Inside the Fashion Designing Course Syllabus: Key Topics & Modules
Published by Shikha Kumari on May 06, 2025
Fashion design is the ability to convert raw ideas into innovative clothing styles. For Students who aspire to be fashion designers, fashion design courses pave the way to mastering and constructing the design structures they require. It helps them provide embellishment for both traditional and innovative garments. In this blog, we are going to discuss the fashion design course syllabus in India, including certificate courses, bachelor’s courses, and master’s courses.
Fashion Design Certificate Course Syllabus
While you can find multiple courses offered by online platforms, each follows a very different model. However, universities that offer these design courses often follow a similar pattern, as mentioned in the following table. The subjects for each semester in certificate courses dive into the layering of fashion design by teaching pattern making, garment construction, and even sewing techniques.
Certificate in Fashion Design – Semester I | |
Fashion Designing | Fashion Accessory |
Pattern Making and Garment Construction | Textile Design |
In the second semester, focus shifts to ornamentation, product specification, and refining the design concept, while fashion marketing and management help Students understand the market and sell their designs more effectively.
Certificate in Fashion Design – Semester II | |
Product Specification | Fashion Marketing and Management |
Fashion Illustration | Computer-Aided Design |
Fashion Design Course Syllabus
Bachelor of Design courses typically last four years or more. During this time, Students are introduced to the basics and gradually progress to complex patterns in fashion design. While it starts with elemental designing, it advances to draping and styling clothes to fit a narrative. The first year is dedicated to building the mindset and skill set required of a designer. Fashion Designing subjects 1st year are as follows:
BDes Fashion Design – Year I | |
Foundation of Art and Fashion | Computer Application |
Basic Design | Apparel Design |
Portfolio & Project work | Introduction to Colour Art Appreciation |
Illustration Art and Flat Rendering | History of Art |
Element of Design | Life drawing |
The second year dives deeper into the fashion field, where Students learn how to test fabrics, understand fabric quality, explore different sewing techniques, and study the historical concepts of clothing styles.
BDes Fashion Design – Year II | |
Fashion Illustration | Art appreciation |
Fabric Testing and Quality Control | Sewing advancements |
Commercial pattern making | Design Thinking |
History of Indian and Western costumes | Surface ornamentation |
Moving into the third year, the course develops a professional understanding of fashion design. Students are introduced to model movement, typography fundamentals, and the application of psychological and physiological principles in designing products, processes, and systems. At this stage, students also work on advanced design techniques like multimedia design, product modelling, and CAD/CAM.
BDes Fashion Design – Year III | |
Fundamentals of Fashion Design | Product Modelling and Identity |
Design Documentation and Design Management | Multimedia Design |
Model Making | Surface Modelling in Computer-Aided Vision |
Typography Fundamentals and Font Designing | Applied Ergonomics |
CAD/CAM | Advanced Elements of Design |
In the final year of the Bachelor’s in Fashion Design, students undertake a thesis project or solve an industry-specific problem to showcase their skills in real-world fashion design.
BDes Fashion Design – Year IV | |
Thesis project | Management |
Specialised CAD/CAM | Industrial project |
Tinkering studies | Production |
Weaving and Knitting | Advance draping |
MDes Fashion Design Course Syllabus
The Master of Design in Fashion Design lasts for two years. Candidates are eligible for this program once they’ve completed a Bachelor’s in Design or any other relevant bachelor’s degree with the required score, usually by clearing a national entrance exam.
MDes in Fashion Design – Semester I | |
Fundamentals of Design & Illustration | Community Connect |
Research Methodology I | Digital Design & Presentation |
Fashion Design Studio I | History of Art & Design I |
The second semester takes a deeper dive into practical design, including research methodology, digital design techniques, and the intersection between tradition and modernity in fashion.
MDes in Fashion Design – Semester II | |
Digital Design & Presentation | Research Methodology II |
Fashion Design Studio II | Design for a Sustainable Society |
In the third semester, students are required to work on a dissertation. This includes areas like fashion styling and image design, essential components of a Master’s in Fashion Design.
MDes in Fashion Design – Semester III | |
Community Connect | Dissertation |
Fashion Design Studio III | – |
Fashion Forecasting | Fashion Styling & Image Design |
In the final semester, students present their thesis or a professional practice project to a panel of examiners, who evaluate and assign their final score.
MDes in Fashion Design – Semester IV | |
Thesis | Professional Practice |
Fashion Designing Course Syllabus PDF
If you want to learn more about the syllabus, Download Fashion Designing Course Syllabus PDF.