BTEC First in Retail - Unit 7 Fashion Retailing Design to Sale Where does a Fashion Designer get their inspiration from ? Vivienne Westwood has been quoted as saying she gets her ideas from visiting Museums. Designers may also gain inspiration from travel, nature or their own culture. See: Patrick MunroePatrick Munroe Once an image of the design has been created and decided upon it is time to make the first pattern. A designer will work with a pattern cutter.

BTEC First in Retail - Unit 7 Fashion Retailing Pattern Cutting to Garment The pattern is developed using a tailor’s dummy until the desired shape is achieved. See:DrapingDraping Once the pattern has been decided upon an initial garment is made up using a fabric called calico. This first garment is called a ‘ toile’. See: Pattern to ToilePattern to Toile The garment at the stage may be developed further and more sketches will be made The designer will then need to consider the fabric that they want to use.

BTEC First in Retail - Unit 7 Fashion Retailing Fabric Decisions The designer will work with the team and a variety of sample fabrics will be brought in before a decision is made on which suits the garment design. Designers will develop strong links with suppliers they like for both fabrics and trimmings. They may also commission fabric manufacturers to create specific fabrics particularly for Haute Couture designs. The garment will then be made up using the fabrics and trimmings. If this is successful then orders for more fabric will be agreed upon.

BTEC First in Retail - Unit 7 Fashion Retailing Collections A designer will want to show off their designs to encourage future sales. In order to do this they need to create a number of garments. This is called a collection – they may even give the collection a theme. Fashion shows are held each season in order to show off the collections of different designers. The catwalk enables buyers and the media to see the garments created. See:CollectionsCollections The most expensive collections are shown in key cities. See: Designer Collections Designer Collections The Haute Couture and Pret a Porter shows allow buyers to see what the future trends are in fashion. These are publicised in the fashion & media.

BTEC First in Retail - Unit 7 Fashion Retailing Buyer to Stores Once a buyer has decided they like designs they will need to discuss future product ranges with the rest of the retail team. Once a product range plan has been decided upon they will need to source products from suppliers/ wholesalers. Prices will be negotiated and orders placed. High street chains and larger stores will then need to plan for the merchandising of the range. All their stores / outlets will need to follow a similar layout. They may use merchandising software to help them. See:Fashion Retail outlets-Range planningFashion Retail outlets-Range planning

BTEC First in Retail - Unit 7 Fashion Retailing What the customer wants ? Once the store has taken delivery of their garments they need to make sure they are well displayed in order to encourage the customers to buy. The fashion retail business is very competitive and there is always a rush for companies to take the good designs from the catwalk and turn them into saleable products in the High Street. The whole process from design to sale may take up to a year. The fashion designer, however will be creating new designs all year through and will be looking for inspiration for the next best selling trend on the catwalk and the stores.