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CHMost design colleges are preparing students for an industry that no longer exists.
That sounds harsh, but it’s something I see every single week.
As someone running a streetwear brand, I constantly receive portfolios from students graduating from institutes like NIFT, UID and other well-known design colleges. And the reality is that most of them look exactly the same. Behance projects, Pinterest mood boards, clean presentations. But very little understanding of how a real garment is actually made.
After I spoke about this earlier, a lot of students reached out. Some defended their colleges and shared their experiences, and I did listen to them. But at the same time, far more students told me something else. They spent lakhs of rupees on these institutes and still felt completely unprepared for the real industry.
And this raises a bigger question.
In a world where AI can generate references, mood boards and visual concepts in seconds, what exactly are design schools teaching that cannot already be done faster by technology?
Because design was never supposed to be about presentations.
Real design happens when you understand fabric behaviour. When you see how garments are constructed. When you understand printing, stitching, pattern making, finishing. When you actually spend time inside workshops, factories and craft units.
That’s where ideas stop being concepts and start becoming products.
I’m not saying education is useless. But the gap between design education and the real industry is becoming impossible to ignore.
And maybe the real question is this.
Are we teaching designers how to think and create, or just how to present ideas nicely?
Curious to hear what students and designers think about this.
@chahatpahuja
