Chennai: Fashion design institute, Pearl Academy of Fashion has firmed up plans to build a new and bigger campus at Sriperumbudur near Chennai.

Identifying a 3-acre plot in Sriperumbudur, the institute will soon commence construction of 1.50 lakh sq.ft campus.

"The new proposed Chennai campus will be similar in size and infrastructure to our institutes in Jaipur and Delhi," says A K G Nair, group director.

According to him, Pearl Academy has plans to open a school in Mumbai and in three years the academy expects to double the student intake to 3,000..

Presently Pearl Academy is present in Delhi, Jaipur, Chennai and Ludhiana, Dhaka in Bangladesh and has one center in the UAE. The centres in Ludhiana and the UAE are franchised ones the remaining is owned by Pearl Academy.

The institute is not in favour of expanding its presence through franchisee model. A fashion college franchising is not like computer learning centres. The investment to be made by a franchisee is high and the break even point is also longer. Given this situation it is difficult to monitor the maintenance of infrastructure and standards, Nair explains.

Pearl Academy offers four-year BA (Hons.) degree courses in fashion design, fashion merchandising & production, fashion retail & merchandising, textile design, communication design and jewellery design. It says that its courses are validated by the Nottingham Trent University, UK.

The academy also offers two-year postgraduate course in fashion merchandising, garment manufacturing, fashion retail, fashion design (Indian wear), fashion marketing and textile design (home fashion). In addition short term certificate programmes for those who want to upgrade their skills.

According to Nair, the academy will shortly apply for a deemed university status.

The boom in textile retailing in India through retail chains like Globus, Lifestyle, Shopper''s Stop has resulted in good demand for fashion design students. A sales person with knowledge in fashion is not only good at sales but can also spot the trends and reasons for fast/slow movement of products, explains Nair.

The starting salary for an undergraduate from the academy is not less than Rs18,000 per month for merchandisers and designers, he adds.

Youngsters with good creativity, sense of colours, fabric and drawing skills are suitable for fashion design course. Those with good ability to comprehend, good at logic and communication are good fit for courses relating to the management side of business.

Pearl Academy also offers consultancy services and designs corporate uniforms.