institutes include:

• National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), New Delhi; Chennai, Gandhinagar

• Apeejay Institute of Design, New Delhi

• South Delhi Women’s Polytechnic, Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi;

• SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai;

• Gemmological Institute of India, Mumbai;

• Footwear Design & Development Institute (Noida and Chennai);

• Indian Institute of Leather Products, Chennai.

— The writer is a noted career expert