Fashion Designing in London – A Retrospect

London has been one of the fashion centers of the world for a long time now. Ever since its inception in 1984, the London Fashion Week has remained an awaited annual affair. This fashion week is now counted amongst the most reputed Fashion Weeks of Milan, Paris and New York. London, in any case, has always been popular for eclectic style – right from the prim and proper be garments by Saville Row to the quirky fashions of Portobello Road.

Looking at the developments

Masters of designer fashion, Rose Bertin and Charles Fredrick Worth have both spent time in London and contributed to the fashion world there. Bertin gave his contributions to fashion in London when he was exiled there during the French Revolution. Worth had worked as a draper in London before moving on to Paris. Despite its impeccable fashion designs, London still was not at a stage where it could be compared with Paris as far as fashion was concerned. London, though, did stay and continued to be a centre for fashion throughout the early 20th century.

The gradual changes

The fashion scenario changed in the 1960s. London suddenly became the trendsetter in terms of fashion, which was partly due to the miniskirt, created by the fashion designer Mary Quant. Despite fashion becoming simpler, it became more revealing too, more than what was made in the 1950s. It was now a time when models influenced fashion. London, apart from introducing the miniskirt, also gave birth to the bell bottomed trousers, which became a signature trend of the late 60s and 70s.

With the arrival of the 70s, the influence only increased with the introduction of the punk style. Vivienne Westwood became one of the most prominent designers of this era, making punk the new fashion of the street. She tried to implicate the music scene into her designs, managing to combine the feel of music with clothing styles. She was well-known for creating innovative, and shocking outfits.

London’s influence had not yet become pronounced in the 1980s, but the city became home to some of the best known fashion houses, one of which was the Burberry House. The company became famous for its waterproof cotton and the trench coat. Not only that, but its trench coat became one of the most copied and recognizable coat styles. Burberry, along with other London fashion houses, depicts elegance, style and durability.

The influence of this fashion designer city then only increased, and London now is home to various fashion houses some of which include names like Stella McCartney, Jimmi Choo and Alexandar McQueen. Down the years, London’s reputation as a fashion hub has changed and today, one cannot possibly ignore the importance of the place.

Fashion Designing Colleges in Delhi and Mumbai

The tradition of a society and the country is mainly reflected by the dressing sense of its citizens. Each country has different attire that its people carry. Clothes define the overall personality of the person, his thinking and his behavior. In fact each variety of clothe is an expression used for denoting various believes and customs on a particular occasion. Also, these days people are very finicky about the way they look, the clothes they wear, in short, the whole lifestyle has changed a lot and apparels and clothes play an important role for framing their image in the society.

The demand and the need for different clothes, bags, shoes, accessories and their design have lead to the invention of a career called fashion designing. Fashion designing is a very innovative and creative career; it not only allows the person to think freely but also gives him an opportunity to present his imagination in front of the whole world. Delhi and Mumbai, being the fashion hubs of the country, has the majority of designers situated. The work of these designers can be mostly seen in the film and television industry, which after coming once on the big screen becomes the demand of every youngster.

Many students find this field more rewarding and glamorous along with it being a pool of creativity and space for expression. Students pursue their graduation degree in designing to give the very start towards their dream career, which is followed by post graduation or internships in various designing houses and then most of the students get themselves associated with the famous designing houses, or some of them open their own boutiques, and designs the world.

Fashion designing is not only limited to clothe designing, several other spheres where one can explore his creativity are shoe designing, accessories, Jewelry, apparels, etc. The various qualities a student must possess and learn while studying designing are:

oCreativity oKnowledge about color combinations oLatest styles oInterpersonal skills oOriginality oProblem solving skills oCrisis management oKeeping an eye on the industrial developments oTeam work oBusiness management

The various institutes or colleges providing Fashion Designing courses in Delhi and Mumbai are:

Integrated Management College School of Design, New Delhi

Aditya Institute Of Technology, New Delhi

Apeejay Institute Of Design, New Delhi

IEC School Of Art & Fashion, New Delhi

Indian Institute Of Design, New Delhi

International Institute Of Fashion Technology, New Delhi

JD Institute Of Fashion Technology, New Delhi

National Academy Of Fashion Technology, New Delhi

Pearl Academy Of Fashion, New Delhi

National Institute Fashion Technology, New Delhi

Gemmological Institute of India, Mumbai

International Diamond Laboratories, Mumbai