Fashion Design in 2026: Admission 2026, Salary, Fees, Course, Syllabus, and Subjects

Published by Shikha Kumari on May 06, 2025

The Indian fashion market is growing bigger every day, and the Indian design market is expected to grow at 25 to 30% annually. This provides a vast career opportunity for creative minds. Fashion design is rooted in learning the basics of stitching and constructing garments, and it introduces a broad range of effects in fashion design. Through fashion design courses, candidates can translate ideas into good designs.

If you are willing to learn the course, in this blog, we are going to discuss the animation process, salary scope, fees, and the syllabus for fashion design.

Fashion Designing Admission 2026

Fashion Design courses are available as certificates, diplomas, undergraduate, as well as postgraduate degree programs. While the certification courses do not require any prior qualifications, the latter require candidates to clear entrance exams to get into colleges. Some of the popular design entrance exams are CEED, UCEED, NID DAT, NIFT Entrance, CUET, JEECUP, and CUET-PG. These exams test the candidate’s design aptitude, fashion design ability, visualisation skills, and general aptitude. 

Entrance ExamSyllabus
CEEDDesign Aptitude, Drawing Skills, Visualisation, Creativity
CUETGeneral Knowledge, Quantitative Aptitude, Logical Reasoning, Language Proficiency
NIFT EntranceCreative Ability Test (CAT), General Ability Test (GAT)
UCEEDDesign Aptitude, Visualisation, Drawing, Analytical Ability
JEECUPEngineering/Technology and Fashion Design subjects
NID DATDesign Aptitude, General Knowledge, Visualisation, Creativity
CUET-PGPostgraduate subjects, General Knowledge, Reasoning, Language Proficiency

NID DAT Schedule 2026

NID DAT schedule for 2026 examination has been released, the important dates are mentioned in the table below:

Application opens11 September 2025
Last date to apply1 December 2025
Correction window2 – 4 December 2025
DAT Prelims exam21 December 2025
DAT Prelims result (B.Des)7 April 2026
DAT Mains exam (B.Des)April / May 2026 (tentative)

UCEED Schedule 2026

UCEED notification for 2026 exam was released on 1 October 2025, the exam is scheduled to be conducted on 18 January 2026.

Notification release1 October 2025
Registration starts1 October 2025
Last date to apply (regular fee)5 November 2025
Last date with late fee10 November 2025
Admit card release2 January 2026
Admit card correction window2 – 8 January 2026
Exam date18 January 2026 (Sunday, 9 AM – 12 Noon)
Draft answer key release20 January 2026
Final answer key release28 January 2026
Results announcement6 March 2026
Score card download window10 March – 31 July 2026
B.Des application for participating institutes opens14 March 2026
B.Des application closes10 April 2026

Fashion Designing Courses

Fashion design itself is a very wide field; hence, the courses available in this field can range extensively. Fashion designing extends from the Bachelor of Design, B.Sc. Fashion Designing, and Bachelor of Fashion Technology to B.A. in Fashion Communication. While there are short-term courses, such as diplomas in fashion design, which can take from 12 months to 18 months, the proper Bachelor of Design courses in fashion design can take more than four years.

Fashion Design CoursesTypeSyllabus
B.Des in Fashion DesignBachelor’s DegreeDesign principles, textile technology, and fashion history
B.Sc in Fashion DesignBachelor’s DegreeFabric science, design software, and apparel manufacturing
Bachelor of Fashion Technology (BFTech)Bachelor’s DegreeDigital design, pattern making, garment construction
B.A. in Fashion CommunicationBachelor’s DegreeFashion journalism, styling, branding, marketing, media
B.Sc in Fashion & Apparel DesignBachelor’s DegreeApparel design, draping, and garment construction
B.Sc in Fashion Business & Retail ManagementBachelor’s DegreeRetail strategy, merchandising, marketing
Diploma in Fashion DesignDiplomaCore design skills, fashion basics
Diploma in Fashion TechnologyDiplomaTechnical tools, pattern making, and garment construction
Certificate Programs (e.g., Jewellery, Footwear)Certificate CourseNiche training, such as fashion photography, accessory/jewellery/footwear design
B.Des in Accessory DesignBachelor’s DegreeDesign of accessories like handbags, footwear, jewellery
B.Des in Textile DesignBachelor’s DegreeTextile creation, surface ornamentation
B.Des in Knitwear DesignBachelor’s DegreeDesign & construction of knitted garments and textiles

Top Fashion Designing Colleges in India 2025

While NIFT is considered one of the best fashion design colleges in India, with fees of approximately Rs 12.34 lakh. For a fashion designer, course fees can range from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 30 lakh as well. The best fashion design schools include NIFT, Pearl Academy, SID, and Amity Institute of Fashion Design, as per India Today ratings.

RankCollege NameLocationFees (Approx.)
1National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)DelhiRs 12.34 Lakh
2National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)MumbaiRs 12.34 Lakh
3National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)BangaloreRs 12.34 Lakh
4National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)HyderabadRs 12.34 Lakh
5National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)ChennaiRs 12.34 Lakh
6National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)GandhinagarRs 12.34 Lakh
7National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)KolkataRs 12.34 Lakh
8National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)PatnaRs 12.34 Lakh
9Pearl AcademyDelhiRs 29.94 Lakh
10National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)JodhpurRs 12.34 Lakh
11National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)KannurRs 12.34 Lakh
12Symbiosis Institute of Design (Symbiosis International University)PuneRs 18.68 Lakh
13National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)BhubaneswarRs 9.26 Lakh
14National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)RaebareliRs 12.34 Lakh
15National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)ShillongRs 11.74 Lakh
16Army Institute of Fashion and DesignBangaloreRs 6.12 Lakh
17National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)KangraRs 11.74 Lakh
18Pearl AcademyJaipurRs 26.40 Lakh
19JD Institute of Fashion TechnologyBangaloreRs 5.25 Lakh
20Amity School of Fashion Technology (Amity University)NoidaRs 9.12 Lakh

Fashion Designer Salary & Scope

Institutes such as NSCT Mumbai University offer very high placement packages compared to regular colleges, with salaries going as high as Rs 16 LPA, and Rs 12.1 LPA at PSGCT Coimbatore. Candidates can follow the table below to get a better understanding of the placement packages.

Top Placement Opportunities
InstitutePlacement Package
NSUTRs 16 LPA
Mumbai UniversityRs 15 LPA
Lucknow UniversityRs 14.4 LPA
Vijaybhoomi UniversityRs 13.3 LPA
PSGCT CoimbatoreRs 12.1 LPA

Likewise, when it comes to the salary for a fashion designer, while at the entry level a candidate can easily earn Rs 4.5 LPA as an average salary, within a few years of experience, the salary can exponentially rise to Rs 7.7 LPA. Meanwhile, a middle manager’s CTC is around Rs 5.3 LPA.

Average CTC (Per Annum)
LevelAverage Salary
Entry LevelRs 4.5 LPA
Mid LevelRs 5.3 LPA
Senior LevelRs 7.7 LPA
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