Amit Aggarwal on the medium of fashion education

The American postmodern novelist Thomas Pynchon once wrote that every generation is homesick for the decade they live in. The last thing I want is to sound like an old man, full of old age, yelling at the incompetence of the young. After all, what is competence and who measures it? But having said that, I’m sure we can all agree on three fundamentals that can’t be broken when it comes to anything important in life: unwavering discipline, one’s own voice, and an infectious drive to stay healthy. Intermediate narrow roads.

Unfortunately, all this came to the fore during a recent interview at the National Institute of Technology (NIFT), Delhi, where I am a proud alumnus. The positions I expected to fill were varied: four designers, a graphic designer, a social media assistant, and three retail and administrative salespeople. We received 500 resumes. As it is not humanly possible to check them all, we have listed the candidates based on their results. It’s down to nearly 50 nominees each for design and retail.

One of Amit Aggarwal’s designs | Photo credit: Special Event

There were early signs that this was going south. Half of them dropped out without explanation even before the actual interview process began online. So, the credentials we ended up reading were – and there’s no other way to put it – horrible. Except for one or two, all were incredibly unoriginal, voiceless, and contained cover letters that could have been written better by a nine-year-old. None of them had practical experience or a well-structured portfolio.

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Positivity with portfolios

I like to believe that creativity, especially for students who want to enter the chaotic world of fashion, cannot be contained in a box. After all, there are many ways to keep one’s portfolio flexible. We all understand that they can’t sew a piece for hours because of the plague, but what’s to stop them from simply taking a pencil and going wild? The tools today’s students are equipped with – from Behance and Pinterest, from fashion masters to the world of videos and videos – are many. I don’t even remember using internet during NIFT days, but that didn’t deter us.

Amit Aggarwal says, ‘No other generation has used data banks like the current generation does Photo credit: Special Event

Unfortunately, the way the fashion curriculum (or the broader education system) is structured is pretty pathetic. Why do you have to go through a three-month babywearing module when you know it’s not your voice? But if the education system is comprehensive, it falls on the student to find creative ways to make their voices heard.

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Personally, when I go through a portfolio, I don’t look for amazing work because I don’t think I know what’s amazing. Inspired by portfolios, they look at everyday activities and make them magical; Students who look at the world of fashion from a non-technical and non-fashionable perspective clearly stand out. These can be cultural perspectives, sociological dimensions or engineering sensibilities. After all, fashion comes from understanding life correctly, and you have to let things get in the way of your vision. I also have to learn from the students. It’s a two-way street. It will always be.

In the end, we were able to shortlist only two candidates for retail. Perhaps our criteria for shortlisting candidates based on their GPI scores was flawed? Maybe there’s a sea of ​​creativity in the hundreds of resumes that haven’t reached us? I never know. Despite everything, I remain optimistic. I have no doubt in my mind that the current generation knows exactly what they want. I just hope they make it clear who they are.

The writer is a Delhi based fashion designer.