The Higher Education Review

Being a cosmopolitan city and the hub of IT aspirants in the country, Bangalore keeps pace with the latest trends and fashion. Indeed, it is believed that fashion for the entire country takes birth in Bangalore. While, the youths of Bangalore change their wardrobe collections in tune with the international fashion, the city hosts a good number of fashion designing institutes to train fresh fashion designers every year.

Among the top institutes, JD Institute of Fashion Technology is considered as one of the prime destinations for individuals who dreams to pursue a career in the fashion industry. The institute was founded by Chandraakant Dalal on 12 October 1988 Mumbai, India and holds the reputation of delivering multi-disciplinary education in the field of Art and Design.

They provide state of art courses comprising of Postgraduate, Undergraduate and Diploma courses in the field of Fashion Design, Interior Design, Fashion Communication, Jewellery Design, Event Management, Fashion Photography, Make-up artistry and Visual Merchandising.

As one of the most prestigious fashion institute in the country, JD Institute of Fashion Technology boasts of some unique fashion designing courses as well as some renowned alumni from the different streams like Rocky S, Pooja Bagaria, Sooraj Chawla, Neal Royan, Prashant Chikodi, Anchal Gulati, Gaurav Chabra and so on. JD Institute of Fashion Technology is the education wing of the JD Educational Trust, which has various learning centers spread across the length and breadth of the country. JD Institute of Fashion Technology is a proud owner of 28 centers so far headed by R.C Dalal (Delhi & North region), Yogesh Dalal (Maharashtra region) and Nealesh Dalal (South region). Nealesh Dalal, Managing Trustee of JD Educational Trust has been driven by a strong belief in the power of “Imagination”.

He has made immense contributions in the field of art and design education in the country. He believes, “The students should hone their creativity through a systematic approach by involving integration of design, innovation, communication, technology, style and market intelligence”.

Commemorating his vision, his professional and management team follows his guiding principles. “Innovation, Sustainability and Ethical Designs are the main ingredients incorporated in the work of our students,” mentions Sandra Agnes, Marketing Director, JD Institute of Fashion Technology. The unique approach that is incorporated in the curriculum delivery is industry oriented and involves industry feedback in every important aspect of this methodology.

“We believe that students should be given opportunities from day one. Hence, we have state of art equipments and facilities, workshop, seminars, national and international contest, fashion weeks, mentorship programs by industry experts as a part of the curriculum,” adds Sandra. When assessments are done according to these performances; psychological and attitudinal /behavior is also taken under consideration, which keeps the students to eye on their overall performance throughout the course duration. JD believes in constant change and constant development in the field of education, thereby prepares students to be industry ready through involvement of industry leaders in curriculum preparation. The latest styles, trends, the way of approaching the market, feedbacks from internship evaluations are combined to form the best modifications in the curriculum in regular intervals. “Any profession, especially creative ones, needs a lot of research.

In the fashion industry market, research is one of the many ways to get updates of the latest trends and styles,” opines Sandra. It is an advantage for the institute to have the campus amidst the city as it allows students to have easy reach to the number of showrooms for market research as the profession concerns a commercial factor.

Students study the latest trends, styles, designs used at present through visiting showrooms of various apparel brands in the entire city. They make note of all the research they do in their market research and incorporate in their assignments and projects. Apart from academics, the institute takes pride in the various achievements of their students in their ventures, including contests, fashion week or their own event- JD Annual Design Award. For example, JD Bangalore’s annual (theme based) event- ‘Untold story’ 2016 has seen some of the most celebrated art works. The event cum exhibition involves impressions of artists and artisans who have been working for generations yet have never received any chances to connect with the mainstream industry.

“The students portrayed their stories, bringing them in the limelight and exhibiting the finest of fresh designs. Likewise, this year we are expecting to see more creative ideas to be implemented on the theme ‘Future Origins’,” shares Sandra. What truly sets JD apart is its commitment to bring out the unique power residing in every student’s imagination. No matter from where the students come from, the cultivation of the imagination and its eventual translation into an awesome, marketable product is inevitable in JD. Through the application of knowledge, skills, industry exposure and training, JD students are exposed to a new life the moment they enter the campus, leaving them spellbound by their own creations at the end of their programs. ‘Creative Career’- an exclusive online job portal for JD students involve JD alumni, industry experts and organizations to meet fresh talents directly for placement opportunities.

JD students receive placement opportunities from over 180+ organizations from the industry every year and they have already placed 10, 000 of fashion aspirants so far, registering a 90 percent placement record. Today, JD eyes for an elite program in collaboration with international brands, which would expand the employability of its students. With a number of national and international collaborations on the pipeline, JD is looking for more such opportunities to maintain quality education in terms of a globalized platform and creating benchmarks in the fashion industry.