Without factories the world would have no ‘stuff’, it really is a simple as that; we would have no clothes, no toys, no cars and no books. Referring to themselves as factories, manufacturers, vendors or sources, they are all technically the same entity: they all produce items that are sold in stores.

If you are starting a brand from scratch, the first time the factory gets involved in the process is when they agree to work with you. After that, the next stage is usually the handing over of the initial technical pack to make the prototype.  However, the more the factory understands about who you are as a brand and what the concept direction of the new collection is, the more they can help you to realize the designer’s vision. I would always recommend sharing some aspects of the concept with them, so that from the outset they can be aware of the types of shapes and styles they will be called upon to make.

Tips: 

• Without factories you have no garments so a good portion of your time in development and production should be spent finding new factories and trialing styles with them.
• Always be clear and honest with a factory in your working practice. The industry is small, and an unprofessional approach will be remembered.
• Whenever you can, always visit a factory to understand their capabilities and specialties first hand rather than rely on an email introduction, as this will strengthen the relationship between both parties.
• Making a style allocation needs flexibility and patience. It will change many, many times, with added styles and changes to fabrics. Don’t get frustrated; see it as a giant jigsaw puzzle with more than one solution.
• Spend time understanding how a cost price is built up. Once you know this, it is much easier to negotiate with the factory and the designer to get the best end product.

For more tips and tricks from the industry check out my book, Blue is the New Black 

Co-lab54 is my consultancy.

Below I give a prime example of one of these sweeteners from my past.

Many years ago at the start of the 90’s, I worked for a men’s retailer in the UK as a buyers assistant on the accessory team. Jokes, directed my way, many times included:

I was “big in men’s socks” or I was ‘finding an opening in men’s underwear’. Both funny, and both accurate.

My buyer at the time was a very strong-willed Scottish lady, fantastic to work with but scary at the same time due to her volcanic temper. She held nothing back when it came to swearing and to get on the wrong side of her was quite frankly foolish. She missed nothing, had an amazing eye for detail, and was very giving when it came to responsibilities in the job. As such, I received a great training in buying and merchandising from her.  She still, however, scared the living life out of me.

During my 1-year stint on that department, one of the projects she worked on was to create a plastic hanger upon which displayed pairs of socks. Specifically it allowed a tiered ladder effect, which displayed a 3 and 5 pack perfectly, whilst keeping the socks flat and in line. This helped for the shop floor display and also meant that all the colours of the pack could be seen at once without the customer having to flip through a lumpy pack to determine the option.

This sock ladder was her baby. It took months to design and even longer to develop, but the vision of the coloured socks, water falling with such ease and refinement was the motor that drove the process. So much so, that I discovered that this ladder and its vast array of colour combinations was this buyers sweetener to the extent that even the briefest of glimpses, led to a Scottish coo of excitement and a proclamation of love towards the article and its contents.

I picked up on this ‘cooing’ at an early stage and kept the board both close at hand and updated with new shades ready in preparation for the crisis de jour (short shipment of briefs or delivery extensions for ties were commonplace explosions).

For several weeks, the effect of ‘The board’ was quite amazing…… a hushed silence was requested….. The board surveyed and the proclamation of joy and love was made across the department on the functionality of the hanger and the aesthetic pleasure of the socks. Each time, after calm was restored, the board was gently removed and the day continued.

Of course, this particular sweetener didn’t last forever. She found me out and she also found it funny (which was lucky), but it still worked for what I needed which was to distract away from the negative, if only for a second, to focus on the positive.

Delivery delays, short shipments, late fabrics and floods in factories are always going to happen, but shouting and screaming won’t change the fact.  Even now, I make a point of always having a sweetener close by, even if it’s just for myself to step back from the crap and focus on the good.

It works, it helps and it reminds us all, especially our leaders that it’s not just about the one thing that is bad, it’s about the 10 things which are good. Which in this case, was in fact 6 things, 1 hanger, 5 pairs of socks.

Co-lab54 is my consultancy

For more industry tips and stories check out my book:  Blue is the New Black.

The creation, design, development and production of a collection involve the generation, sharing and distribution of a huge amount of information. The information flow from the start of the development process to the end of production is a crucial element for the successful internal workings of the brand and for the external relationships with the factories, trim suppliers and customers.

Tips:

• In development and production you need to manage the flow of information. If you don’t consider yourself organized or able to multi task, choose a different area of the business.
• Writing up technical information needs to be clear and precise. Never make assumptions that the factory understands; check and double-check everything until they are clear.
• As the development matrix is the hub for the style information, keep it updated and without error, as it will reduce problems at a later stage. This is your responsibility.
• If you are using more than one factory, be careful when sending the matrix to them. Filter the sheet so that only the information relevant to that factory goes out.
• If more than one person uses the planning sheets and you are concerned about other people changing details without your knowledge, password protect it so only you can change details.

For more information on the Information flow or other aspects of building a fashion collection, check out Blue is The New Black

Susie / Co-lab54.com

I think it’s fair to say that to be good at fashion development or production you need to be organized. Some people use paper, some use apps like Trello and Evernote but whatever the method, using some form of ‘list’ or organizational tool is essential practice with the number of aspects that need to be juggled within a project. But list making is not just about being organized; it’s also about helping to maintain a focused and motivated outlook in the task ahead so that you see progress as it happens.  For me, these points are key and these are what I’ll be giving you tips on in this post.

Now, I think it’s also fair to say that being organized doesn’t always come naturally to people and for me it was the same. It’s something that has taken me years to manage and I have learnt the hard way by forgetting things or by just feeling overwhelmed by workloads.

Here is how I learned to love a list:

Around 20 years ago, I went to a time management course paid for by my then employer. It was one of those two day set ups in a beige, characterless conference room of a London Hotel filled with eager folk, pens and papers to the ready, waiting to soak up those all essential words of wisdom by some guy called Frits. I remember his name, randomly enough because usually Fritz is with a ‘z’ but he announced himself as ‘Frits–with-an-s’. This course was 20 years ago, strange what you remember: ‘Frits-with-an-s’.

Without going into a minute by minute run down of the course, what he taught us was to break things down stage by stage into bite size pieces, a piece of advise which I give to teams even now. His route was starting with a monthly schedule and dividing it first weekly, then daily,then hourly. What this does is make tasks or events more manageable which is crucial when faced with something big like planning a wedding or a product launch.

For me, the first time that this method of planning really kicked in, I was working at a new brand, which was setting up from scratch in its development and production department. What this meant was that I needed to hire a team, build a sourcing strategy (find factories), create internal processes, and build the information flow documentation (decide who did what). Quite a complex set of tasks and not something I had actually done before. So how did I start? Being old school and preferring to use a pen and paper (don’t judge) I took each section and divided it so that it was broken down into the smallest of detail:

Sourcing Strategy:

Product groups / Countries of manufacture / buying office / agent / factories /Contact person / email address

Team:

Departments / Positions / / Salary / Job Specs / Recruitment agents / Adverts

Internal Process:

Key Documents / Format / Templates

Once I had listed all these in a ‘waterfall list’ (items trickling down in size) I found it easier and less daunting to  attack each point and I was able to cross things off the list giving me a sense of accomplishment and  progression. If my list had been simply: ’ Set up the whole development and production structure for a large  international fashion brand’ I would have probably quit after 3 hours and taken up basket weaving instead. As  it was, I worked through the detailed list striking things off it, reviewing and updating the list daily and weekly.  I’m not saying that this set up was easy or things went according to plan, but by having a detailed plan of  action and by reviewing and updating it on a regular basis, I was able to make progress and slowly build the  department.

This takes me to another point: Reviewing and updating your list on a regular basis is a good thing and is essential for progression.

While working through a project, large or small, work or personal, you will notice that tasks and deadlines will change on a regular basis. This is not because you are not managing the list efficiently, it’s the just the nature of the beast. You are working with external forces (in development: factories and fabric mills, for a wedding, cake makers and florists) that also have their own lists and priorities, which may not match yours. Because of this, be prepared to update and review your list on a regular basis, changing priorities and adding new tasks. This process is a positive thing as there is nothing more satisfying that starting a new list and seeing how much has been crossed off the old one, or at least I think so.

Overtime, maybe your list will get smaller as you strike things through, or maybe it will stay the same length but will have different tasks on it because of a different project. But what should stay consistent is the way you approach it.

Here are my key tips on learning to love a list.

–       Break the task down into bite size pieces, from large to small (don’t be afraid of adding detail to make it easier)

–       Literally strike things through when they are done so that you see the progress.

–       Accept that things will change and that you can’t control everything.

–       Review and update on a regular basis.

Susie Breuer runs the consultancy Co-Lab54.

For more Industry related tips check out the book Blue is The New Black.

Without fabric there would be no garment. You could have the best design in the world, but without fabric it can’t be realized. Making a judgment call on which fabrics to use and for which garment is a skill, and it is one that can be learnt through experience in the workplace. For example, look at the clothes in your wardrobe. Take a cotton shirt and imagine what it would be like in a heavy wool fabric. Take a silk dress and imagine it in denim. Both the dress and shirt would still be wearable, but would probably be suitable for different occasions. Understanding which fabric is used for what style and why, is part of the skill of the developer.

Tips:

• The subject of fabrics is huge. There is always something new to learn. Read the industry press to keep up-to-date on fabric price concerns or new developments.
• Learn the basics on fabric types and construction, as this will give you a good grounding.
• Fabric mills and agents love to talk about fabrics. For them it is their passion and for you this is a free education. Listen and learn, as their knowledge comes from years of experience.
• When I meet with a fabric supplier the first things I ask are; what is the fabric weight, weave and composition? How much is it? What are the minimums? What is the lead time? This is a good starting point for any fabric appointment.
• Understand how colour works with fabric. Not every colour will work with every fabric type.

For more information of the concept or other aspects of building a fashion collection, check out Blue is The New Black

Susie / Co-lab54.com