With positive
increase in income levels, coupled with better standards of living, new demands
for fashion makeovers in terms of clothes, styles, and accessories have been
brought out. Due to the internationalization of markets, styles, colours and
choices of customers are continuously changing. Fashion Merchandising is
emerging as a promising career option these days. Merchandisers
are coordinators, who are involved at every stage of the garment's development,
right from concept to sales. After studying the buying trends and the buyer's
needs, the merchandiser coordinates between the market and production process.
They are required for business planning and analysis, buyer management, order fulfilment,
product development, production costs, sales and preparing income projections
in fashion houses, designing organizations and retail stores.
Courses in Fashion Merchandising are offered by numerous fashion institutes all
over India. The courses demand candidates with creative and evaluative skills,
along with an eye for fashion. Two-year degree courses, four-year degree programs,
diplomas, certificate courses and advanced study programs are offered in
fashion merchandising. These vary from fashion designing and clothing
technology, apparel marketing and merchandising, apparel production
engineering, apparel designing and textile designing to fashion designing,
garment construction and fashion retail management. Undergraduate
courses are open to students, who have passed their 10+2 exam in any stream. Only
graduates are eligible for post-graduate courses in fashion merchandising.
These courses include a basic understanding of fabric, fibres, weaves, cutting,
sewing, and finishing, along with know-how of international marketing and
trade.
Trained fashion merchandisers can work with any domestic or foreign lifestyle
or fashion company. Jobs are also available in ready-to-wear production companies
and large retail stores. Export fabrication companies and export houses also
recruit merchandisers to coordinate between the foreign retail stores and
production houses. Fashion
merchandisers can work with Fashion Designers to come up with a new products
thereby taking the latest trends into consideration. Visual merchandising,
where products are promoted by visual display, also offers great opportunities.
Merchandisers can look for positions in retail management in departmental
stores, boutiques, clothing wholesalers, importers, designers and manufacturers
as fashion advertising agents, store managers, fashion product developers,
event planners, fashion retailers, window dressers and fashion promotion
specialists. With adequate experience, fashion merchandisers can even set up
their own small-scale industries as well as big export houses. FDDI, School of Footwear, Design & Production,
conducts professional programmes like (FSFDP), FDDI School of Retail &
Fashion Merchandise (FSRFM), FDDI School of Fashion Leather Accessory Design
(FSLAD), FDDI School of Fashion Design (FSFD) and FDDI School of Business &
Entrepreneurship (FSBE) at its campuses across India.
