Fashion designing turns lucrative, creative in city

CHENNAI: When Hariharan completed his one-year diploma in fashion designing in 2004, he hoped to earn a decent four-figure salary. Four years on, he is taking home Rs 35,000 a month, as the factory manager of Magnum Exports.
As Chennai is emerging as a house of design and garment manufacturing, it is also opening up new career options for students from varying backgrounds.Harini , a CBSE student could have joined any engineering stream, but opted to study fashion designing at National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT). Shabnam, a class X pass, had worked in a garment finishing small scale unit in a general capacity, but now wants to equip herself with a diploma.
With more than half a dozen garment export houses such as Ambattur Clothing , Isex Fashions, Celebrity Fashions, Design Classics, Leela Scottish Lace, Magnum Exports,Vijay Enterprises, Rover Co Apparel and Zaida Clothing located here, the metro is a haven for those wanting to give shape to their creative instincts. "These are good times for those interested in garments industry. Both the export and the domestic garment markets are witnessing a boom, and there is a great demand for good designers,'' says T C Balasubramanian , deputy registrar , Apparel Training and Design Centre (ATDC), Chennai , which conducts free diploma courses for students.
"Since we started the course in 2000, over 5000 students have benefited, and 80 % of them got placed immediately," says V Nagarajan, principal, of ATDC.
Ever since India began exporting garments in the mid-70 s, the demand for fashion designers and experts in garment has gone up manifold. Every type of 'made-ups ' is possible with the city boasting a wide range of training institutes including NIFT and ATDC, which comes under the umbrella of Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC). "There is tremendous potential for students, with salaries starting at Rs 5,000 for fresh diploma holders who need not be graduates ," says Balasubramanian of ATDC. Chennai accounts for nine per cent of the Rs 75,000 crore textile and garments export market.
Walk in & register for free course
From 10 am to 5 pm on Tuesday, students hailing from BC, MBC and DNC can walk in and register for the 210 seats in the diploma course in fashion designing and garment manufacturing. Open to graduates, class X and class XII pass students, the course is free since the fee is sponsored by the backward and most backward welfare department of the state. Candidates are required to produce original mark sheets, transfer, income and community certificates, two passport photographs besides a self addressed envelope. Both men and women below the age of 35 years are eligible to apply, provided the family's annual income is less than Rs 1 lakh. Once selected, students would be guided by a faculty of 12 in measurement, quality assurance, design, cutting and production quality, depending on the course duration opted for. For more details contact: 22500121