B.A. (Hons.) Fashion Design

The Fashion Design programme has been structured around the idea of ‘unpacking the self’ and triggering a circular progression where one eventually ‘re-builds the self’. It begins as an internal dialogue in the first year of the Fashion Design programme and progresses on to establishing a communication with the industry in the second year. This is followed by the third year where students learn to re-establish a connect with themselves as self-aware designers and arrive at their own design sensibilities. The idea is to empower students through topical projects and experiential learning to lead them to discovering their own creative identity.

At IIAD we strongly believe that students come with intrinsic knowledge. Therefore, in the very first year of their specialisation they are introduced to the fundamentals of fashion with a view to understand their own context, their being, their background, their roots and their cultural milieu. They are encouraged to question and create their personal narratives by situating themselves within historical and socio-cultural contexts. These narratives not only build various visualization techniques (such as illustrations, drawings, collages, mood boards, photography and computer aided design), but also help them investigate all other aspects of design processes. While exploring ideas through adding, subtracting, folding, layering, joining, etc. students are introduced to pattern-making, draping, construction and garment details. Students explore movement, fluidity, drapability and functionality of forms through the understanding of human body and material. Other creative practices like art, theatre and film expose students to historical perspectives of Indian and Western clothing, which leads them to start analysing and appreciating fashion trends.

In the second year they build on this reflection of their own selves and create an external dialog with the Fashion Industry. Students are readied to address the wider context of fashion through sensitively and intensely designed projects. They arrive at an advanced understanding of form, structure and material through projects such as ‘Transform & Restructure’ where they seamlessly apply complex pattern-making and draping techniques. Technical skills are further enhanced during the ‘Jacket Project’ where reverse engineering is introduced as yet another critical concept of understanding complex forms. While they situate the jacket in its social-cultural context they explore the facet of reverse engineering by deconstructing a garment to the last seam. The year concludes with the ‘Denim Project’ which is executed in close collaboration with the industry. The students question materiality by exploring industrial, selvedge and khadi denim from spinning to dyeing and finally to the various washes & finishes. They acquire an in-depth understanding of production methods, construction techniques and advanced technologies involved in the manufacturing of a denim garment.

The final year commences with a closely-mentored 16-week internship that provides practical exposure and a realistic view of the fashion industry, which further builds a deeper understanding of design practice. In order to discover their own identity through personal expression, students undertake the ‘Joining the Dots’ project which completes their learning of the entire course. The course finale is the graduate show wherein students design, curate and present an original collection that reflects their individual creative abilities and design sensibilities.

Along with intensive and rigorous design process and practice in the Fashion Design programme, the students are also exposed to and made aware of market realities of entrepreneurship, client management, IPR, ethics and other professional requirements.