From being a mere necessity, footwear has come a long way. Today footwear is as fashionable as the dress you wear! So designing a pair of footwear is more than just a job, it’s rather a passion. There is plenty of demand for new designs and concepts, if you are one of those who love fashion and footwear; and have a creative spark to experiment, then it’s time to put your best forward and make your entry into the field of footwear designing career.
As far as footwear designing career is concerned India is emerging as the leading footwear destination of the world.
Like any art, footwear designing career too starts with sketching by hand or mostly on computer-aided software. Once design is approved, it gets converted into actual footwear. Materials such as leather, canvas, wood, plastic or jute with embroidery, beads, metals are used. Many things are taken into consideration such as comfort, durability etc., apart from the styling factor. Precision is the key in footwear designing because once a piece is finished there is no scope for alterations.
Footwear designing career is a creative field that requires good drawing skills, eye for detail and flair for aesthetics. Leading vocational institutes across the country offer various undergraduate, post-graduate, diploma and certificate courses in Footwear Design, Management and Technology.
Any 10+2 or graduate qualification is necessary for most courses. B.Tech/M.Tech courses mandate science/engineering backgrounds. These footwear technology courses are also regarded as the most progressive of fashion-related courses in India. There are many colleges and institutions offering courses in footwear designing career.
The famous institutes are Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI), Noida, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Mumbai, etc. and National Institutes of Fashion Technology (NIFT).
The under graduate programmes have a fees of Rs.50000 onwards and post graduate graduate programmes have a fees of Rs.60000 onwards. However, fees vary depending on the colleges/institutes, city and courses taken.
