Fashion Incubator http://www.fashion-incubator.com How to start a clothing line or run the one you have, better. Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:58:54 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Pop Quiz: How to shorten a dart? shorten_dart_popquiz_pt1smI didn't know that how to shorten a dart was a subject of confusion but apparently it is. Two competing methods were published in two different editions of the same pattern making book (the book won't be named) and the crazy thing is, the version I thought was correct was deleted and replaced with what I felt was an incorrect method in the newest edition. Maybe I was brainwashed with the earlier method? Regardless, I'm interested in what you have to say. Not that I think it's appropriate that we decide which method is correct based on a show of hands so arguments supporting your case will be important. Using the example of the sketch at right -this larger version will open in a new window for printing- please illustrate how you'd shorten this dart. Alternatively, you could explain it or even, ask related questions. If you prefer, you can also use a sketch of your own making. You can post a link to your version in comments or you can email it to me. Thanks everybody!]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pop-quiz-how-to-shorten-a-dart/ Archives 3/5- 3/11 2005-2009 More info. The week following on the 25th from 2-7 PM, Style Careers is having a job fair at the Copper Design Space. Pre-registration is recommended because everyone is screened before they let you in the door. You need a two or four year design degree or commensurate experience. SC mentions that store-level retail and internships don't qualify as experience. A $10 fee is required to get in, cash only. Break a leg. And now, here's this week's archives entry. May your weekend be fun and relaxing. March 5, through March 11, 2005 TV, blogs, girlie-girls & call of the mall March 5, through March 11, 2006 Reverse engineering standard work pt.7 They can't make what I designed Is the customer always right? How to order labels pt.1]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/archives-35-311-2005-2009/ Hiring a full package sewing contractor pt.1 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/hiring-a-full-package-sewing-contractor-pt-1/ IP Update: DPPA & Fashion Law Blog reports that NY Senator Charles Schumer is preparing to reintroduce the Design Piracy Prohibition Act for the fourth time. His latest effort has been buoyed by Jeannie Suk, feminist cum fashionista at Harvard Law School who recently authored a paper entitled Law, Culture and the Economics of Fashion. From the Boston Globe: Suk says she found it strange that there were laws in place protecting artists and writers, but not fashion designers. She was also concerned that this anomaly could deter people from going into fashion design. Other than that there are existing laws and regulations to protect designers that aren't being enforced, I'll grant she knows more about law than I do but then I know more about apparel than she does. If the DPPA passes, our problem won't be limited to deterring people from coming into the industry, it'll be keeping the ones we already have alive. Under DPPA, every DE will have to spend incalculable thousands of dollars on legal fees to prove originality of their concepts or they're not going to find a contractor who will sew it up for them. They won't be able to find retail buyers either. Without indemnity, who wants to get sued and go to prison? ]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/ip-update-dppa-fashion-law-blog/ Pattern puzzle: Tasha Stogaya tasha_strogaya_smI don't remember how I discovered Russian designer Tasha Strogaya but she does some interesting pieces. I'm intrigued by Russian designers, particularly their use of style lines. Illustrated at right is an example of Tasha's work featuring the style line seams (buy it here). A slightly larger version of this illustration is here. I'm not wild on the fit of this style. Oh that's not right. What I mean to say is that these style lines are placed in such a way that darts are not necessary to draw it in for a closer fitting silhouette -which is what I think this style should be -but then I'm not the designer. Maybe I'm drawn to it because these are the sort of style lines I like; namely, those that eliminate the need of darts in their entirety. It's no trick to take a flat shapeless garment sans fitting darts and break it up into sections to sew back together. All said and done, this style is likely designed for a different figure type than this mannequin represents. I still think it's a nice piece.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pattern-puzzle-tasha-stogaya/ Archives 2/26- 3/4 2005-2009 daffodilAiring out the winter bedding today, I found the first volunteer in the flower bed. It's a tiny one, the photo doesn't provide scale. Rumor has it these are coming up in many parts of the country. Daffodils are a cheery, optimistic flower that tells us of spring to come. Much nicer than a ground hog. Not that I've seen a ground hog in anything less than a... disordered state. Shop cat used to summarily dispatch those. As ever, here's the selection from the archives for this week in blog history -which includes the tail end of the MAGIC trade show reports. Have a productive and relaxing week end. February 26, through March 4, 2005 The zen of the survival of the prettiest Tailoring and The English Cut Oh joy Product Review Style# 12658 Intolerable ugliness or the shape of things to come?]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/archives-226-34-2005-2009/ 21 mistakes fashion designers can make Sally Beers, a pattern maker with over 30 years experience. Born and raised in New York, she worked in the fast paced city for 25 years before moving to New Mexico five years ago. Available to assist you with your projects, her contact information appears at close.

21 mistakes fashion designers can make

Product Development 1. Not narrowing your focus. It’s best to specialize. Decide on one type of garment to sell and limit the number of styles, colors and sizes whenever possible. I know that was my biggest mistake. Forego that vision of competing with Jean Paul Gaultier or Zara. 2. Not understanding the time it takes to develop a new product. If you are planning to launch in Feb 2011 give yourself 2 yrs. If it happens before then, great, but when manufacturing is involved, you need to build relationships with your suppliers and contractors. You will need many moons to prove yourself to them and them to you. 3. Trying to take on difficult markets like labor intensive lingerie. Bras and shape wear can be very hard to produce. With very few factories in this country a designer is looking at large quantities and faraway factories. 4. Not looking closely at the current market. 5. Not establishing good fit from the very beginning.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/21-mistakes-fashion-designers-can-make/ What is a gusset? http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/what-is-a-gusset/ What is Reshoring -circuitously Evolving Excellence, I found a new-to-me site called Product Design & Development which I thought was pretty interesting. EE mentioned a recent post there, Re-Shoring – Bringing Manufacturing Back To American Suppliers which I liked. While I try to remain vigilant and wary of the echo chamber, the entry was a good briefing on a variety of larger enterprises which have repatriated their production to the U.S.. I can't predict how the material will play to this (or any) audience. Either you agree outsourcing is undesirable and high-five your like minded kindred or you've decided the payoff is worth the risks. I imply no judgments either way. Other entries on the site were interesting (I did say this was circuitous) such as the one about Apple's efforts to police their overseas contractors. Again, one could high-five Apple, great guys they are or you can take it the other way, that great guys would have been more vigilant to prevent employee suicide. There's a link in the post to Apple's supplier responsibility progress report for 2010 (pdf), a white paper prettied up that explains their overseas manufacturing auditing process. This document is very good; it's clean, readable and provides a lot of plain language guidance anyone could use to set inspection standards for any contractor they use, be they foreign or domestic. I hope you read it. That the paper was disseminated widely to the public is shrewd strategy if the transparency bolsters Apple's credibility with consumers. And I think it will, admittedly perhaps self-servingly because I know I don't want to feel guilty over having purchased my iPhone. The point is, look over the guide, the audit description starts on page 13 and consider using some of those guidelines yourself. Likewise, make the results of your process transparent to consumers via download on your websites.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/what-is-reshoring-circuitously/ How to hire a consultant pt.1 here, here and here) has been dealing with a situation with her consultant over the past several months and thinks it's worth sorting out here. It's a bit awkward and difficult for me to write this since I am a consultant and 99.9% of my clients have been an absolute joy to work with but I'll try. Andrea and I are so deep into what went wrong in her case that we almost can't see out. Let's start with some basics.
  • Do you want or need a consultant?
  • What do you want a consultant to do for you?
  • How to know if a consultant is any good.
  • Compensation and affiliations.
  • Ending the relationship.
Introduction: Expertise is the first requirement because you can't afford to pay someone to learn your business only to have them tell you what you already knew. Necessarily, this could mean they work or have worked or will work for your competitors. You can tell how trustworthy they are by how much they reveal about previous and existing clients. Many consultants won't give you names which is good and bad. Good, because they're (hopefully) trustworthy but bad because you can't check up on them easily.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/how-to-hire-a-consultant-pt-1/