Fashion Designing Entrance Exams 2026: Top Tests, Syllabus, and Preparation Tips

Published by Shikha Kumari on May 28, 2025

While fashion designing in India is getting more attention in recent years due to the development of urban areas, at the same time, the competition for fashion designing is also increasing. If you are an aspirant of fashion designing, you should avail all the information you can get about fashion designing courses and their entrance exam for the future. In this blog, we are going to discuss the same about salaries and how to do smart preparation for those tests.

Fashion Design Entrance Exams 

Some of the most popular exams conducted for Fashion Designing courses are NIFT Exam, UCEED, CEED, and NID DAT. These exams are designed in a way so that fashion design aspects such as presence of mind, creativity, and special designing can be assessed. While they may have different exam patterns, the course of each entrance exam remains the same. So, if you are wondering which course is best for fashion designing after 12th, these entrance exams are your first step.

NID DAT Schedule 2026

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

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.

CEED Schedule 2026

CEED 2026 registration started on August 25, 2025, and the last date to register was October 6, 2025, with a correction window from October 7 to 10, 2025. The admit card releases on January 2, 2026, and the exam takes place on January 18, 2026, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon. Results announce on March 6, 2026, with scorecards available from March 10 to July 31, 2026.

Fashion Design Courses

For pursuing fashion designing after the 10th, the Arts stream is generally recommended as it provides a strong foundation in creativity and aesthetics. If the candidate wishes to proceed with fashion designing for a bachelor’s or post degree, they should qualify eligibility requirements. To get admission, candidates must clear the Entrance Exam for Fashion Design after 12th.

Syllabus & Exam Pattern

Fashion Designing course entrance Exam pages on the exam have a different marking scheme and weightage for different sections. While exams like UCEED focus on candidates’ ability of observation, design sensitivity, 3D modelling, and creativity, other tests such as the NIFT exam focus more on situation-based questions where practical skills of a candidate are applied. Likewise, exams for postgraduate fashion courses such as CEED are particularly difficult due to the application of analytical reasoning.

Previous Year Question Papers

In the following table, we have included some of the popular exam question papers along with answers. These question papers cover entrance exams such as UCEED, ISDI DAT, and IIAD Entrance Exam Sample Papers. Candidates are advised to practise these question papers regularly so they can understand and respond to the next paper accordingly by making their pattern of attempting the question paper.

Preparation Tips for Design Entrance

To grow as an artist and designer, start by practising drawing and sketching regularly. Take the time to understand the basics of design. Those elements can make a design work, and the creative process behind it all. Work on your ability to think visually, imagining shapes and forms in both 2D & 3D. Develop your situation-solving skills. 

Finally, build a portfolio that showcases your best work. Think of it as a way to tell your story and share your creative journey with others, especially those who can help you take the next step in your career.