Apparel Design Career Guide: Roles, Salary 2025 & Future Scope
Akansha BishtSenior Executive
Making a career in Apparel Design can be considered one of the best career decisions that students can make in their lives. Candidates get an opportunity to showcase their artistic skills and talent and create various designer clothes from scratch, thereby gaining relevant skills, experience, and knowledge required to bag a high-paying job in this field.
The fashion Industry has been witnessing immense growth over the years as this field offers candidates a chance to express their emotions and creativity through designing versatile clothes from start to finish. This eventually helps them get exposure to this dynamic field of innovations and rise in their careers.
Aspiring candidates can study Apparel Design courses at various levels, such as UG, PG, Diploma, Doctorate, and Certification. Some popular Apparel Design colleges offering great placement opportunities include Banaras Hindu University, Guru Nanak Dev University, Bhagini Nivedita College - DU, MIT WPU - School of Design, etc.
Some of the widely opted job profiles by the Apparel Design students include Fashion Designer, Accessories Designer, Stylist, Trend Forecaster, Fashion Coordinator, Merchandiser, etc. Top Recruiters in this field include Zara, H & M, Park Avenue, Levi's, Louis Philippe, Allen Solly, etc. The average salary of an Apparel Designer is INR 5.9 LPA in India.
Interested Candidates may continue reading further to know more about the career scope in Apparel Design.
Links relevant to Freelance Clothing Designer Career Scope:
All About The Career As A Fashion Designer
Apparel Design Career Scope: Quick Facts
Students who wish to pursue their career path in the Apparel and Fashion Design industry must stay updated about the industry trends, market growth, job prospects, etc. Here are a few interesting yet important facts about the Apparel Design market that students must know:
-
The Apparel market revenue in India is estimated to reach US$109.45 billion in 2025.
-
Women's Apparel holds the largest share among the various apparel segments, with a market volume of US$53.13 billion in 2025.
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The textile and apparel products of India, including handlooms and handicrafts, are exported to more than 100 countries across the globe.
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India is one of the largest consumers and producers of cotton, with a total acreage of 12.5 million hectares, which is 38% of the global area under cotton cultivation.
Links useful for Freelance Apparel Designer Scope:
All you need to know about a Career in Fashion Design
Apparel Design Career Scope: Popular Job Profiles
With the rise of the fashion industry and technology over the past decade, various job opportunities have emerged that allow candidates to complete this course and opt for the desired job roles according to their comfort and interests. Here are a few of the job profiles that the majority of Apparel Design students aim for.
Entry-Level Apparel Design Jobs
Here are some popular entry level Apparel Design jobs and salary options for new graduates and freshers in India:
| Job profiles | Job Description | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Assistant Designers | They support and assist Senior Designers in various tasks throughout the pre- and post-production of a design. | INR 4 LPA |
| Junior Design Executives | Their job is to modify and revise existing designs while meeting clients' expectations and improving the quality and functionality of the product. | INR 2.9 LPA |
| Junior Design Consultants | They assist Senior Designers in the research process, complete basic Design tasks, provide client communication facilities, etc. | INR 4.1 LPA |
Note: The salary information has been sourced from ambitionbox.com.
Mid-Level Apparel Design Jobs
Here are some mid-level popular Apparel Design jobs and salary options for professionals who have certain work experience in the industry:
|
Job Profiles |
Job Description |
Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
|
Fashion Designers |
Involved in designing and maintaining the clothing line of an apparel brand. They create, illustrate designs and patterns, estimate the cost of manufacturing, and maintain their associated brands' clothing lines. |
INR 5 LPA |
|
Trends Forecasters |
The fashion industry is ever-changing. Every day, a new trend is set. Therefore, as fashion forecasters, they are required to research and analyze the worldwide fashion industry. The fashion forecasters work with fashion designers to identify and create apparel designs that will set the trends in the market. |
INR 8 LPA |
|
Apparel Quality Controllers |
The quality controllers are involved in setting standards for the fabric to differentiate original and quality products from faux material. |
INR 6 LPA |
|
Stylists |
Responsible for the styling of the clothes and the designs in such a way that they best suit the requirements and desires of the customer. |
INR 8.4 LPA |
Note: The salary information has been sourced from ambitionbox.com.
Senior-Level Apparel Design Jobs
Here are some senior-level popular Apparel Design jobs and salary options for professionals who have gained relevant, good years of experience, say 5-10 years in the industry:
| Job Profiles | Job Description | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
|
Merchandise Specialists |
Merchandises are the best ways to develop a brand value and create an image in the minds of the public. Hence, these are the specialists who handle the production of merchandise and help in selling them to their target audiences. |
INR 12.5 LPA |
| Senior Designers | They are leaders who are responsible for developing and executing design solutions and leading design projects from pre- to post-production. | INR 10.9 LPA |
| Design Directors | They lead and guide design teams to ensure that the project aligns with their brand identity and meets high-creative standards. | INR 24 LPA |
Note: The salary information has been sourced from ambitionbox.com.
Recommended links for Clothing Designer Freelance:
Emerging Trends in the Apparel Design Industry
Let’s have a look at some of the widely emerging trends in the sector of Fashion and Apparel Design:
- Customization: Lately, the fashion companies have started to offer their customers an option to personalize their apparel as per their desire and comfort, which is considered to be one of the smartest moves in the fashion industry over the past few years.
- Merchandise: With the rise in social media and influencers, merchandise has become a prominent method of creating a brand value and developing that personal connection with your audience to help increase your market value.
- AR/VR: Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality have helped in the digitalization of the industry as they allow customers to try the clothes in an online mode, which helps them get a rough idea of how the clothes would suit them. This helps to choose the desired clothing without having to physically try out all the apparel.
- Sustainable Fashion: Using environmentally friendly materials can help prevent any harm or damage to the environment and create apparel that can be reused and recycled.
- Seasonal Trends: Different apparels are created and worn at different times of the year, depending on the current season. For example, hoodies are trending among the youth during winter
- Fast vs Slow fashion: Slow fashion is referred to as the apparel that is carefully designed to provide durability and is long-lasting, while fast fashion is more focused on the trends and customer demands that fade quickly.
Suggested links for Apparel Design Salary:
Skills Required to be a Successful Fashion Designer
Apparel Design Scope in India: Jobs, Salary, and Further Education
Aspiring Candidates who wish to pursue apparel designing courses will experience a wide range of benefits, as this industry offers lucrative salaries and incentives. This sector is rapidly evolving and will heavily contribute to the future world of urbanization.
From a Fresher graduate to an experienced individual, everyone is allowed to learn and explore the diversity of this field, which eventually helps them land a good placement opportunity and make a career in the fashion industry. This allows them to understand their goals and interests, make plans, and achieve them to boost their careers.
Apparel Design Career Scope: Popular Courses
Given below are the various types of Apparel Design courses available in India, which the aspiring candidates can consider to pursue to make a career in the field of apparel design:
|
Types of Apparel Design Courses |
|
|---|---|
|
Diploma in Apparel Design |
BSc Apparel Design |
|
UG Diploma in Apparel Design |
MDes in Apparel Design |
|
B.Voc in Apparel Design |
M.Voc in Apparel Design |
|
BDes in Apparel Design |
MA in Apparel Design |
|
BA in Apparel Design |
MSc Apparel Design |
Note: The information is sourced from external sites and may vary.
Links useful for the Fashion and Apparel Design Jobs:
Fashion Design Course After 10th - Admission Process, Where to Study, Job Prospect
Apparel Design Career Scope: Top Recruiters
Given below are some of the top Indian and International recruiters for the Apparel Design aspirants.
|
Apparel Design Top Recruiters |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Allen Solly |
Van Heusen |
Levis |
|
Park Avenue |
H & M |
Uniqlo |
|
Marks and Spencer |
Zara |
Louis Phillipe |
|
Balenciaga |
Louis Vuitton |
Dolce Gabbana |
Note: The information is sourced from multiple sources on the web and hence, is subject to vary.
Links useful for Apparel Design jobs:
Best Apparel Design Colleges for Placements (in India)
Both Government and Private Apparel Design colleges in India offer this course with top-class faculty, campus life, and placements. Students considering pursuing this course and making a career in this field can select from a wide range of universities.
Given below are some of the top universities and their average packages (in INR), which the aspiring candidates can refer to:
|
Top Apparel Design Colleges |
Average Package Offered |
|---|---|
| Banaras Hindu University Placements | INR 8 - 9 LPA |
| Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology Placements | INR 6.5 LPA |
| Guru Nanak Dev University Placements | INR 6.35 LPA |
| Pimpri Chinchwad University (PCU) Placements | INR 6.05 LPA |
| Garden City University Placements | INR 3.6 - 6 LPA |
| Bhagini Nivedita College DU Placements | INR 5.5 LPA |
| School of Design, MIT WPU Placements | INR 5.5 LPA |
| SD College Chandigarh Placements | INR 5.08 LPA |
| KCT Coimbatore Placements | INR 5 LPA |
| HITS Placements | INR 4.5 LPA |
Note: The information is sourced from the official/counselling body of the institute/exam.
Links recommended for Apparel Design Career:
How to become a Fashion Designer
Apparel design Career FAQs
Q: What jobs can I get with an Apparel Design degree?
A: After completing an Apparel Design course, aspirants can become Apparel designer, Fashion marketer, Fashion Trend Forecaster, Retail merchandiser, Quality controller or Stylist.
Given below are some job profiles that can be pursued by Apparel Design graduates:
|
Job Profile |
Description |
Average CTC (INR) |
|---|---|---|
|
Fashion Designer |
Creates original clothing designs, considers market trends. |
INR 3-5 Lacs (entry-level), INR 10 Lacs or more (experienced) |
|
Textile Designer |
Specializes in creating designs for fabrics, patterns. |
INR 3-4 Lacs (entry-level), INR 6 Lacs or more (experienced) |
|
Pattern Maker |
Develops templates for cutting fabric based on design specifications. |
INR 2-4 Lacs (entry-level), potential for higher based on experience |
|
Fashion Merchandiser |
Manages buying and selling of clothing, ensures products meet market demand. |
INR 3-5 Lacs (entry-level), INR 8 Lacs or more (experienced) |
|
Fashion Illustrator |
Specializes in sketching and illustrating fashion designs. |
INR 2-4 Lacs (entry-level), potential for higher based on experience |
|
Fashion Coordinator |
Coordinates various aspects of the fashion design process. |
INR 3-5 Lacs (entry-level), potential for higher based on experience |
|
Fashion Consultant/Stylist |
Advises individuals or clients on fashion choices and styling. |
INR 4-8 Lacs (employed), freelance rates may vary per project |
Note: This information is sourced from external sites and may vary.
Q: What is the difference in Garment Technology and Apparel Design?
A: Hi,
Garment / Fashion Technology: It deals with various aspects of fashion, Designing, printing, marketing, quality control, merchandising of various textiles, apparels, garments and accessories. Apparel / Fashion Designing: It deals with the creative field in which trendy and appealing apparels or accessories are designed. More to do with styling / designing / sketching / Graphics / CAD etc.
Q: What is B.Sc. In Apparel and Fashion Design all about?
A: As the world grows into global village, the incomes all across the segments increases and a large number people come into middle class bracket, this has increased the need of people to be more and more fashionable. This increased scope of creative careers in the field of fashion. Which in turn increased the scope of its training, courses and institutions.
Fashion technology course are aimed to suit the needs of the students who aspire to be the future designers, merchandisers and entrepreneurs. Developing designing and form generation skills of students is an important focus area throughout the duration of the programme. These programs aim at educating the students on all facets that make up this growing industry, through workshops/ seminars, market research, Industry visits & craft documentation. The main areas studied and various skills imparted to students are:
Basic sketching skills. Fashion drawing. Apparel manufacturing process. Fundamentals of Textile Science. Technical design development using
Graphic tools like Adobe Photoshop, Core draw, Adobe illustrator, Macro media Flash and CAD/CAM. Fashion accessories (Costume Jewellery, Bags, Hats, etc.).
Some MUST HAVES for a good programme are:
Availability of international forecast WGSN for trend forecasting. The latest machinery & soft wares to keep students at the cutting edge of technology. The various programs of the dept. Are supported by materials like books of various international publishers, state of the art labs and design studios. The emphasis is on self-motivated learning by using creativity, exploring techniques & innovating new applications in fashion. In B. Design (Fashion) the students are provided with an opportunity to showcase their design collection through an Annual fashion shows and festivals.
The career prospects in Fashion technology:
Merchandiser in Export/ Buying houses (The link between buyer-seller). Visual Merchandiser (Creation & execution of Shop-window display). Apparel production manager. Fashion retail store Manager. Fashion designers (B. Design has brighter probabilities to pursue as freelance or self-employed designers). Sales executive
Fashion Consultant
One such institution doing such pioneering work in Fashion Technology is Lovely Professional University, it has invested a lot in quantitative and qualitative parameters discussed in must haves above. So, give a direction to your career. Hope this helps.
Q: Who are the top recruiters at ATDC - Apparel Training And Design Center during placements?
A: ATDC - Apparel Training And Design Center offers placement support to its students. Notable organizations that visit the institute for recruitment include Streeboinc, Mol Information Technology, Air India Engineering Service Limited, Hicut Tools, Bharat Wire Ropes Ltd, Uaeindia Business Council, Aether Industries Limited, Aforservecom, Agora Finance, Agro Engineering Work.
Q: Which courses does Institute of Fashion Technology and Apparel Design Women College offer to students?
A: Institute of Fashion Technology and Apparel Design Women College offers courses such as B.FTech in the stream of Design. These courses are considered to be the best choice for the aspiring candidates who want to make a career in apparel design and the ones who enrol in this course do see the benefits early. Hence, if you are considering to opt for this course, it will prove to be a good decision
Q: How is the infrastructure at Institute of Fashion Technology and Apparel Design Women College?
A: Institute has good facilities all around the campus such as Auditorium, Boys Hostel, Cafeteria, Girls Hostel, Gym, Hospital / Medical Facilities, Hostel, Labs, Library, Sports Complex, Wi-Fi Campus. This college has the top faculties from all over India which can help the students in gaining valuable insights and knowledge regarding this field of apparel design so that they can grab their deserving placement opportunities.
Q: Is Apparel Design worth pursuing?
A: The field of apparel design has been the most rapidly growing sector over the past few decades in India and offers the deserving candidates an exposure to the practical world where they can use their artistic and creative skills to create meaningful designs which can help them gain relevant skill set to bag a decent job offer. The ones who study this course will eventually see the bright future and the endless possibilities they will have in the near future.
Q: How to make a career in Apparel Design?
You need to have a relevant degree or a diploma in the field of fashion technology if you are considering to make a career in apparel. This is the minimum basic requirement for the candidates who want to pursue this field. Apart from this, you should possess the desired skills and experience necessary to survive in this industry. Create a strong portfolio and look for internship opportunities which can help boost your career and upgrade your skills
Q. Why should I pursue an Apparel Design course?
A. There are numerous advantages of pursuing a career in Apparel Design, and students who have pursued this course surely haven’t regretted their decision. Here are a few reasons why to pursue a career in Apparel Design:
- High Demand: The number of skilled professionals in the market is comparatively less than the requirement, and this opens up various opportunities for students having the desired skill set to make a career in this field.
- Lucrative Salaries: The possibilities of making a high income in this field of apparel design are endless, which opens a gateway for aspiring candidates to use their talent and experience for a good future.
- Freedom of Creativity: Students are given an opportunity to express their emotions and creativity by designing unique products which create a high brand value of these products in the market.
- Industry: This field of Apparel Design has been rapidly growing over the past few years and will continue to grow in the future.
- Course Levels: Apparel Design course is available in various forms like UG, PG, Diploma, PhD, and Certificate, which provides flexibility to the candidates for pursuing this course as per their interests and requirements.
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