-By Dwijendra Kumar
New Delhi (NVI): Today not only garments that are coming in a variety of hues and designs, but also other fashion accessories including bags, sunglasses, belts, jewelry, umbrellas, scarf/stole, eyewear, footwear etc. And so, we have several manufacturing houses vying with one another to introduce new designs in their respective product lines.
A trained accessory designer with his/her sense of aesthetics and design is expected to advise better on the designs and trends to the production team responsible for manufacturing various accessories than those with no formal education in the field. Further, not many institutes run specialised courses in the field so accessory designers would always be in demand.
What makes accessory designing a safe bet for aspiring design professionals is the fact that people have become conscious of the look of the items that they carry along and want these to complement with the clothes on their bodies. This trend is catching up fast amongst even middle-class people and so plenty of career opportunities are available for designers in the field of accessory designing.
Training Institutes:
There are very few training institutes which provide specialised courses in Accessory Designing which include National Institute of Design, Ministry of Industries, Government of India and National Institute of Fashion Technology, Ministry of Textile, Government of India amongst government bodies. These institutes provide courses in accessory designing at its various centres located across India.
Other training institutes include Footwear Design and Development Institute, NOIDA, Ministry of Commerce Government of India, Arena Animation, Bangalore, YMCA Institute of Office Management, New Delhi, Pearl Academy of Fashion at its New Delhi and Mumbai centres and Vogue Institute of Art and Design, Bangalore.
Those trained in Fashion Designing can also join this field as trainees with leading manufacturers and after gaining some experience there, can begin to work independently.
Employment:
Leading employers in the field include such names as Swarovksi, Carbon, Bholasons Jewellers, Liberty Shoes Ltd, VIP luggage, Tanishq, Titam, Pantaloons, ITC Wills Lifestyle and Frazer and Haws. Accessory Designers get employed here as Jewellery Designer, Footwear Designers, Leather Accessory Designer, Product Designer, Men’s Accessory Designers etc.
Skills required:
To succeed in the field, an aspiring accessory designer should have excellent sketching and designing skills a strong eye for details, knowledge of computer aided design and the manufacturing industry, good observation and communication skills and aptitude for advertising and marketing.
