May 23rd, 2015 
By: The Indian textile industry has been known to be one of the largest contributing sectors to India’s exports. It is also one of the most labor intensive sectors where you will never find a dearth of job opportunities. The industry is broadly divided into 2 main parts- The organized sector and the unorganized sector. The unorganized sector comprises of hand loom, sericulture, village handicrafts and mainly employs people from rural areas as it requires cheap labor. However the organized sector includes designing, garmenting, apparel, etc which requires professionals educated in the same field. This is what you need to target if you have a curiosity for design, an eye for detail and a good knowledge of textures, colors and fabrics.
Where to start?
Students who have an interest in art and have that creative streak usually make up their mind to get into fashion designing post high school. A number of universities in India offer courses in fashion design. Students belonging to any stream can take up fashion design as a course after 10+2. In order to get into the reputed universities you will have to clear the aptitude tests conducted by them.
There is always a requirement of managers in every industry as with the help of their skill set, coordinating and organizing work becomes easy. Students aiming to get into the textile industry as managers need to do a course in business management so that they can achieve positions like Line Development Managers, Production Managers, Quality controllers etc. An MBA in the future might land you lucrative job opportunities.
What do fashion designers do?
1. Fashion designers need to explore and sketch their ideas on paper. These ideas are then put into action and using the desired materials, stitched.
2. As a fashion designer you can choose to specialize in the field of your choice such as garment design, jewelry design and footwear or you could work in one particular domain such as men’s wear, women’s wear or children’s wear.
3. Designers are also required in media houses in order to determine the costumes for TV and film artists.
Skills required
Along with creativity and innovation a lot of other skills are also vital in this profession. One should be highly observant and have a good business acumen as that’ll help you to learn the tricks of the trade and also understand the nuances of the industry.
Good communication skills will take you very far in this field as it is all about pleasing your clients and making contacts. You should be resilient and be open to criticism. Since there might be a lot of traveling involved you need to be always ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
Job prospects
This industry offers a plethora of opportunities for people with the required talent and vigor. With the growing significance of brands and designer wear, jobs in this sector are bound to increase. The Indian fashion industry has rapidly been garnering a lot of international attention as well, so there will always be a requirement of good skilled professionals. Also with the advent of e-retailing the industry has seen an upward surge. Hence doing a course from a reputed university will give you those additional brownie points.
You could choose to be self-employed and open a line of clothes by yourself. However, you could always find roles being offered at several export houses, textile mills, garment store chains, boutiques, and media companies.
Alternatively, if you want to get into the textile industry as a manager you could be hired as brand managers, quality and finishing managers, merchandisers etc. Job roles would differ from profile to profile. You can always expect a good pay package with no upper limits.