• About me
  • Contact Me

Fuel4Fashion

~ The official blog of Supriya Ghurye, a Freelance Fashion Designer & Brand Consultant helping international start up fashion labels and growing fashion brands to plan and create great products from concept sketches to final launch.

Fuel4Fashion

Tag Archives: #fashionstartup

The Big Hits And Glaring Misses From Paris Fashion Week Spring Summer 2019

17 Wednesday Oct 2018

Posted by Fuel4Fashion in Fashion Week

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

#fashionstartup, couture designer, Elie Saab, fashion biz, fashion blog, fashion blogger, fashion brand, Fashion Business, fashion designers, fashion entrepreneur, fashion label, fashion trends, Fashion Week, fashion world, Givenchy, Hermes, Issey Miyake, Louis Vuitton, Miu Miu, Paris Fashion Week, Valentino

We’re finally winding up the whirlwind of fashion events that seem to have occupied our collective attention over the last two months. As the last show of the season, expectations ran high from Paris Fashion Week. Some of our favorite designers didn’t disappoint, while others did just that, and glaringly so.

In today’s article, we discuss the seven designer collections we absolutely loved- both for their vision and easy adaptability. We also present a few misses.

  1. Elie Saab: Summer is coming in nice and bright, and Elie Saab at Paris Fashion Week is proof of that. We love the lace details that make summer dresses that much more elegant. Take special note of the use of several different fabrics and accents- a sign of the demanding times to come in fashion. Are you ready to design both workwear and off-time casuals?

Paris Fashion Week Spring Summer 2019 showcasing Elie Saab collection

  1. Givenchy: Givenchy has set new standards for how formal wear must look. Those suits are the very definition of power dressing. We particularly love the use of the silhouette itself to design clothes- it has been a long time since every piece of clothing has not been designed for a mannequin. High waist, big belts, ruffles, full sleeves- all, check.

Paris Fashion Week Spring Summer 2019 showcasing Givenchy collection

  1. Hermes: The famous fashion house’s Paris collection has received mixed reviews, to say the least. We, however, think the collection has a huge adaptability factor. The jackets and overcoats are almost ubiquitous in nature, and we love ourselves a leather pair of shorts. Whether you like the collection or you don’t, you have to admit that a niche choice of fabric has never been this stylish and universal.

Paris Fashion Week Spring Summer 2019 showcasing Hermes collection

  1. Issey Miyake: Miyake is not known for being shy about self-expression. From the villages of Japan (if they still exist) to the modern cities, this year’s collection draws inspiration from every corner of the small yet influential country. The clever choice of colors and fabric lend themselves well to the theme- you know that green coat is meant for the cities. We’re also glad to see flowy pants making a reappearance. God knows we need more of them.

Paris Fashion Week Spring Summer 2019 showcasing Issey Miyake collection

  1. Louis Vuitton: Shockingly, LV has received negative to mixed reviews for their Paris Fashion Week show. While we’re disappointed with the general lack of novelty and the brand playing it too safe, we do love some of the dresses. The blue one, for example, starts off as street-style and ends with a clean hemline. Surely an inspiration for designers to try something a tad bit different with their collection.

Paris Fashion Week Spring Summer 2019 showcasing Louis Vuitton collection

  1. Miu Miu: Formal wear is all set to look different, and Miu Miu is leading the revolution. There’s no denying the fact that this collection is not meant for the faint of heart. But then again, the average Parisienne is not known for being that! Miu Miu has experimented quite elaborately with animal prints, sheer and denim, and we love their use of fabric in so many different ways.

Paris Fashion Week Spring Summer 2019 showcasing Miu Miu collection

  1. Valentino: Most of Valentino’s dresses look like the inspiration for next year’s Met Gala, and that isn’t such a bad thing. For retailers, the key takeaway would be the use of pleats to create form without making them overtly obvious. For everyone else, there is the sheer gorgeousness of the dresses to look at. We can envision some of them as separates- they’d fly off the shelves for sure!

Paris Fashion Week Spring Summer 2019 showcasing Valentino collection

Unfortunately for Paris, it wasn’t all roses. Chanel’s collection came under severe criticism for sheer lack of originality, and we can’t help but agree. Balmain, taking inspiration from a theme they probably didn’t quite understand, tried to go Egyptian and instead ended up all over the place. Perhaps the most disappointing of all was Stella McCartney. After receiving huge media attention post the royal wedding, she couldn’t find a way to make the spotlight work for her and try something new.

But with all misses, we are grateful for these too, because they teach us even more about the consumer’s expectations and how we can stand out.


Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion. She is a Freelance Fashion Designer and Brand Consultant helping fashion brands to create great products from idea to launch. Fuel4Fashion social links: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram


 

Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Designing A Collection: Circumventing The Problems That Don’t Come Calling

30 Wednesday May 2018

Posted by Fuel4Fashion in Fashion Business

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

#fashiondesigner, #Fashionentrepreneur, #fashionlabel, #fashionstartup, #FreelanceFashionDesigner, brandconsultant, fashion, fashionbrand, Fashionbusiness, fashioncollection, fashionconsultant, Fuel4Fashion, garments, mannequins, patterns, production, sizerange, techpacks

In the manufacturing industry, and any other industry involving a physical product, it is a well-known fact that not everything always goes to plan. Even the smallest oversight can result in the wrong product being bulk produced.

In the world of fashion, such an aberration can mean that the entire collection is ruined. No consumer would tell the store representative that a particular piece of clothing didn’t fit them to perfection. As a result, your chances of making the same mistake over and over again are very high as well.

Today, we discuss two such cases where the tiniest problem resulted in some rather significant outcomes, and how Fuel4Fashion helped fix them.

Case 1: The Case of the Incomplete Tech Pack

In an earlier article, we discussed the importance of being thorough with your tech pack. After all, this material serves as the basis of every garment you design and every brief you send to the manufacturer.

In a couple of instances, hiring an inexperienced fashion designer has caused companies to falter along the way. In this particular case, their designer of choice had no experience in delegating work to different teams and had never worked on an actual tech pack before. As a result, the information sent out to the manufacturer was incomplete and fraught with errors.

The result? Over 60% of the proto samples came out wrong. Immense amounts of time and money were wasted in trying to correct the problem at each stage, only to realize that the problem resided in the tech pack.

Fuel4Fashion entered the scene at this juncture and redid the tech packs from scratch, as well as delivering them in record time to help the client get ready for the season’s launch.

The business lesson: If there’s a gap in sampling, always look at the tech pack first. Many problems could be lurking there.

Case 2: Shape Challenges

One of our clients had been getting a lot of complaints from their consumers. The owners of the women’s fashion brand were dealing with issues ranging from incorrect waist size to very tight armholes.

This was a strange conundrum because a recommended size almost always fits the end consumer, and even when it doesn’t the problem lies in a single area. Since we were creating the tech packs and had taken complete ownership of design, we went through all of the material created once more but found no flaws there.

It took a while for us to figure out that the client was testing the proto samples on live models, adjusting according to their measurements and sending the altered samples into production. Hence, as opposed to standard sizes, the end product was being manufactured in the size of three very specific models.

As a result, the clothes wouldn’t fit anyone else who wasn’t the exact same measure as the three models.

The business lesson: Use a mannequin! They come in standard sizes which comply with the rules of standard garment sizing. By using a mannequin, you can be sure of the end result. Even models have a specific body type, and that doesn’t always sit well with the end consumer.

June 27 2019 _ Sat _ 4pm onwards


Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion. She is a Freelance Fashion Designer and Brand Consultant helping fashion brands to create great products from idea to launch. Fuel4Fashion social links: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram


 

 

 

 

Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

The Quick How-To for Creating Mood Boards

24 Thursday May 2018

Posted by Fuel4Fashion in Fashion Design, Styles & Trends

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

#fashiondesigner, #fashionstartup, #moodboard, brandconsultant, colorpalette, conceptboard, creative, fashion, fashionbiz, fashionbrand, Fashionbusiness, fashionconsultant, fashiondesignprocess, inspiration, silhouette, style, trends

A mood board is one of the essential communication pieces in the fashion design process. It can be used both within teams and with external partners to bring alive the concept of a design. Mood boards are fairly popular in the fashion industry, but creative agencies from all walks lean on them to explain their ideas to clients.

Not designing a mood board can be a mistake of the same proportions as some of the others we discussed earlier, and can cause your team to run around in circles.

In this article, we cover the five primary elements of a mood board and how you can create an impactful one.

1) The mood of the collection: This forms the basis of your color choices, as well as your designs. For example, hearing ‘urban desert’ immediately inspires ideas filled with muted greens and browns, while ‘floral’ evokes an equally distinct image. Choose the mood of your collection carefully- it becomes the basis for all design decisions.

Mood board for women's start up fashion brand for SS'18 created by Fuel4fashion Design Studio

Mood board created by Fuel4Fashion, inspired from the Minimalism lifestyle for SS’18 women’s start-up fashion brand.

2) Concept board: The concept board is the idea behind the idea. ‘Floral’ is a concept. ‘Active wear’ is a concept. The concept board details which aspects of a design to highlight and which ones to assign a second priority to.

Concept board for women's start up fashion brand for SS'18 created by Fuel4fashion Design Studio

Concept board created by Fuel4Fashion, inspired from the Minimalism lifestyle for SS’18 women’s start-up fashion brand.

3) Style board: A loose crop top or a well-fitted blouse? Should trousers be narrow cut or broader? A style board defines the aspects of your collection that will eventually drive who will buy it. Indeed, most brands have a clear target audience and design exclusively for their body type.

Silhouette board for women's start up fashion brand for SS'18 created by Fuel4fashion Design Studio

Silhouette board created by Fuel4Fashion, inspired from the Minimalism lifestyle for SS’18 women’s start-up fashion brand.

4) Color Board: Be sure to use the right swaps and choose your colors carefully before they go into a mass product. The color palette you select underlines the entire collection. Not getting a shade just right can ruin the whole process. Having a fixed color palette solves the problem.

Color board for women's start up fashion brand for SS'18 created by Fuel4fashion Design Studio

Color board created by Fuel4Fashion, inspired from the Minimalism lifestyle for SS’18 women’s start-up fashion brand.

5) Collection planning: This aspect determines how many pieces of a category you wish to have. For example, you may choose to design ten blouses, five skirts, three trousers and two accessories. Use past buying trends to of your customers to make these choices.

6) Optional: Artwork Inspiration: You can choose the art forms that you want to see represented in your collection. These can further be translated on to clothes through embroidery, sequins, digital prints, etc.

Creating A Mood Board :  When creating a mood board, think of these elements- your reference imagery, colors, and typography. The last one may not seem too critical, but it often offers that extra dash of inspiration for your team.

Mood board for the collection SS'18 for start up women's wear brand

Recap of complete Mood Board created by Fuel4Fashion for SS’18, women’s casual wear collection for startup fashion brand

While both digital and physical mood boards are in use today, you can choose the format that serves your purpose best. If you have elements of embroidery and other work involved, a physical board may be ideal.

Experiment with different layouts for your images. Even the way an image is laid out (in a grid, triangular, scattered) in itself can represent the essence of your collection. So spend some time thinking through the layout.

Lastly, use color and type to highlight your ideas and give them new life. Today, there are many fonts and styles you can experiment with. Use those elements that add to your central them and do not distract from it.

On the whole, think through who your user base is. Whom is this mood board being designed to help? Design with their perspective in mind, and you are sure to succeed.

Also, are you following our inspiration cards on Instagram? If you find them thought-provoking, be sure to add them to your mood board and let us know!


Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion. She is a Freelance Fashion Designer and Brand Consultant helping fashion brands to create great products from idea to launch. Fuel4Fashion social links: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram


 

 

 

 

 

 

Amp Up Your 2019 Design Efforts With An Extended Virtual Design Team

19 Thursday Apr 2018

Posted by Fuel4Fashion in Fashion Business

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

#FashionDesign, #Fashionentrepreneur, #fashionlabel, #fashionstartup, #FreelanceFashionDesigner, brandconsultant, designhouse, fashion, fashionbiz, fashionbrand, Fashionbusiness, fashionconsultant, fashiondesignstudio, fashiondesignteam, virtualdesignteam

It perhaps comes as no surprise to you that most creative efforts begin well before they actually come into existence. Design houses and fashion labels the world over are already gearing up and designing their Spring-Summer 2019 collections.

Years before trend reports make it to the pages of reputed publications, councils decide the colors and trends that would dominate the fashion scene. Yarn manufacturers exchange swatches with design houses and perfect the color compositions. And all of this happens behind the scenes, so much so that only professionals in the domain know where to look for this information much before it becomes public.

Fashion is a very traditional industry. Trends and forecasts are made well in advance. Even before the Pantone colors for the year come out, WGSN predicts, often accurately, the colors that will take over the world in the coming year.

In a world that thrives on creativity but also encourages compliance with what is expected of a fashion label, it is not always possible to have an in-house team that outperforms itself every single year. For one, hiring and retaining such a team would be expensive.

This is where an extended virtual design team comes into play. With the advent of social media, no one wants to be seen in the same clothes twice. Enter- fast fashion and labels changing their collections multiple times each season, you need to amp up your game with an experienced team of professionals who understand your fashion brand’s DNA and work diligently to ensure your designs are ready in time.

This is how a virtual design team can help you:

  1. A virtual design team is cost-effective. Since they spend a quantum of time with each client, they can give you commitments based on what you wish to pay.
  2. Hiring a Creative Director with enough experience to guide the junior designers can be expensive and add to your product costs. However, if you were to hire a virtual team, they can also help guide your junior designers, and you get the job done for much lesser.
  • Today, quite a few founders of fashion labels don’t necessarily come from a background in fashion. A virtual team that is well versed in the business and executive aspects of fashion can help turn your passion for the art into a viable business model.
  • Just like automation in technology that helps reduce costs to a great extent, hiring an extended virtual design team enables you to outsource critical aspects of your business for same, or better, results.
  • Start-up labels may not fully utilize In-house designers. For example, once the design process for one or two cycles is complete, the resources you have hired full time may not have much to do until further predictions come in. With a virtual design team, you only pay on a per-engagement basis.
  • Attrition is an unfortunate reality of most industries, fashion included. Every time you hire someone new, there is a gap period in which they need to adapt to your label’s DNA. The more designer changes you go through, the more your brand’s DNA gets diluted. However, when you bring an experienced team on board and address design as the core of your label, you have a chance to be consistent with designs.
  • In most cases, a start-up founder’s plate is full with many business aspects to manage. In such situations, it may not always be possible for a founder to be involved with the small details that make or break a design. Hiring an extended virtual team gives you the advantage of having a skilled designer by your side who can micromanage on your behalf.

A freelance designer can also provide all of these benefits. However, as an extension of your team, a virtual design outfit also understands costing and Minimum Order Quantities to help you bring down production costs and optimize sales.

In other words, a virtual design studio helps you fine-tune your design process, execute your designs and take them to the production stage; all while you focus on other aspects of building your business. Before you know it, fashion labels will be designing and producing clothing for Spring-Summer 2019. Join their ranks and do design right- get in touch with us today for more information.

Virtual design team for handling creative fashion design projects


Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion. She is a Freelance Fashion Designer and Brand Consultant helping fashion brands to create great products from idea to launch. Fuel4Fashion social links: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram 


 

Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Ready to Wear Fashion Brands: Achieving Profitability Early

19 Tuesday Dec 2017

Posted by Fuel4Fashion in Fashion Business, Styles & Trends

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

#fashiondesigner, #Fashionentrepreneur, #fashionstartup, #Fibre2Fashion, #FreelanceFashionDesigner, fashionbiz, fashionbrand, Fashionbusiness

In our third article of the series on Fibre2Fashion, India’s largest portal on the textile, apparel and fashion industry, we look at what it takes to create successful designs for the ready to wear market, in order to build profitability quickly. The latter aspect is specifically challenging for fashion entrepreneurs, given the plethora of competing brands in this space.

Article 3_Blog pic

Image courtesy Gary Bigeni, MBFW Australia, 2012. Photo by Eva Rinaldi

A continuation of the series on fashion entrepreneurship, after the first two articles on design process and profitable fashion entrepreneurship, this article looks at how even small brands can quickly capture a sizable audience in order to quickly reach profitability. Fashion entrepreneurs looking at mass market success through ready-to-wear (RTW) should definitely go through this piece.

Feel free to connect with me if you have any questions regarding the fashion design process or need any assistance in running your fashion brand profitably.


Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion. She is a Freelance Fashion Designer and Brand Consultant helping fashion brands to create great products from idea to launch. Fuel4Fashion social links: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram


 

Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

7 Steps to Growing your Fashion Brand Profitably – Our 2nd guest article on Fibre2Fashion

30 Thursday Nov 2017

Posted by Fuel4Fashion in Styles & Trends

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

#FashionDesign, #Fashionentrepreneur, #fashionstartup, #Fibre2Fashion, #FreelanceFashionDesigner, fashionbiz, fashionbrand, Fashionbusiness, profitability

Our second article is out on Fibre2Fashion, India’s largest portal on the textile, apparel and fashion industry. After the first article on the fashion design process, we now look at Fashion Entrepreneurship. The second article outlines the 7 Steps to Growing Your Fashion Brand Profitably, and is a must for all new fashion entrepreneurs.

Article 2_image 1

Image courtesy: Kronkron Store, (http://www.styleclicker.net)

It covers all the key elements of successfully managing your business, from identifying trends to managing business relationships, and will be a handy guide if you’re planning to start out your fashion business soon. Do check it out here.

Feel free to connect with me if you have any questions regarding the fashion design process or need any assistance in running your fashion brand profitably.


Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion. She is a Freelance Fashion Designer and Brand Consultant helping fashion brands to create great products from idea to launch. Fuel4Fashion social links: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram


 

Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Our 1st guest article about Fashion Design Process on Fibre2Fashion

10 Friday Nov 2017

Posted by Fuel4Fashion in Fashion Design, Styles & Trends

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

#FashionDesign, #Fashionentrepreneur, #fashionstartup, #Fibre2Fashion, #FreelanceFashionDesigner, fashion, garment

It gives us great pride to announce that we have been invited by Fibre2Fashion, India’s largest portal on the textile, apparel and fashion industry to contribute a series of articles on Fashion design and entrepreneurship.

The first article on “End-to-end Fashion Design: A guide for the Fashion Entrepreneur” is now live on Fibre2Fashion. It outlines the entire design process in brief for new Fashion entrepreneurs looking to set up their own fashion label, specifically those who may not have a design background before coming into the fashion industry.

2.jpg

It covers all the technical aspects of the design processing including:

  • Trend Forecasting
  • Mood Board creation
  • Range Planning and Style Selection
  • Concept Sketches
  • Trims and Embellishment
  • Techpacks and
  • Prototype Development

Check out our guest article here

Feel free to connect with me if you have any questions regarding the fashion design process or need any assistance in creating your new collection.


Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion. She is a Freelance Fashion Designer and Brand Consultant helping fashion brands to create great products from idea to launch. Fuel4Fashion social links: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram


 

Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Mixing It Up

29 Tuesday Sep 2015

Posted by Fuel4Fashion in Fashion Business

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

#fashionlabel, #fashionstartup, #fitness, #gym, #SkinnyChimp, Fuel4Fashion

How DJ Lady Bex went from DJ to winning UK’s online fashion store awards

Fuel4Fashion blog Skinny Chimp CEO

Rebecca Goodchild aka DJ lady Bex

Rebecca Goodchild (or DJ Lady Bex as she is known professionally) is an international DJ who successfully launched her own fitness fashion label Skinny Chimp in 2013. Today, Skinny Chimp has made the transition from a niche start-up fashion label into a successful venture. Rebecca, who has been associated with Fuel4Fashion from the early stages of Skinny Chimp’s launch, tells us about her experiences as a rank outsider and entrepreneur in fashion.

Fuel4fashion blog Skinny Chimp CEO

Rebecca Goodchild

1) What made you get into a fashion brand?

Pure accident! It once happened that I found a top I loved but it didn’t fit me very well, so with the help of Fuel4fashion I had it redesigned for the perfect fit. Everyone who saw it loved it, kept asking for one, and my fashion business was born!

I have always assumed I wasn’t very fashionable as I never followed the latest trends – I prefer to wear whatever makes me feel comfortable. Now I realize I was helping set the trend, and suddenly I’ve become a designer with my own brand.

Fuel4fashion UK troops wearing Skinny Chimp

British troops sporting Skinny Chimp vests off-duty

2) What was the inspiration behind Skinny Chimp?

I have always been into fitness and I wanted to create a brand that wasn’t so serious. There are many fitness and fashion brands around the world but they all seem so serious, focused on performance, not fun.

On a serious note, Skinny Chimp was a bit of a gamble – I wanted to grow the brand as a credible fashion brand with a twist of humor. My main objective was to make people realize fitness can be enjoyable and approachable.

DJ Lady Bex at one of the concerts3) Without a fashion background you have managed to make Skinny Chimp a success. What were the crucial challenges that you faced in the process?

EVERYTHING !! Trial and error, every step of the way. I didn’t even know there were so many different shades of black! Now I know so much more and I’m still learning. I spent over a year searching for the perfect manufacturer, getting samples, finding the right people to help me do this. I was naive when I started out, thinking I could do this alone. I’ve learned a lot along the way – every good and bad experience has its share of learning, so long as you’re willing.

4) How did you overcome these challenges?

Getting help and learning as much as possible! I was lucky to find a few great people along the way, who were patient with me and helped me get over the early setbacks, and sticking with me even when times were tough. At the end of it all, you have to go through the grind, and there’s never a substitute for hard work.

Boy band blue wearing vest from fitness fashion brand Skinny Chimp

Boy Band Blue seen sporting a Skinny Chimp vest

5) What has been the high point of the Skinny Chimp journey so far?

Seeing celebrities such as Peter Andre, Blue and Mr Universe wearing Skinny Chimp, winning best online fashion retailer 2014 in the Liverpool awards, seeing a celeb wear it on TV, magazine features and being asked to work with Dragons Den in their search to recruit a new Dragon using Skinny Chimp as the product pitch. I treasure all of them, and I know there are many more to come!

Happy customers of Skinny Chimp6) Why the name Skinny Chimp?

Everyone has an inner chimp – we all have that naughty side 🙂

Skinny – because the first vest was thin with skinny straps and chimps because they are my favorite animal – so full of fun and energy. So, Skinny Chimp! You might say the Skinny Chimp tribe is a family of strong smart animals who have fun and stay fit at the same time!

7) What are your future plans with Skinny Chimp?

A lot has been going on, and without revealing too much, let’s just say that I want to take it into the fashion industry as well as keeping it within the fitness industry. It’s a brand that can go down so many avenues. Spreading geographically is another option.

8) What advice would you like to give to the first time fashion entrepreneur?

Hold on tight. It’s a roller coaster – the downs are as often as the highs (but the highs are soooo good!). Its hard work and its 24/7 – you NEVER stop thinking.  Listen to ALL the advice you can get but don’t always take it. Follow your gut feeling and take risks. Be different and create your own success – don’t copy others. And find people who share your dream – you’ll never go wrong with them around!

Chimps showing Skinny Chimp vests with CEO Rebecca Goodchild


Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion, the freelance fashion design studio for multiple product designing in apparels that caters to start-up fashion labels and growing fashion brands with a diverse portfolio of design services. She is a member of the Cherie Blair Foundation’s Women Entrepreneurship Program and has over a decade of fashion industry experience. Twitter , Instagram , Pinterest


Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

The Fashion Design Process

11 Friday Oct 2013

Posted by Fuel4Fashion in Fashion Industry Processes

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

#fashionstartup, apparel manufacturing vendors, blog, brandconsultant, fabric, fashion, fashion designers, fashion illustrations, fashionbiz, fashionbrand, Fashionbusiness, fashionconsultant, fit sample, freelance fashion designer, mood board, pattern, pre-production samples, Product design, product development, proto, Size sets, Supriya Ghurye, tech pack, technical specifications

“To me, fashion is like a mirror. It’s a reflection of the times. And if it doesn’t reflect the times, it’s not fashion. Because people aren’t gonna be wearing it.”  – Anna Sui

Sometimes, it feels like quite the uphill task to design based on themes, preferences and moods, and do the whole thing over and over again every few months. For any process to succeed, the key determinant is empathy.

Consumers look at fashion as wearable art. For most people, a style is a form of expression. Even those who claim not to pay much attention to clothing are still making a statement- with the clothes that they do wear.

The Design Process

Let’s look at the fashion design process from scratch. Integral to success of the process is also how an understanding of your audience can set you up for superior results.

Step by step "Fashion Design Process" by Fuel4Fashion

Step by Step explanation of Fuel4Fashion’s Fashion Design Process we religiously follow to ensure quality deliverance to our clients.

1. The Brief: Failing to plan is planning to fail, they say, and so it goes for the brief. The fashion brief includes everything from identifying the target customer, understanding their needs, the season of launch, the price points and size ranges.

2. Trend Forecasting: This is the part where you give consumers what they didn’t know they wanted! This is how new trends are born, and sustained. Understand data from prominent fashion houses and forecast reports from all around the world. Adapt to suit your needs.

3. The Basis: Once you have a list of trends for the upcoming season, you need to drill down to the trends that you do want to focus on. For example, it may not make sense for a bohemian brand to suddenly morph into vibrant athleisure. However, this doesn’t mean that they should entirely stay away from active wear either. Trends need to be adapted to suit your business’s promise.

June 27 2019 _ Sat _ 4pm onwards

4. Collection Planning: This is the step where you decide the number of silhouettes and the number of designs you want to showcase per silhouette. As a business, this is the step where budgets come into the picture. Too wide a collection can increase sales but eat into your budgets, while too few options can put people off.

5. Mood Boards: Your designs are almost ready to come to life. This is the phase where sketches become fabric interpretations. Observe the play of light on each garment.

Mood board created by Fuel4fashion for explaining fashion Design process for SS'19 Active sportswear

Moodboard created by Fuel4Fashion, inspired from Disruptive theme for SS’19 Activewear category.

6. Inspiration Board: Now, you have all the material you need to be inspired from! The Inspiration Board serves as a style guide of sorts to help everyone on the team refer to when in doubt, and draw from at other times.

7. Garment Flats, and Customization: The book of illustrations with every piece in your collection will serve as a reference point for manufacturers and team members alike. Make it comprehensive. If your products have print and embroidered details on them, now is the time to get started.

Fuel4fashion's step by step process from idea to sketch explaining the fashion design process.

Fuel4fashion’s creative design process from idea to sketch explaining the fashion design process.

8. The Tech Pack: This is the blueprint for every piece of clothing that you will design in the collection. It has details ranging from the style description, trims and fabric details, size range to the placement of prints.

9. Feasibility: Once the samples are ready, evaluate the pros and cons of taking this collection into production. Don’t be afraid to drop the pieces that aren’t up to your standards.

Range Plan designed by Fuel4Fashion for the fashion design process.

Fuel4fashion’s Range Plan for SS’19 Activewear segment for the fashion design process.

The Human Element

Oftentimes, in sales, it is easy to forget that all products are being created for a very specific consumer with very specific tastes. As a business person, you must understand your end consumer very well. Use personas, mock interviews and even real interviews to understand what they do expect, and also that which they want but don’t know of yet.

After all, some of the most stunning trends in fashion have come from a house that knew what its consumers weren’t saying- think miniskirts, punk rock and even power suits!

What new trend are you gearing up to start? Are you following due process?

Don’t forget to sign-up for our newsletter that brings all that’s fashion design and more, right to you!


Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion. She is a Freelance Fashion Designer and Brand Consultant helping fashion brands to create great products from idea to launch. Fuel4Fashion social links: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram


 

Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 2,198 other followers

Follow Fuel4Fashion on WordPress.com

Top Posts & Pages

  • The Fashion Design Process
  • Five Branding Secrets for A Fashion Startup That Is Poised To Succeed
  • Upcycle Fashion
  • Animal Cruelty in Fashion Industry
  • Adapting Streetwear Into Mainstream Fashion: The Men’s Casual Wear Edit
  • Indian fashion industry - Part 1
  • Influence of African tribal fashion on the main stream fashion
  • The Product development process
  • My favorite fashion designer : Manish Arora
  • Changing trends in corporate uniforms

Recent Posts

  • Figuring Out Your Fashion Brand’s DNA, Part 2: Fashion Marketing And More
  • Figuring Out Your Fashion Brand’s DNA, Part 1: The Building Blocks That Makeup Who You Are
  • The New Colour On The Block: Decoding Living Coral For Everyday Application
  • A Circle Of Colors: How The Pantone Color Of The Year Trend Started
  • Wearing Your Technology On Your Sleeve: The Wearable Tech Trends That Are Driving Fashion

Categories

  • Colors & patterns
  • Emerging Trends
  • Fashion Branding
  • Fashion Business
  • Fashion Design
  • Fashion History
  • Fashion Industry Processes
  • Fashion Week
  • General
  • Guest Blogger
  • Home Furnishing
  • Men's Fashion
  • New Fashion Destinations
  • Prints & embroideries
  • Styles & Trends
  • Technology & Innovation
  • Women's fashion

Blog Stats

  • 100,424 hits

Archives

  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2016
  • August 2016
  • March 2016
  • December 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • June 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • November 2013
  • October 2013

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com
  • RSS - Posts
  • RSS - Comments

Blogs I Follow

  • Stitch Diary
  • At Home with Mend It Aussie
  • Holly McQuillan
  • Fash Tech Lawyer
  • Draw A Dot
  • Fashion Obsessive
  • dix & pond

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Stitch Diary

At Home with Mend It Aussie

A journal to record the joy of our frugal lifestyle

Holly McQuillan

Fash Tech Lawyer

Fashion, Technology, Brands, Business, Law.

Draw A Dot

We all start out with just a dot, then we connect all the dots together to create a beautiful image.

Fashion Obsessive

My life as a Fashion Freelancer

dix & pond

Insider thoughts on fashion, trends, branding and retail

Cancel
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
%d bloggers like this: