National Institute of Fashion Technology Review By Jyoti Vishwakarma

Firstly, the institute fee is quite less and unlike Pearl Academy Noida where it was more of glamour, NIFT means business. They made us tough as assignments would never end. For two years, one has to be cut-off socially and even on social media, we just have to search about fashion. Basically, at NIFT, each student used the word fashion at least 1000 times in a day. Gandhi Nagar is small than Ahmedabad but being the capital, it was well maintained and one will find greenery every where they see. Even it wasn’t that crowded as Ahmedabad and therefore one can live life peacefully. So, the college was fantastic and the city too was fantastic. Both the criteria for which me and my parents were worried were taken care of by NIFT which is not just one of the oldest institutes of fashion designing but also one with best credentials. NIFT are there in many cities of India but this Gandhi Nagar one was probably the best.

In Master of Fashion technology there were many sub divisions like garment manufacturing, retail management, or high-end fashion apparel making. One has to choose wisely as we were taught about TAM (Total Accessible Market) of each of the sub divisions. High end fashion was a niche market as it was a high margin business but the volume was low. Retail was in-between as it wasn’t a niche, nor it was the one with highest TAM. Garment manufacturing had the biggest market opportunity and I gleefully accepted that division.

More than faculty, I would call them instructors. They would guide and instruct us and monitor all our development. The course demand development and out of the box thinking and therefore professors guidance was required at every stage. There were 20 odd faculties all niches in their profession. None of the professors were without any work experience in the same industry so their experience helped us understand the market and develop ourselves accordingly. Many people think that designing doesn’t require any study as it’s an art. For all those, my only answer is that all are not blessed but with will and help of such great faculty one can over shadow the innate talented people.

The institute is funded by two big corporate houses that are Arvind Fashion and Aditya Birla Fashions. Our internship too was at Pantaloons as it is now owned by Future Group and Aditya Birla Group. After one month internship at Pantaloons, since I was into garment manufacturing, I was sent to work at the mills of Arvind Fashions and develop the new age fashion with the team of designers. After seeing our dedication and knowledge one of those companies hired almost all the students at an annual package of 10-12 LPA. I was wondering that if I did my undergrad from here, I would have saved a lot of my parent’s money. Nothing against Pearl Academy but for those who want to learn fashion and get placed one of the biggest textile companies in India, then NIFT is a much better choice. Yes, no prolific designers or international label came for recruitment but these two giants were more than enough to take care of all the students.

The girls' hostel of the campus was fantastic. The campus cafeteria was right next to the girls' hostel but with just 100 rooms and accommodation available for 200 girls, it is difficult to find space here. Undergrad 1st year girls are given edge over the girls who are doing masters. The rule has been made keeping in mind that many parents drench sending their daughters away from home, if there are no hostels at the campus. It was understandable and because of that, I couldn’t be admitted to the hostel. However, just next to the college is Garima Park and besides that there are many societies that accommodate students on rent.

NIFT Campus is located in SEZ Park as many IT companies and high-tech buildings are surrounded by the campus. The college’s best area was amphitheater which was inside the girls' hostel building. Apart from that, we students kept Tanariri auditorium busy by occupying it almost daily. Apart from hostel, there are also guest houses and staff quarters at the campus. In terms of sporting facilities there was just a volleyball court and a basketball court. The campus cafeteria was amazing as they serve us with a Gujarati Thali for just 50 rupees and I swear I had it daily and still craved for more. Apart from cafeteria the college’s mess Fuel Station was open for all the students.

NIFT keeps master’s students too busy to have a good social life at the campus. Also, because I wasn’t a part of the hostel, I missed out on lot of fun that those guys had. The college’s fest Spectrum was not as glamorous as Pearl Academy but the Gujarati folk dance that was the main theme of the event was for me the biggest highlight. All rights of events and fests lies with the students and therefore any chance of goof-ups are impossible. Along with Fashion Technology, I also became a nice event manager at NIFT.