How to Become a Fashion Designer After 12th?
Are you in class 12 or passing class 12th this year, and thinking of making a career in the Design industry? Then let me tell you, becoming a Fashion Designer is one of the top choices of students in this field. Read on to know how to become a Fashion Designer after Class 12.
How to become a Fashion Designer?
- Who is a Fashion Designer?
- Skills required to become a Fashion Designer
- Eligibility Criteria to Become a Fashion Designer After Class 12
- Courses to Become a Fashion Designer After 10+2
- Fees of Fashion Design Colleges
- Fashion Design Courses After 12th - Admission Process
Who is a Fashion Designer?
A fashion designer is a person who makes sketches and creates those sketches into original clothes, jewelry, footwear, and accessories. The main task of a Fashion designer is not only to make sketches, but to select fabric, materials, and patterns according to the trend in the market. They also create designs according to the demand of the general audience and customers. A Fashion Designer must have a creative and artistic mind.
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Skills required to become a Fashion Designer
The skills required to become a Fashion Designer are:
- Drawing and sketching skills: To become a fashion designer, you must be able to sketch and draw. You need not be an expert artist like Van Gogh or Piccaso, but should know how to sketch using your imagination and creativity.
- Creativity and imagination: These are the most important skills that a person who wants to become a fashion designer should have. He should have skills to think and imagine, and draw using imagination. He must have creativity to bring a new thing out of nothing.
- Know of fabrics and textiles: To become a fashion designer, one must have a thorough idea of fabrics and textiles used, what is in the market, and what is outdated. However, this all will be taught if a candidate pursues Fashion Designing after class 12.
- Fashion trend awareness: One must be active in the trends going on. He/she should have an interest in fashion weeks and walks. He should follow such news to get a grip on this.
- Computer and designing software skills: One must be technically sound if he/she want to become a Fashion Designer in today's world full of AI. One must know CAD, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, etc.
Eligibility Criteria to Become a Fashion Designer After Class 12
The eligibility criteria for admission to the fashion design course after 10+2 are described below. These criteria are not fixed, but are only meant to give you an overall perspective.
Yes, the National Institute of Fashion Technology will allow candidates with late fees. The late fee application window will open once the deadline to fill out the NIFT 2026 application form with regular fee closes. The start and last date to fill out the NIFT 2026 application form with late fee will be notified by the institute before the regular application form closes or sometime thereabout. The late fee for NIFT 2026 will be INR 5,000. The late fee has to be paid in addition to the application fee, which is INR 3000 for open category candidates.
Note that the Part B answer booklet will be evaluated only if the candidate qualifies Part A. Further, only such candidates who have qualified Part A will be shortlisted and allocated a merit rank.
This means if the candidates fails to qualify Part A of UCEED 2026, they will not be issued any merit ranks. The scorecards of such candidates will merely includes Part A scores. In contrast, the screcards of shortlisted will include a merit rank, total and sectional scores. Further, all shortlisted candidates will be eligible to participate in UCEED 2026 and seat allotment.
| Type of Course |
Eligibility Criteria |
|---|---|
| UG Courses |
The candidate must have scored a minimum of 50% aggregate marks in 10+2 |
| PG courses |
The candidate must have scored a minimum of 50% aggregate marks in the graduate-level exam |
| Diploma Courses |
Candidates must have passed the 10+2 exam from a recognized institute with a minimum of 50% marks. |
Courses to Become a Fashion Designer After 10+2
Here are some of the popular courses the candidate can pursue after completing their Class XII.
| Name of the Course |
Course Duration |
|---|---|
| 3 years |
|
| 4 years |
|
| 4 years |
|
| BDes in Textile Design |
4 years |
| 4 years |
|
| BDes in Fashion Communication |
3 years |
| 2 years |
|
| 3 years |
|
| BDes in Product Design |
4 years |
| Bachelor of Fashion and Apparel Design |
3 years |
| BDes in Communication Design |
3 years |
| 3 years |
|
| BDes in Jewellery Design |
3 years |
| BDes in Knitwear Design |
3 years |
| BFTech in Apparel Production |
4 Years |
| BA (Hons) in Fashion Design |
3 Years |
| Diploma in Fashion Design |
1 year |
| Advanced Diploma in Fashion Design |
2 years |
| 1 year |
|
| Certificate Course in Fashion Design |
1 year |
| MA in Fashion Design |
2 years |
| 2 years |
|
| Masters of Fashion Management |
2 years |
| 12 to 18 months |
Fees of Fashion Design Colleges
Check out the table to find the fee for Fashion Design Colleges.
Fashion Design Courses After 12th - Admission Process
- The admission process to design courses after 10+2 varies depending on the program selected and the institute. For instance, admission to B.Des courses at institutes like the NIFTs and NIDs is conducted strictly based on entrance exams like NIFT and NID DAT, respectively.
- On the other hand, admission to certificate and diploma courses is typically based on qualifying exam marks. No entrance exam is conducted. The same goes for certificate courses.
- Some institutes may offer admission to B.Des and BA Fashion Design courses directly based on qualifying exam marks.
- Some Institutes also accept the National Level entrance exam to give admission to design courses, like scores of NIFT, UCEED, NID, CUET, etc., are used to get admission to design colleges.
Salary of a Fashion Designer in India
The salary of a Fashion designer depends on the year of experience. The table below shows the salary according to experience.
Explore more Design exams with upcoming dates
UCEED
8 Feb '26
17 Feb '26
27 Feb '26
17 Oct '25 - 28 Feb '26
28 Feb '26
12 Jan '26 - 12 Mar '26
15 Dec '25 - 15 Mar '26
22 Mar '26
| Experience Level | Experience Year | Average Salary (INR/per month) |
|---|---|---|
| Entry Level | 0-2 years | 25,000 to 40,000 |
| Mid-Level | 3-6 years | 50,000 to 1,00,000 |
| Senior Designer | 7+ years | 1,00,000 to 2,50,000 |
| Celebrity/Luxury Designer | 7+ years | 5,00,000 to 10,00,000 |
Also Read:
Candidates from any academic stream are eligible to apply for UCEED exam. However, for admission to IIT Guwahati it is mandatory for candidates to have passed Class 12 from Science stream. The candidate needs to carefully go through the eligibiity criteria before they apply. It is because the candidate will not be considered for admission to the B. Des programme even if they get a rank in UCEED 2026 if they don't meet the prescribed eligibility criteria. Also, any candidate who is found to be using incorrect information about their eliigibity stands to be disqualified if caught.
Candidates who get shortlisted for the PRPI round have to upload a digital portfolio. The portfolio may include
Sketches, mixed media illustrations and digital work
Collaging of images, 2D and 3D articles
Photography
3D objects like sculpture, fabric products, gadgets, art inspired products etc.
Candidates who are included in the waiting list will be considered for admission only if there are any vacancies. The seat allotment for waiting list candidates will be conducted if there are any vacant seats left.
The allotment of seats in this case will be based on SEED 2026 merit ranks.
For any admission related queries, the candidate can contact admission officials at the following numbers:
020-26557210 / 203.
Sayeba Naushad is a commerce postgraduate from Banaras Hindu University. She has over five years of experience in content writing and editing. She has a nose for current events in design field. At Shiksha.com, she s
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Candidates applying for B. Des course need to have passed 10+2 exam from a recognised institute and should be less than 24 years as of August 1, 2026. Relaxation of 5 years in the upper age limit applies for candidates belonging to SC, ST and PwD categories.