In J&K's Srinagar, NIFT Srinagar emerging as favourite destination for aspiring fashion designers from across India

Fashion designing courses offered in Kashmir are making fashion a trend, while the Valley is seeing a confluence of talent and creativity shaping up.

The courses like these offered by the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) Srinagar are bringing aspiring fashion designers from all over the country together in the Valley.

The composite culture inside the classrooms not only helps these fashion designers know more about each other, it also helps them evolve as fashionistas.

What better place could there be for someone from Kerala to learn about the intricate designs on a Kani Shawl than Kashmir Valley, which has historically been a hub of artists and craftsmen. And who better person can someone in Kashmir have access to for knowing about Chikan Craft than a fellow aspiring fashion designer from Lucknow.

NIFT is not only an institute that produces future Sabyasachi Mukherjees, Rohit Bals, and Manish Malhotras, it is also a social harmony laboratory where the aspiring fashion designers learn pro-social behaviour, negotiation, social judgment and ways to avoid social conflict.

Manoj Sinha, a parent from Ahmedabad whose daughter was selected in the Masters programme in Fashion Management at NIFT said that studying in a cross-culture setting is good for the overall development of students.

"The students meet a diverse set of people here which is not the case while studying in a regional institute. The students here are better exposed to diverse cultures.

They learn how to collaborate in a diverse setting, which is a learning in itself for life time," Sinha said during his visit to the campus with his daughter.

Most of the parents and students said NIFT Srinagar was a choice rather than an option for their wards to pursue the course in fashion at the institute.

"We had many choices but we opted for NIFT Kashmir because we believe Kashmir is a safe place and people here are kind and loving," Sinha said.

"This is India in a small campus. You have the future of India here.  Children will learn about the other places and their cultures by the time they finish their course here."

For Austin, a parent from Kerala, whatever impression is given by media houses outside J&K about Kashmir is not true.

"I do not watch the news anymore. When my daughter was allotted NIFT Srinagar, I called my colleagues in Kashmir. I didn't say no to NIFT Kashmir. This is the best campus in India," said Austin, who has also worked as a journalist with one of the leading newspapers in the country. "We really feel proud that our children will pass out from NIFT Kashmir."

NIFT has students from almost every state and union territory of the country, which has added the flavour of diversity to the campus.

This year NIFT Srinagar enrolled 130 new students for Bachelors and Masters courses of Fashion Management as the institute introduced two more courses from the current year.

In addition to the already existing Bachelors courses —Fashion Designing and Fashion Communication, the institute has introduced Bachelors in Lifestyle Accessories and Masters in Fashion Management from the current session.

There has been a good response from the students as the admission has increased almost three times compared to the previous years.

Earlier this year, the management of NIFT Srinagar held a two-day orientation programme for the fresher's to acclimatise them with the campus, courses, and to introduce students to each other.

“I thank you and your parents for reposing faith in us. During your course, you should not keep your stay confined to the NIFT premises but explore the rich arts and crafts of Kashmir," Director NIFT Srinagar, Dr Javid Wani told students.

Besides parents, the students also shared their views on choosing NIFT Srinagar and the composite culture the campus offers.

"Being at NIFT Srinagar, we will not only pursue our course but it will be a golden opportunity to know and understand the diverse cultures in India. It is like having a family of diverse culture under one roof," said Anukriti Singh, a student from Uttar Pradesh (UP) who is pursuing Bachelors in Lifestyle Accessories Designing.

Another student from Kerala while sharing her experience at NIFT Srinagar said she was surprised to see kindness and generosity of people here.

"I had heard that Kashmir is a heaven, but after coming here I saw it myself that it is heaven and people here are so helpful. I am more excited that I will mingle with the students from diverse cultures, which is a blessing," she said.

The students said being at NIFT was a unique experience wherein they besides exploring Kashmir's rich arts and crafts would understand and experience different characters and their culture.

"It is going to be a good experience and will hopefully prove helpful in every sense," she said.

This year NIFT has students from UP, Kerala, Mumbai, Muzaffarabad and several other places across the country.

"The present group of students is the largest group and is very rich and unique from the diversity viewpoint. It is a matter of honour for us to have students from all states here," a NIFT official said.

The Director NIFT Srinagar Dr Javid Wani said the management values the decision of the parents of choosing NIFT Srinagar to pursue the course.

“I assure all the students that we will do our best to make you feel that your decision to opt for NIFT Srinagar was right,” he said.

While the aspiring fashion designers will learn the skills of the trade at the institute, Kashmir will provide them an opportunity to understand the intricacies of rich artisanship and craftsmanship on display in a Kashmiri carpet, a Kashmiri Pashmina shawl, walnut wood works, paper mache crafts, Crewel embroidery, Tilla works, Kashmiri copperware and silverware. And they can do this along with enjoying the many delicacies of a Kashmiri Wazwan on their plate.

The NIFT Srinagar earlier this year held its 3rd Convocation of the at the new Campus in Ompora, Budgam.

The ceremony was held for the batch of 40 outgoing students of the two departments- Fashion Technology and Fashion Communication of NIFT Srinagar.

The NIFT Srinagar, which is one of the best campuses of the Country is being established as a fully residential campus owing its distance from the main city.

The faculty serving at the institute are being given 20 percent additional incentive to retain them at Srinagar campus.

The Institute has around 35 percent reservation for local students in all the courses.

Currently, NIFT is ranked 11th in the world among the fashion schools.

The credit for this global recognition goes to periodic review of the curriculum.

After every four years, the curriculum is updated. We are doing it again in Aug 2022 with an objective to stay relevant.

On the national level, there is a great demand for the courses of NIFT. Thousands of students compete in the national level test for admission.

The NIFT management has taken various initiatives to reach out to  potential students through social media and other means.

The institute primarily provides professional HR to the textile and fashion industry.

Exposure to Crafts:

Notably, the NIFT Srinagar also offers a practical exposure to its students on the country's vast handloom and handicrafts clusters.

The NIFT recently launched the Craft Cluster Initiative Programme (CCIP) with active support from the Ministry of Textiles, Office of Development Commissioner (Handlooms), and Office of Development Commissioner (Handicrafts).

The move has been taken to provide the students with continuous exposure to the handloom and handicraft clusters, thus offering them an opportunity for creative innovation and experimentation.

Through this initiative, NIFT aims to reach out to the artisans and craftsmen at grassroots, and, in turn, the artisans and craftsmen involved will benefit through knowledge dissemination and exposure to urban markets and design intervention, innovative designs,  and linkages with new markets.

The CCIP is designed to sensitize NIFT students to the realities of the craft sector and give insight into regional sensibilities and diversities, resources, and environment.

Through this initiative, NIFT has been successful in creating widespread awareness and sensitivity in assimilating crafts into fashion and vice-versa.

The Craft Cluster Initiative program is also envisaged to provide the students of NIFT systematic, continuous and regular exposure every year to the diversely rich and unique handlooms and handicrafts of India.

The students at NIFT specialize in the areas of design, technology, management, and communication.

According to the specialization, students will be contributing in varied areas in the clusters like design intelligence, design innovation, product development, supply chain management, brand management, retail entrepreneurship, organizational development, and systems design and development. They will also contribute in the areas of process innovation, production planning, research-based improvisation,  and quality management. The students will also assist artisans to develop the distinct identity of the handloom and handicraft clusters through logo, and promotional materials like posters, brochures, and catalogs.

While the students of the Design departments take up diagnostic study, design developments, and training workshops, the students of Fashion Communication, M.Des and MFM are associated with the craft clusters for research, branding, and promotion.

Placements:

NIFT Srinagar is an emerging Campus with a bright and exciting future. The institute has maintained a positive record in making placements of the graduating students.

Recently, a 26-year-old boy from Gujrat, Kirti Tapodhan, made it to Turkey's Istanbul after finding a high-salary job.

Tapodhan got his placement in Knitology Turkey this year as he, along with his batch mates, graduated from the Institute this year. He has been offered the job worth Rs 30 lakh per-annum (LPA)

Tapodhan joined NIFT Srinagar in 2018 to pursue his four year degree in Fashion Designing (FD) at the Institute.

Tapodhan is not the only student who has grabbed plum job in Turkey. Two other students of fashion designing have got prized jobs as well.

Notably, the NIFT Srinagar has a full-fledged placement which has maintained a good reputation with the companies all over the world.

The NIFT has been able to place 65 percent of its outgoing students in different companies.

Not only does the institute help in placement of the outgoing students, but the faculty has also maintained a track record of those outgoing students who do not get the jobs anywhere.

As and when any opening comes to fore, the faculty shares the profile of these students with the companies.

The companies have hired students across its two programs including Bachelors in Fashion Design (FD) and Bachelors in Fashion Communication (FC).

Aditi Dange, a student from FC class 2021, received the pay package of 10 LPA.

Another student from FC, Manya Garg was offered a similar package. Garg works for Reliance Brands Limited, while Dange works for Wipro Limited.

Around 3000 students graduated from 17 campuses of NIFT and NIFT Srinagar have been able to generate 3800 vacancies in different companies for placement of students.

NIFT, being in top league fashion & design schools of the world, is a value addition to the higher-education landscape of J&K. Through its international institutional linkages, NIFT Srinagar has a strong student exchange program, where students study part of their program at foreign institutions including at some of the leading fashion schools like FIT, New York and Swiss Textile College.