Pearl Academy

How is Pearl Academy ranked in 2026?

Pearl Academy, New Delhi is ranked the No. 1 private fashion design institution in India, having held the top Outlook Design (Private) rank of #1 in 2023 and again under the Outlook-ICARE Fashion Design (Private) category in 2024. In the India Today survey, the Delhi campus was placed at Rank #9 in Fashion Design in 2024, the second-best score for any Delhi institution that year. As a private standalone design school, Pearl Academy is not ranked by NIRF (which has no Design discipline) and does not feature in the QS World University Rankings; its standing is instead measured by the specialist design and fashion surveys run by Outlook-ICARE, India Today and The Week. Across these credible authorities, Pearl Academy has been ranked the country's top private fashion design institution for 10 consecutive years since 2016.

This page sets out Pearl Academy's exact rank numbers, the bodies that issued them, how those positions have shifted year on year, and how the institution sits against its peers - so an aspirant can judge its real standing rather than rely on the marketing line.

Year-Wise Rankings

The table below consolidates Pearl Academy, New Delhi's verified rankings from the leading Indian design and fashion surveys. It answers the core question: which body ranked Pearl Academy, in which category, where, and in which year. Read each row as one ranking event - the "Rank" column is the position out of all institutions surveyed in that category, and a lower number is a better placement. Pearl Academy is assessed under "Fashion Design", "Fashion Design (Private)", "Fashion Technology" and "Design" heads, so positions differ by category even within the same year.

The takeaway for an applicant is consistency at the very top of the private segment: Pearl Academy held the Outlook #1 Design (Private) rank in 2023 and the Outlook-ICARE #1 Fashion Design (Private) rank in 2024, while sitting inside the national top 10 on India Today's Fashion Design list (#9) in both 2023 and 2024. The slip from #4 to #13 on the IIRF Design list between 2023 and 2024 is the one cautionary signal, but it sits against an otherwise stable elite placement across the most-cited surveys.

Ranking Trajectory of Pearl Academy

Pearl Academy, New Delhi's trajectory is best described as steady dominance of the private fashion category rather than dramatic movement. On the Outlook ladder it stayed at the summit - #1 in Design (Private) in 2023 and #1 in Fashion Design (Private) under Outlook-ICARE in 2024 - reinforcing the institution's claim of being India's No. 1 private fashion design school for 10 straight years since 2016.

On the India Today Fashion Design list, the Delhi campus held a stable #9 in both 2023 and 2024, keeping it inside the national top 10 across both editions. By contrast, the IIRF Design ranking for the West Campus moved from #4 in 2023 to #13 in 2024, reflecting tougher competition and a wider field of design schools rather than a fall in the institution's own metrics. For an aspirant, the signal is clear: where Pearl Academy is measured purely against private players, it is the benchmark; on broader cross-sector design lists it remains a top-15 name but no longer the outright leader.

How Pearl Academy Compares

The table below positions Pearl Academy, New Delhi against the references most aspirants weigh it against, using only verifiable 2023-2024 figures. It answers a practical question: when you stack Pearl's own campuses and ranking categories side by side, where does the Delhi flagship actually land. Read it as a snapshot of the same institution viewed through different surveys and campuses - the Delhi campus is the strongest performer in the network.

The comparison makes the case for the New Delhi campus plainly: at India Today #9 (2024) and Outlook-ICARE #1 Private (2024), it out-ranks every other Pearl Academy campus, with Jaipur (#18) and Mumbai (#21) trailing on the national Fashion Design list. For an applicant choosing between Pearl's campuses, New Delhi is the strongest-ranked option in the network, and against private peers nationally it is the category leader.