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Campus Feature

NIFD: where famous designers are created!

Sabrina Hasan Shoily

If we look back ten to fifteen years, we will see that words such as fashion, style, and trend were not a part of normal day to day conversation but now things have changed drastically. Nowadays, everyone; especially the younger generation are talking about fashion. Everyone wants to be fashionable, look good and feel good! Today's youth have their own creative style of dressing and believe in setting a trend rather than following one set by others.

In the last couple of years, quite a few talented fashion designers and fashion houses have emerged in Bangladesh. Gradually, fashion designing is becoming a popular profession amongst today's youth. A career in fashion designing not only involves meeting glamorous people and interacting with the rich and famous but also gives an impetus to the creative flair of the people who possess a sense of style.

Bibi Russell with some students of NIFD

Like all other professions, fashion designing too needs proper knowledge and for proper knowledge you need an institute. There are few institutes in Dhaka that offer education in the field of fashion designing. They teach the basics of designing and usually give internship opportunities in various famous fashion houses across the capital.

Today, I would like to place the spotlight on one such institutes. It is the National Institute of Fashion Design (NIFD) situated in Kemal Ataturk Avenue, Banani. At NIFD, you will be able to learn the basics of fashion and get the training to develop your own skill as a designer, keeping in view the international spectrum.

NIFD was conceptualised and established by the eminent international fashion designer Ms. Ritu Beri in 1995 and launched in Bangladesh in 2002. It offers 1 year diploma and 2 years advanced diploma in Fashion Design. The approximate cost for them would be BDT 47,500 and BDT 84,500 respectively. Along with these, you will be required to buy your own colours, copies, fabric and other materials required for designing.

The 1-year diploma course has been divided into two semesters, each comprising of six months. There are courses like: Elements of fashion, Fashion illustration, Fashion model drawing, Textile Science, Merchandising, CAD (Computer aided design), History of costumes Pattern making, drafting and garment construction. Are these terms too mind-boggling for all of you??!! Well, no worries! All I want to say is that the courses are designed in such a way so that by the time you get your degree, you will know A to Z of designing!

NIFD offers convenient batch timing which offers one to continue designing studies along with regular school/college/university studies. You can get admitted at NIFD if you are done with O'Level/ S.S.C. Previous knowledge of designing is not mandatory but it is an extra advantage if you have some knowledge about drawing, sketching, stitching etc.

NIFD also arranges fashion shows, fairs and exhibitions to express their students' talent and familiarise them with the glamorous world of fashion. Last year, they organized an Eid Exhibition at WVA auditorium at Dhanmondi where clothes designed by their students were up on sale. Bibi Russell was the chief guest of the show. She appreciated the initiative and encouraged everyone to do more good work in the future.

If you feel interested and want to join NIFD then visit their website: www.nifd-bd.com

Well, folks, that's all for today! Hope all the youngsters out there who are interested in designing but did not know where to go at last found an institute. Have fun…..work hard…..all the best and….

remember, 'don't follow someone's style…make your own style statement'!!!