The Higher Education Review

As one of the best-paid industrie today, a career in fashion design has become popular among the creative minds. In a country like India, where the raw materials are readily available for textile and garment industries, the job opportunities also seems to be never ending. With these persistent opportunities, the aspirants of fashion designing are looking for a perfect learning space that will work on their creative side of brain. Located in the Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu, the Department of Fashion Designing under the Holy Cross Home Science College (HCHSC) was started in 2006 to impart the best possible knowledge in the field of designing and manufacturing. The course was started with an intention to create exceptional aesthetic sense among women. “From the time of establishment, our focus has been on providing quality training, keeping aside the commercial benefits. We collect only nominal fees and our pure intention of providing standard learning experience has attracted students from all kinds of backgrounds,” says Rev. Dr. Sr. Mary Hilda, Secretary and Principal, Holy Cross Home Science College.

At HCHSC, students are stimulated to work hard in order to explore their talents. Dr. Hilda claims, “We give them enormous opportunities to realize their innate potential.” Students take up income generation programmes, participate in seminars and conferences related to fashion that also exposes them to the marketing facilities available and direct them to take up local orders and learn new techniques available at the regional and national levels. “We have different facilities like, sewing technology, industrial machine rooms, drafting area cutting rooms, computer with CAD facilities, dressing rooms, printing and dyeing and textile testing rooms,” adds Dr. Hilda.

Although, subject experts at the university level frame the syllabus of the Institute’s Fashion Designing programme, the senior staffs of the institute who posses deep subject knowledge have made significant contributions in introducing the latest trends of fashion industry to the students. The institute also gets support from government bodies and other academic institution. The South India Textile Research Association and NIFT Tirupur are few to name among them. “We are confident about our students and their abilities in facing the new challenges. We can also assure that our students will able to face the demand for the quality professionals,” claims Dr. Hilda. The college has a placement cell, which organizes programmes for every academic year by inviting the industry experts. The faculty members of the institute play a very important role in the right moulding of professionals.

Based on the individual talents, the mentors rightly guide, motivate and accompany them for their future plans. “Some students after the course go for higher education wherein the mentors stand as the finders of the right training space. Few students also set up their own boutiques and designing centres and still those students keep in touch with the mentors and the industry experts to whom they were associated through the college,” explains Dr. Hilda. The HCHSC is administered by the Society of the Sisters of the Cross of Chavanod, Madurai Province. The college, affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University – Tirunelveli, was reaccredited with ‘B’ grade by NAAC.

“In the coming years, our matter of concern will be on expanding the tie ups with the growing garment industry in order to offer students with more knowledge in the field of marketing. We will further try to reach out to the villages to offer training for Self Help Groups and to train more women to generate income for families. Thus, we need to equip the future generation of women to be self reliant and independent,” concludes Dr. Hilda.