According to the reviews online, both are the top fashion institutes in India. They both come under the Government of India where NIFT comes under the Ministry of Textiles and FDDI comes under Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Also both institutes are accredited as INI (Institute Of National Importance).
If we compare overall, NIFT is much better than FDDI. FDDI Noida is only the best campus compared to other branches whereas NIFT has 5 campuses (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai), all of them are at par to other fashion institutes in terms of infrastructure, studies, placements, extra-curricular activities, etc.
If you have a preference of a particular course like for Footwear Technology, Retail Management or Retail Merchandising it is suggested that you go for FDDI. But if you want to do B.Des or Fashion Design, Fashion Communication, etc. so for them NIFT is the best option.
Both institutions have tie ups with many reputed retail companies. So, placement in a reputed company is guaranteed at the very beginning of your career. So choose the institute according to the course you want to pursue.
FDDI is one of the best options for pursuing a degree in Footwear education. However, it’s not equally good for retail and fashion. The Noida campus is the oldest and best. The infrastructure of the campus is good. The placements depend on the course. Placement statistics for footwear and retail are quite good. You will get more placement and internship opportunities on the Noida campus.
One of my friends studied at Footwear Designing and Development Institute (FDDI). According to her, after 12th, usually students with Maths go for engineering, medical or CA. But ones willing to pursue a more creative career the FDDI is the place for you.
Very few people go for FDDI. It offers other courses like leather goods and accessories design, retail and merchandising and fashion designing. These courses are the most popular at FDDI. But if you want to go into fashion designing then try for the NIFTs before FDDI.
The FDDI entrance examination isn’t that difficult. The competition isn’t also that much. The only section that will be moderately difficult is the general knowledge section. If you have good basic knowledge of Maths and English, you can complete the paper easily. For preparation, you can revise basic math formulas. As there will be questions based on formulas.