Ms. Nita Mathur is the HOD- Fashion Design at the Graduate School of Business, Indore. She is a highly accomplished educationist and designer who has made a significant impact on fashion education in Indore, India, with over 30 years of diverse experience. She has held prominent leadership positions in both academics and the fashion and apparel industry. Ms. Mathur is a revered knowledge resource and has played a pivotal role in shaping the educational landscape of institutes like Virtual Voyage, SDPS, Kalash Kriti, Lighthouse, IIFT, among others, establishing them as leaders in the field of fashion education. Her contributions include curriculum design, infrastructure development, resource identification, team building, and knowledge resource creation. She has also organized a multitude of workshops, seminars, industry visits, educational tours, and fashion shows to provide her students with valuable exposure to the world of fashion, culture, and handicrafts.

In addition to her academic accomplishments, Ms. Mathur has made substantial contributions in the field of product design (apparels) and product development at TATA International - Dewas, creating products for prominent organizations in India and overseas. She holds an M.Sc. in Textile and Clothing from Govt. Home Science College, Chandigarh (1987), and a B.Sc. Honors in Home Science from Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand (1985). Her numerous achievements include receiving a University Merit Certificate for scholastic excellence, completing a training program in production management in a sewing factory conducted by The Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship (Japan) and the Juki Corporation (Japan), and contributing regularly to leading newspapers on various fashion subjects. Furthermore, she has been appointed as an external examiner for various institutions, including DAVV, Indore, and ICG College, Jaipur, among others. Her contributions to the world of fashion education and the industry at large have been recognized with the Certificate of Achievement in Education by the Brijbhoomi Foundation.

Graduate School of Business

What is the latest program that you are offering in your department, which will help students outperform and stand apart from the crowed?

We currently offer three programs. The first is a dual-degree program that combines a bachelor's degree in streams like BBA, B.A., or B. Com with a three-year certificate program in fashion design, open to any student who has completed grade 12. In contrast, we provide a straightforward 3-year certificate curriculum, primarily suitable for those who have completed the 10th grade and above. The last program is an intensive one-year PG program for graduates, focusing on a three-certificate program in fashion design. This program is designed for graduates aspiring to pursue a master's degree in fashion design or any other design field. Students opting for this one-year intensive P.G. program will gain significant experience in fashion design. It is termed "intense" due to its condensed nature, covering most of the material within a one-year duration. Classes run full-time from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

What are the factor that make your program the best for the students to opt?

The program offered at GSB College holds a competitive edge in the ready-to-wear and fashion industries. Our training materials are highly practical and grounded in the industry, making this course exceptionally helpful. The main highlight of our program is its industry-based and extremely practical nature. All the subjects included are industry-oriented, enabling students who complete three programs to seamlessly enter the industry or even establish their design studios, enterprises, and businesses. We emphasize a significant practical component, with approximately 70% of the curriculum dedicated to hands-on experience and 30% to theory. In this field, practicality carries more weight, which is why we prioritize it. This approach ensures our students are well-prepared for the industry.

What are the best practices in the course you’re offering?

We incorporate a highly effective practice into our curriculum, focusing on application-based learning throughout the entire three years. This approach ensures consistency in the fashion design disciplines. While the curriculum remains consistent across all colleges in the country, each institution adopts a distinct teaching approach. Practical subjects are reinforced through assignments and projects, not limited to one subject. Students collaborate in teams, create boards, and work collectively to reach conclusions. The course is application-based, theme-based, and project-focused, enabling students to craft collections using the techniques they acquire in class to design technically sound clothing. It is this approach that distinguishes GSFD from other colleges.

How does the program ensure that students are being prepared for the future?

In the GSFD industry, our passion lies in ensuring that students gain practical experience. Additionally, our curriculum mandates that third-year students undertake a two- to three-month internship, typically between the fifth and sixth semesters. During this time, they have access to our campus, where we arrange calls with several designers and representatives from clothing brands for campus placement interviews. Furthermore, we offer a unique module titled "Introducing Craft Documentation," which requires students to source and record handicrafts, handlooms, or crafts from outside of India, providing them with the opportunity to explore diverse forms of art from each state, including our own. Sadly, many of these traditional crafts face the risk of extinction, which is why we send our students to learn and collaborate with artisans for two to three days, gaining insights into their challenges, including financial and personal difficulties, as well as assessing the government's support. These interactions lead to the collection of invaluable information, highlighting the key issues contributing to the decline of these crafts.

Our primary objective in introducing this topic is to empower artisans by infusing new life into their crafts, aiding them in selling their products on contemporary platforms while suggesting innovative ideas and activities. We also host prominent figures within the industry to deliver lectures, seminars, and comprehensive workshops, providing participants with insights from subject matter experts.

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The teaching staff at GSFD comprises professionals from a range of reputable institutions with extensive industry experience, all of whom are dedicated to their field. This approach ensures that our faculty members, who come from respected institutions or the fashion industry, possess both teaching expertise and industry exposure, which they readily share with our students.

Fashion, being a hands-on subject, demands practical teaching methods. We believe in exposing our students to real-world experiences rather than confining their learning to the classroom. Our instructors, along with industry leaders we invite for seminars and workshops, foster advancements in our faculty and provide a holistic learning experience. Additionally, each instructor is encouraged to conduct thorough research and exploration, which they do extensively through platforms like Google or Pinterest. This research informs their independent experiments, enabling them to share cutting-edge knowledge with our students.

How do you tend to build an industry connect with this program?

Yes, there must be a connection between this program and the industry because, ultimately, our students need to transition into the workforce. Currently, the fashion show serves as a significant platform that we offer to third-year or final-year students as part of their graduation ceremony. 

To showcase their collections on the runway, each student must create their own based on a theme, which includes six or more outfits for men, women, and children. Consequently, the college provides them with this stage for their performance and also arranges for a national choreographer. All industry professionals from the fashion, design, and related fields are invited to these national-level shows where models wear and display their creations. Through these shows, viewers gain insights into the students' work. Based on my experience at other colleges, I've observed that many students are hired immediately after the show, as industry representatives and professionals from various brands come to select and absorb them on the same day.

What were the challenges that you faced while inculcating this program in your curriculum?

There were several difficulties in this course when we began it last year, resulting in two separate batches. Since we launched the course last year, the second year serves as our pilot batch this year, while the first year remains active. The ongoing challenges revolve around students who have completed their 12th grade and wish to pursue fashion design through our dual-course program, which we offer. They can enroll in various degree programs like B.B.A, B.COM, or B.A while simultaneously participating in GSFD's three-year certificate program. This dual-credit program initially appears quite attractive; however, students later discover the complexity of managing two courses in parallel. Fashion design is a highly practical subject, requiring regular attendance in college, participation in labs, and student supervision. It is uncommon for us to offer a demonstration in a launch pad that becomes a course. Typically, we provide a demonstration, followed by practical coursework and fair work in class. Furthermore, some colleges host demonstrations without involving fair work, which, in my opinion, is not appropriate. I believe students should present their fair work in front of mentors for correction. If they complete it at home, any mistakes cannot be rectified, leading to student frustration.

Managing this challenge often results in students leaving the program after one or two months, citing the difficulties of juggling both courses. We engage in extensive counseling to retain students in these situations. Conventional graduation courses in many colleges often witness irregular attendance, as students rely on coaching classes and last-minute exam preparation. However, this approach doesn't apply to design courses, whether in fashion, interior, jewelry, accessory design, or lifestyle product design. In these fields, regular attendance is essential, and students sometimes wish to avoid the commitment.

The primary challenge I currently face is finding a way for students to effectively balance both courses. Combining BBA with fashion design is an excellent choice since fashion design is a practical skill course, and BBA provides theoretical knowledge about running a business. This combination ensures students are well-prepared for their future careers. This is the primary challenge I am addressing at the moment. 

What are the types of projects that the students are working on through this program?

After completing a fashion design course, you have a wide range of career options, including becoming a fashion illustrator, designer, costume designer, textile designer, fabric merchandiser, production manager, sourcing manager, jewelry designer, and accessory designer. You can also work in the production unit and become a fabric merchandiser. Today, becoming a fashion stylist is also a popular career choice. Many web series are being produced, providing opportunities for fashion designers. 

In the past, production companies have visited our institution to select students for styling in web series. Moreover, you can work as a personal stylist, providing flexibility in your style choices. You have the option to start your own business designing bags, shoes, and other accessories. Some students from our program have gone on to become makeup artists. Consequently, they are referred to as "saree drippists," and customers pay for their services for weddings, marriages, or engagement celebrations. While this service may not appeal to everyone, it demonstrates the diverse career paths available within the fashion industry. We encourage students to pursue their interests and develop their skills. As part of our curriculum, students have the opportunity to create a professional creative portfolio during their third year. We bring in a professional portfolio designer or maker for a 15-20-day workshop to help students design their portfolios. A well-crafted portfolio is vital for securing job placements and excelling in interviews. Companies and HR professionals look for top-notch portfolios, which is why we place a strong emphasis on creating high-quality, international-style portfolios, both manual and digital.

What are the benefits and career options after pursuing this course?

CorelDraw, Photoshop, and Illustrator are commonly taught in every institute, but we aim to offer them as an additional advantage in our classes. Moreover, we have recently introduced Claw 3D, the latest software in the fashion sector widely utilized by companies and businesses. There is a growing demand for Claw 3D proficiency as a prerequisite for all fashion students. Therefore, the most recent software package provided to our students by GSB is Clothes 3D. In my view, this is a significant benefit, and our students will undoubtedly gain from it after completing these classes and learning fashion design at GSFD.