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    Fashion Design vs Costume Design: Eligibility, Jobs, Salary
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    • Fashion Design vs Costume Design: Eligibility, Jobs, Salary

    Fashion Design vs Costume Design: Eligibility, Jobs, Salary

    #B.Des
    Sumeet SudarshanUpdated on 25 Jun 2026, 03:00 PM IST

    The design industry is wide and fashion design and costume design are two streams falling into this vast ocean. The skillset, job scope, salary and education for fashion design vs costume design is different. The students interested in knowing the similarities and differences of costume design vs fashion design will find the article useful. Read more to understand the differences between fashion design and costume design.

    This Story also Contains

    1. Fashion Design vs Costume Design: Overview
    2. Costume Design vs Fashion Design: Eligibility
    3. Fashion Design Vs Costume Design Subjects
    4. Costume Designer vs Fashion Designer: Jobs
    5. Fashion Design vs Costume Design: Salary
    6. Costume design vs Fashion design Which is Better?
    Fashion Design vs Costume Design: Eligibility, Jobs, Salary
    Fashion Design vs Costume Design

    Fashion Design vs Costume Design: Overview

    The courses of costume design vs fashion design can have similar subjects and teaching methods as both deal with design studies. However, fashion design analyses fashion trends through the history of fashion, while the costume design is more focused on understanding the theatrical costumes and its history. Here are some key differences between fashion design vs costume design.

    Differences of Fashion Design vs Costume Design

    Particulars

    Fashion Design

    Costume Design

    Eligibility

    10+ 2 or equivalent

    10+ 2 or equivalent

    Subjects

    Design Principles, Pattern Making, Draping, History of Fashion, Fashion Illustration etc.

    Character Analysis, Costume History, Design, and Illustration etc.

    Career Scope

    Fashion Designer, Fashion Illustrator, Celebrity Stylists, Fashion Consultants

    Costume Designer, Theater Costume Designer, Dance Costume Designer

    Average Salary

    Rs. 4.1 Lakhs

    Rs. 4.1 Lakhs

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    Costume Design vs Fashion Design: Eligibility

    The courses in fashion design and costume design require the candidates to have some basic minimum educational qualification which they should fulfil before applying for the exam. The students must have completed their 10 + 2 level of education before they apply for the courses. The students can have any stream in the 10 + 2 as they have no strict streams required for fashion design or costume design courses.

    Fashion Design Vs Costume Design Subjects

    Fashion design and costume design have similar subjects as they are related fields. The main difference between them is the audience that they cater to.
    In fashion design courses the students learn about the design principles and techniques in which they understand the basics of Designing such as colour theory, garment construction, fundamentals of design etc. The students also learn fashion illustration which includes drawing techniques and sketching the croquis. Students learn about pattern making and draping of various fabrics and understand what the property of a fabric is. Besides that, they also learn about the history of fashion to help them analyse the upcoming trends.

    The costume design courses have similar subjects like history of costume designing which involves the historical contexts of various types of clothing in different periods of history. Costume design students also understand character analysis which will help them design costumes for stock characters. They learn about illustration and design principles to represent their ideas through sketches. The knowledge about the different fabrics, sewing techniques, and garment construction is also required by the costume design students. Some elements of theatrical production which includes lighting and set design is also taught to costume designers to help them create a cohesive and feasible garment.

    Costume Designer vs Fashion Designer: Jobs

    Before taking the decision the students must be aware of the costume designer vs fashion designer job scopes. Understanding costume designer vs fashion designer job environment, salary,

    After a degree in fashion designing many graduates find jobs in fashion houses, retail brands, e-commerce, or even magazines. Most of them become fashion designers and design clothes for various events of fashion shows or for retail shops. Many of the graduates become fashion illustrators whose sketch and create ideas for the fashion designers to work on. Fashion design graduates also becomes stylist who work with celebrities to create new looks according to the trends. Fashion Consulting is also a job for fashion design students which involves giving suggestions to the company to bring new trends to the market.

    Costume design students on the other hand find jobs in film and television industry, theatre, dance companies etc. Costume designers become a part of the film production as they need to design outfits for each character based on their personality. A costume designer needs to understand the traits of a character and make costumes which suit them. The same goes for the television and theatre industry which requires feasible and comfortable costumes depending on the era in which the show or play is set up. Costume designers also go for various dance companies to create attractive costumes to suit the theme of dance.

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    Fashion Design vs Costume Design: Salary

    Students who are confused between costume design vs fashion design can go through the salary offered in the industry to make a decision. The costume designer vs fashion designer salaries depend on experience and skills of the individual. Here are some trends of fashion design vs costume design salary for the aspirants to help decide.

    According to the reports of Ambition Box the fashion design graduates have an average annual salary of Rs. 4.1 lakh. The salary of a fashion designer ranges in between Rs. 0.3 lakhs to Rs. 7.4 lakhs in India. Monthly the fashion designers can earn in between Rs. 21,498 to Rs. 23,139.

    The average annual salary of a costume designer is also about Rs. 4.1 Lakhs. The salary range of costume designers is in between Rs. 3 LPA to Rs. 4.8 LPA. On average the monthly in hand salary of a costume designer is Rs. 29,933 to Rs. 31,248. The salary of a costume designer in media production and entertainment is about Rs. 4.5- Rs. 5.8 LPA.

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    Costume design vs Fashion design Which is Better?

    The students who are in a dilemma between these two courses must be curious about the question of costume design vs fashion design which is better? The fashion designer jobs have a better scope in the industry due to its versatility and also gives opportunity to start a label. While the costume design jobs need to be worked under supervision of directors and designers. The costume designers have usually project based payments and on the other hand fashion designers can get attached to a label. Both the jobs have similar outcomes and it depends on the student’s preference to choose what is best according to their interest.

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    Can you please specify which college is your preference for pursuing B.Des. Interior Design?

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    Hello Dear Student,

    The total cost of pursuing a B.Des degree in India generally ranges from 4 lakh to 25 lakh or more for the entire course, depending on the institute.

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    Hi,

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    You can also the results at https://design.careers360.com/articles/mit-dat-bdes-final-result-2026-out

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