Dreaming of becoming a fashion designer in Nigeria, we have curated important resources, courses and tools to help you get started already.
The fashion industry in Nigeria has experienced significant growth over the years, creating a high demand for qualified fashion designers. As the industry continues to expand, the need for comprehensive fashion design tutorials and courses becomes crucial in equipping aspiring designers with the necessary knowledge and skills to succeed in this competitive profession.
How to become a fashion designer in Nigeria?
These are some reputable institutions you can learn from:
Nigerian Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)
One renowned institution that specializes in training budding fashion designers is the Nigerian Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), located in Lagos. NIFT offers a range of courses, including professional training, diploma programs, and certificate programs. Their curriculum covers essential topics such as pattern-making, garment construction, fashion illustration, textile selection, and marketing strategies.
Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN)
The Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN) is another valuable resource dedicated to supporting and developing Nigerian fashion designers. FADAN provides seminars and workshops in fashion design suitable for both beginners and seasoned designers. Their courses cover design principles, drawing techniques, fabric selection, sewing skills, and business development. Additionally, FADAN offers mentoring programs and networking opportunities, allowing students to gain insights from experienced industry professionals.
Fashion Design Apprenticeship & Workshops
In addition to formal education, aspiring fashion designers can benefit from participating in internship programs and fashion workshops to gain practical experience. Many reputable fashion designers and fashion houses in Nigeria offer internships that provide hands-on training and real-world exposure. The industry also hosts fashion workshops and seminars conducted by professionals and organizations, providing valuable insights into the latest trends, techniques, and business strategies.
The Nigerian fashion industry offers abundant opportunities for those interested in fashion design. Aspiring designers can enhance their skills and expertise to build successful careers in this fast-paced industry by taking advantage of fashion design courses, tutorials, and workshops.
Top Online Fashion Design Courses : To get started with basics of fashion design by learning online at your own pace, here are some useful resources for you:
Class Central’s Best Fashion Design Courses:
Make your statement. Learn fashion design from the best online courses and craft your style. Read 10 Best Fashion Design Courses to Take in 2023.
Udemy’s Affordable Online Fashion Design Courses:
Learn and practice important fashion design skills and concepts such as professional fashion drawing techniques, using Croquis, Plumb Lines, Body Movement, Shading, etc. There are good fashion design courses for as low as N4,500, check out Udemy’s Top Fashion Design Courses.
Premium Fashion Design Courses:
Find a curated list of assorted fashion design courses from Masterclass, CreativeLive, Skillshare, Coursera, etc, depending on your budget and current level of expertise – Best Fashion Design Courses Online 2023 – Top Picks.
Modern Fashion Design Tools to Learn
If you think calling is in the business side of fashion, you also have great opportunities to explore. You may be considering fashion professions like fashion labels (easily make a significant garment), expert pattern maker, fashion trainer, etc. There are design tools that can get you into the right conversations where you can sharpen your skills. Fashion design tools help you minimize mistakes, cut down on creation time, easily translate your creative ideas into awesome designs, and develop your new design perfectly. Knowing how to use these tools will open doors for you, especially with fashion design experts or companies who are not familiar with them.
These are some fashion design tools to get started with:
Draping Tools: Draping is the important technique to positioning and pinning fabric around a dress form to make a structure of a garment design. To do this process some essential tools are needed. Some popular draping tools include Muslin, Dressmaker pins, Measurement tape, French curve tool, Hip curve tool, Styling curve, etc.
Dress Forms: Dress form is mainly used for fitting and draping clothes of the garment that is being designed or sewed. It also helps beginners for many types of projects like draping, garment pattern making, garment fitness, creating new designs etc. Dress forms you should familiarize yourself with include Basic dress form, Dress form fit/adjustment kit, Adjustable dress form, Full female body dress form, Half female body dress form, Male dress form.
Sketching Tools: Every fashion design pro or enthusiast knows the importance of sketching tools as these tools are arguably the most important equipment for ideating, creating and developing new designs. Some popular sketching tools include Sketch book, clear plastic ruler, black liquid marker, eraser Graph paper, Carbon paper, Sketch and tracing paper roll, drafting table, poster colour, Sketchpad, etc.
Computer Assisted Design Tools (CAD): World-class fashion designers are constantly improving their skills with different computer assisted design tools for transforming their ideas to fantastic designs. Some fashion CAD tools include Adobe photoshop, Adobe illustrator, TUKAcad, etc.
Sewing Tools: Sewing tools are required to make a full outfit. You also need them for when an outfit accidentally snags or needs repair. Another great use for a sewing toolkit is to add last minute touches on your outfit right when your customers ask for particular adjustments. Popular sewing tools are sewing machines, hand needles, threads, scissors, thread cutter, glue, etc. We believe you are pumped up about your fashion design career in Nigeria and ready to put this new knowledge to use in no time. Wishing you a great one.
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