Top Fashion Schools in India

Here’s a list of the top fashion schools of India offering best fashion and design courses to start your fashion career. Plus, all the info on courses, selection criteria, fees, branches & more!

Want to jump-start your fashion career but wondering which fashion school and course to go for? India has hundreds of fashion schools, each offering unique courses, and opportunities. The best idea for prospective students is to read about them in detail and recognize their culture, courses, and opportunities, so that they can select best one for themselves.

The College Selection Dilemma

If you are confused about selecting a fashion school, worry not. I was once in the exact same boat as you. Well, when I started up with my career, I was confused because of parental pressure and a big decision of my life – my career. I was in a situation where I had so many options yet no options, all muddled up.

Wanting to learn fashion design, I searched about the best fashion schools but found no information or details. And I was super disappointed as some sources gave information of courses, but without fees structure. Some only mentioned about degree, but not specific courses. Others gave details of placements and internship, but no detail under what companies… you get the gist! Basically, all sources lacked in some context or the other.

The partial knowledge about so many fashion schools forced me to depend on my parents, and I did what they advised. I was upset because I wanted to take my decision independently but could not. So I can understand what dilemma students go through. And that’s why I decided to make this list from my own research, so that you can be independent and don’t have to go through what I did.

Top Six Fashion Schools in India

To help you, I am listing the top six fashion schools of India with their well-analysed and detailed information. I have taken these particular six fashion schools because of their variety of course offered, easy availability, and future opportunities. Read further and explore all the information of these fashion schools.

1. National Institute of Fashion Technology
2. Pearl Academy
3. National Institute of Design
4. Symbiosis Institute of Design
5. MKSSS School of Fashion
6. JD Institute of Fashion Technology

1. National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)

When we think about fashion schools, the first and foremost name that comes to our mind is NIFT. Therefore, I decided to begin from here. NIFT simply narrows down your interest into a specific field and helps to develop your best. Hence, it gives you wide variety of courses.

It has streams of bachelors, masters, and diploma for its students proving that there is no need to go somewhere else. NIFT selects its students through the complex entrance examination. Entrance happens in three parts that is creative ability test (CAT), general ability test (GAT) and situation test. Reservation policy plays a very important part here because it is a government institution. I have suffered through this barrier and because of it left my dreams broken. So I will suggest you not prepare for it 100 percent, but 200 percent.

Courses Offered

The best part about NIFT is that it sorts out all the fashion fields very clearly, because of which students can easily recognize their interests.

• Bachelor Programs – Fashion design, Leather design, Accessory design, Textile design, Knitwear design, Fashion communication, Apparel production.
• Master Programs – Masters in Design, Fashion management, Masters in fashion technology.
• Certificate Programs – Luxury product design, Draping for dresses, Clothing production technology, Fashion E- business management and many more.

Eligibility & Selection Criteria

• Bachelor’s programs – Aggregate of 50% in 12th.
• Master programs – Graduation from UGC proved university with aggregate of 50%.
• Diploma – Certificates of previous education.

Branches

NIFT is very easily available in various locations and because of this factor it attracts many students. This is also quite advantageous to the college as they provides high standards of competition between students.

• Delhi
• Bengaluru
• Bhopal
• Bhubaneswar
• Hyderabad
• Rajasthan
• Himachal Pradesh
• Kerala
• Kolkata
• Mumbai
• Rae Bareli
• Srinagar
• Varanasi
• Patna
• Chennai
• Gujarat

Fee Structure

NIFT is a dream for many because it provides you great opportunities at a much lower fees than other national level institutes.

• Bachelors – 9.76 lakhs total fee.
• Masters – 4.46 lakhs total fee.
• Diploma – 62,000 total fee.

Placements

As a student, I always searched about what placements fashion schools provide after completion of the program. Well, NIFT introduces you to a new world to gain experience and climb up stairs of success by providing guaranteed internships and placements under companies like Decathlon, Monte Carlo, The Blue Beans, Tailor Man, Blackberry and many more.

Website

nift.ac.in – Visit for more info, updated entrance criteria, dates and more.

Famous personalities

I really judged and opted for a college because of its success stories and what famous people in the fashion industry have attended it. Are you curious why NIFT comes first wherever and whenever fashion is discussed? It’s because this institute has given the industry famous designers like Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Manish Arora, Rohit Bal and many more, therefore proving itself to be a success destination for many and maybe yours, too.

Also read: 20 Top Fashion Designers in India Ruling the Industry

2. Pearl Academy

Whenever I have searched about fashion schools, Pearl Academy is one of the top because of the variety of courses it offers. Pearl academy provides its student with courses in streams of fashion, entrepreneurship, and media studies. I realized Pearl not only teaches fashion creation, but also how to influence the world with your fashion creations. Wow! Not all colleges provide this.

The Institution offers a total of 30 courses in undergraduate, post graduate and certificate programs and also gives students the opportunity to study abroad. For becoming a part of Pearl, you need to clear entrance examination that are allowed on the basis of your merit scores.

Courses Offered

Pearl academy is an attraction for many students because it makes you learn how the world of fashion, entrepreneurship, and media goes hand in hand.

• Bachelor and Master programs – Fashion & lifestyle business management, Fashion styling & image design, Global Luxury brand management, Textile design, Accessory design, Communication design, Product design, Interior design, Advertising & marketing, Fashion communication, Journalism ( Media & communication), Entertainment (Media and communication), Entrepreneurship and start up enterprise, Media & Entertainment business, Digital business and data analytics, Digital & social media marketing.
• Certificate programs – Fashion Buying & Merchandising, Fashion Design, Fashion Media makeup, Styling for interiors, Celebrity and Bridal hair and makeup, Personal styling & Image Consultancy, Surface design, Events & experiential marketing, Digital film making, Advertising & graphic design, Professional photography, Wedding & events photography, Fashion photography.

Eligibility & Selection Criteria

• Bachelors Programs – 12th pass with 50% score.
• Master Programs – Graduation from UGC approved university with 50% score.
• Diploma does not require clearance of entrance examination, but yes, certificates of previous studies are required.
• Clearance of examination is mandatory for admission in bachelors and masters.

Branches

Pearl is rooted in some of the big known states of India for easy availability to students.

• Delhi
• Jaipur
• Mumbai
• Bengaluru
• Kolkata

Fee Structure

What fees will you need to pay here?

• Bachelor – 23 lakhs total fee.
• Masters – 9.44 lakhs total fee.
• Certificates – 1 lakh total fee.

Placements

We recognized Pearl on the second rank in our listing because of 100 percent guaranteed placements. It not only gives you the opportunity to work for Indian brands but also international brands, therefore making itself highly coveted by prospective students.

• Aaj Tak
• BBC News
• Sony
• Times of India
• Colours TV
• H&M

Website

pearlacademy.com – Visit for updates and more information.

3. National Institute of Design (NID)

NID stands with tough competition to NIFT, and offers you equally great opportunities. When we talk about NID, we open up our choices to huge areas of designing and not only fashion design. Furthermore, NID is not only limited to fashion variation courses and you find an array of designing subjects here.

Although as far as design as a whole is concerned, NID is the best in India. However, fashion itself is not its top offering, and that’s why we’re placing it third in our rankings. NID also provides its students with NIDUS, which is their own design outlet to display their designs and creations.You get an opportunity to show your talent to the world. Wow!

For admission in NID, one needs to clear NID DAT (Design Aptitude Test) Prelims, which is a written test and NID DAT Mains, which is a Studio Test and Personal Interview round which has quite a high complexity level. NID is also a government institute, hence follows the reservation, which it is disadvantage for many and obviously, an advantage for some.

Courses Offered

NID provides exact and to the point courses for bachelors and masters degrees to its students.

• Bachelor Programs – Animation film design, Ceramic & glass design, Exhibition design, Film & video communication, Furniture & interior design, Graphic design, Product design, Textile design, Apparel design.
• Master Programs – Design for retail experience, Digital game experience, Information design, Interaction design, Lifestyle accessory design, New media design, Photography design, Strategic design management, Toy and game design, Transportation automobile design, Universal design.

Selection & Eligibility Criteria

• Bachelors – 50% score in 12th boards.
• Master programs – Graduation from UGC approved university.

Branches

NID’s only disadvantage is that it is not available easily in different locations and hence becomes a secondary option for many prospective students.

• Ahmedabad
• Gandhinagar (Gujarat)
• Bengaluru

Fee structure

What fees you need to pay for different courses in NID?

• For Bachelor’s Degree – 7.54 lakhs for 4 years
• For Master’s degree – 5.79 lakhs for 2.5 years

Placements

NID offers you opportunities of internships and placements some really famous companies:

• Whirlpool India Ltd.
• Philips
• Titan Industries
• Adobe
• Nalli Silk International
• Toshiba

Website

nid.edu – Visit for further newest updates and notifications.

Famous personalities who attended

Famous personalities like Sujata Keshavan, Orijit Sen, Sumant Jayakrishnan have been part of NID.

4. Symbiosis Institute of Design (SID)

Honestly, I heard a lot about Symbiosis University but was not aware about SID, after researching more, I realized that SID proffers broadly classified courses of design. However, it only allows you with a bachelor’s degree for education and no other post-grad degree because of which it is ignored by many. Although the quality and opportunities provided in bachelors is commendable.

SID attracts many students because of the practical exposure that it gives to students there. What else do you need to explore your potential in the fashion industry?

Course Offered

SID offers you broadly classified courses and no specific and exact courses like NIFT, NID, and Pearl do.

• Bachelor programs – In design, Communication design, Industrial design, Fashion design, Fashion communication.

Eligibility & Selection

• 12th pass from a recognized board with 50% scores.
• SID also requires clearance of entrance examination for admission.

Branches

As SID is a deemed institute under Symbiosis University it does not have branches all over India. It is located only in Pune and students from all over world, move to Pune to attend SID. SID has kept its originality and uniqueness to just this one institute.

Fee structure

What fees you need to pay in SID?

• All bachelor programs – 4,20,000 (total fees).

Placements

SID provides students with opportunities under companies like:

• Infosys
• Whirlpool
• HCL
• Auto Line industries Ltd.

Website

Sid.edu.in – Visit for the latest admission-related information.

5. MKSSS’S School of Fashion Technology (SOFT)

Not all prospective students are aware of this college. But don’t worry, I have got you all the necessary information on this college and why you should include it in your options. SOFT offers its students with a wide variety of courses for bachelor’s degree and limited programs for masters because of which it is neglected by students.

There is no compromise on the quality of education and opportunities it provides. Hence, it is worth giving your time here. What made me include this college in this list is that SOFT gives opportunity to the students to display their talents in their own fest named Inspiro, thereby increasing students’ confidence. In this event, the college conducts an exhibitions and displays the best of students’ designs.

Courses Offered

As I mentioned above, the school provides you with core course options. Here’s a list to know what is best for you.

• Bachelor Programs – Fashion designing, Fashion communication, Textile designing, Jewelry designing.
• Master’s Programs – Masters of Design.

Eligibility & Selection

• Bachelors – 12 th passed from a recognized board with aggregate of 50%.
• Master’s – Bachelor’s degree from UGC approved university.
• Clearance of entrance examination is mandatory.

Branches

Unfortunately, SOFT does not have branches all over India. It is only located in Pune and students interested need to move to Pune to attend SOFT. Fortunately, it has kept its originality, as it is only one all over India, so you’ll find a crowd of students here from all over the country.

Fee structure

SOFT provides fashion education at a cost of ₹ 85,965 per year. That’s much lesser than other schools Wow!

Placements

SOFT has great internship opportunities and offers placements according to the students’ merits under top brands like:

• Raymond
• Bombay Dyeing
• Puma
• Reliance Industries Limited

Website

soft.ac.in – Visit for further info.

6. JD Institute of Fashion Technology

In the process of my research, I saw many reviews about students wanting to learn something very quickly without investing much time. Some students are not up for degree courses and are specifically finding some certificate courses, to make for a quick entry into the fashion world.

If that sounds like you, JD Institute is the best place to start your journey from because it offers many certificate courses in different fashion streams. The school promises to offer quality education, practical work, and opportunities of displaying your designs in JD awards.

Courses Offered

JD offers you speedy certificate courses in diverse fields of fashion, so that you can narrow down your interests into a particular one best suited to your potential.

• Advanced Diploma and Diploma – Fashion Design, Fashion Styling, Fashion Photography, Diploma In Visual Merchandising, Fine Jewelry Design, Interior Design, Fashion Communication, Fashion And Business Management, Garment Manufacturing Technology, Pattern Making Technology and Apparel Boutique Management.

Eligibility & Selection Criteria

If you’re looking for a certification, apply for a diploma or advanced diploma after passing 12 th or having any other previous education. JD institute doesn’t require any entrance examination.

Branches

JD offers a variety of courses in many different locations, especially in non-metro cities.

• Delhi
• Gujarat
• Chhattisgarh
• Uttar Pradesh
• Haryana
• Jaipur
• Bihar
• Madhya Pradesh

Fee structure

Fees can be a crucial part for opting for rapid courses because not everyone has the resources to pay for degree programs. No worries, JD offers a professional certification at a cost of ₹ 1.77 lakh in total.

Placements

Many students prefer JD because it provides opportunities of internship and placements under leading brands:

• Pantaloons
• Zara
• H&M
• Calvin Klein
• Shopper Stop

Website

jdinstitute.com – Visit for further news and admissions info.

Conclusion

We tried to provide you with well-analysed and detailed information of the top fashion schools that will help you select the best one that would suit your interest and ambitions. Fashion careers need guidance and analysis only at the first step, for setting up the perfect plan. Once you make it, your success depends on your level of creativity. After all, the longer the runway, the higher the flight.

So I hope this rankings list and guide helps our readers learn about the best fashion schools in India. We would love for you to share your personal experiences of these schools, so do let us know in the comments below. And also let us know which school you end up choosing by tweeting us @shilpa1ahuja

Read next:

– Top Online Fashion Courses for Your At-Home Education
– Fashion Designing Subjects & Courses in Fashion Design Schools
– Fashion Design Sketches by World’s Top Fashion Designers