For years, Chennai has been at the forefront of making waves in the fashion industry. Therefore, it is no wonder that one of the best fashion institutes of the country, Institute of Design, is from the state. A premier ISO 9001:2008 certified art and design institution established in 1993, with the mission of providing quality art and design education, the Institute of Design (IoD) follows international content requirements for the ever demanding and challenging creative fashion industry.
Leveraging around 3 decades worth of experience in shaping aspiring fashionista into all-round professionals, IoD offers 1 Year Diploma courses in Fashion Design, Visual Design Interior Design, and Fine arts. Apart from its regular one-year stream, the institute also offers short-term courses in Drawing and Painting, Computer Graphics, Jewellery Design, and many more. The course content is so designed that the students are made thorough of the fundamentals and are given the strength and confidence to create their own designs and to follow and forecast their design acumen towards the industry growth. ”The courses are structured in a manner giving the students the best they can find in an environment not familiar to them,” says Niyamathulla Nadeem, Founder Director, Institute of Design.
Hosting students from Maldives, Thailand, South Africa, Australia, Middle East, Netherlands, and Korea, IoD believes in continuous professional association and collaboration. To this extent, the institute has signed MoU with the best fashion institutions in India, Asia, and Europe. As a result of which IoD students enjoy advanced education from some of the best names in the fashion houses, not just from India but the Middle East as well. Thanks to various internship opportunities that IoD makes available to the students, IoD students enjoy a plethora of avenues to showcase their talent in the fashion industry, create their own labels, and flaunt their ideas to the globe.
The institute also has varied activities to promote its students’ talents such as a yearly exhibition of Fashion Illustration and a mock fashion show. IoD helps the students to bring out their creations to reality by conducting interior design exhibitions and jewelry exhibitions that are visited by eminent people in the Art & Design industry of Chennai.
IoD sets itself an inch above its peers by recognizing the career needs of its students. “Without innovation, nothing works. We help our students to take baby steps by understanding their needs and wants. Once we understand whether the student wants to be in the creative zone or production, we guide them accordingly. As an institute of design, we say ‘Success by design happens only to those who have a strong desire and passion’” says Mr. Nadeem.
It is a testimony to the efforts made by the institute in recognizing the strengths of its students that many chic magazines feature the works of IoD students. “We are happy to see the creative works of our students being published. We also try our best to promote our students among prominent Indian press and media channels. Moreover, by expanding into Sri Lanka, we have made a creative space with both the countries, ensuring that our course content stays relevant and customized,” adds Mr. Nadeem.
Although many students have already set their eyes on working with certain mod and exclusive fashion labels, some also cherish the dream of starting something of their own. Creating a safe space for these creativepreneurs, IoD has partnered with a well-known women’s college from South India to set up an incubation center.
Having received various government awards for their trailblazing work in the fashion and design technology education, IoD is the premier educational institution that top international buying houses and garment factories from Chennai, Tirupur, and Bangalore frequent to recruit the best fashion professionals.
With an international branch in Colombo and 5 centers in Tamilnadu, the Institute of Design team is looking for creative acumen individuals and partner institutions to start franchise centers in various parts of Asia.
Weighing on the best faculty team to leverage a teaching-learning methodology that can deliver future creators, the Institute of Design has been setting milestones after milestones.
Providing vistas for creative new designers to create and, sometimes recreate, their ideas, aspirations & inspirations, Mr. Nadeem urges the young minds to keep scribbling, as everything starts from a scribble!
