Not everyone can be Karl Lagerfeld, Thierry Mugler, or Ralph Lauren in the fashion industry. Some fashion designers will always be remembered for how they pushed boundaries with their out-of-the-box marketing campaigns and advertisements to influence the way we all dress.
From Coco Chanel’s famous skirted suits to Emilio Pucci’s bright, eye-catching prints, these designers stand out in history as masters of class and creativity. While the industry requires brilliant creative minds to design, it also needs strategists and managers to sell them.
The Indian fashion industry and the rise of the fashion manager
Keeping abreast with the international fashion industry, the Indian fashion industry has also evolved in all its glory. From Ritu Kumar to Manish Malhotra, every garment features intricate handiwork, plush fabrics, and creative weaving techniques, which has kept India’s ancient garment-making industry flourishing for ages now.
From legendary pioneers like Tarun Tahiliani, who established India’s first multi-designer boutique in 1987, to emerging talents like Kanika Goyal, Masaba Gupta, and Priyanka Ella Lorena Lama, India produces enormously talented designers that effortlessly blend traditional Indian aesthetics with contemporary fabrics.
As transforming as it is in India, fashion needs operators who understand the value of continuity and stability in sales. Fashion management is the ability to visualise and synthesise unique design concepts. And in a space affected by trends and the Covid-19 pandemic, more fashion brands in India are eyeing fashion managers with great attention for detail, artistic skills, domain knowledge of art and fashion industry, and awareness of the latest fads.
Fashion communication and fashion management courses in Mumbai have witnessed a lot of takers in the recent time. Fashion brands and multi-brand platforms in the country are aiming at retaining customers and reinventing themselves during the pandemic. A huge number of Indian fashion labels are embracing the e-commerce structure to reach out to an untapped audience.
Post-COVID-19, India’s fashion markets, both online and offline, are set to be more dynamic. Indian brands with small and large bandwidth are targeting omnichannel operations as consumer spending habits are bound to change.
And this is where the skills of fashion management are imperative to India’s fashion industry. Navigating infrastructure hurdles, choosing the best of new looks and trends, mixing and matching patterns, colours, sizes, and silhouettes in order to give customers what they want at a price that benefits the brand are some of the critical responsibilities of a fashion manager.
What is fashion management?
Fashion management involves learning the art and trade of sourcing, manufacturing, distributing, branding, and retailing fashion products. The fashion business industry requires intensive knowledge of the fashion product and effective management, communication, business skills, and familiarity with e-commerce. Fashion management helps a student with product development, buying and selling of fashion, retail management, creative presentation of fashion ideas, and marketing via offline and online channels.
Fashion management courses in India
A sizeable number of colleges provide fashion management courses in India. Renowned fashion institute, Pearl Academy offers fashion management courses in Mumbai, along with Delhi and Bengaluru. The three-year Fashion & Lifestyle Business Management course provided by the institute aims to enable students to be independent entrepreneurs along with training them in a business-driven approach for the fashion and lifestyle industry.
Fashion management courses in India guide fashion enthusiasts about the shifting needs of the markets, organisation and its relationship with the environment, and detailed understanding of the fashion products.
Ecommerce companies such as Ajio, Flipkart, Amazon, Myntra, Koovs, and Voonik are reinforcing their omnichannel initiatives. They want to use their networks of various fashion and lifestyle brands for fulfilling the dynamic change in consumer needs, accentuated by the pandemic.
International labels such as W for Woman, Benetton, H&M, Pepe, US Polo, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Forever 21, and GAP are planning on piloting and upgrading their products in Mumbai and Delhi through e-commerce chains. Thus, the demand for fashion managers is only set to see a further surge.
