What You Need to Know to Show Up Like a Pro
We love supporting brands to get product to market And nothing makes us more sad (work-wise at least) than when we’ve got great designs that have been fine-tuned, fit and are ready to go except they can’t for completely preventable reasons. No one ever made much money on an
e-commerce site without having anything to sell. We're sharing them here because we don't want to see you make the same mistakes.
Here are four not so obvious bits to concentrate on as soon as you have gotten the garment design process started;
1. Collateral Damage
Labels, heat seals and hangtags are all attached to your designs in the homestretch of the process. Accordingly, like the garment itself they need time to develop, and have more design options than you can imagine so start as early as possible to decide what you want to use. This includes care and content as well as the main label and hangtags. These elements are another aspect of the garment that can really make it sing. Additionally, they also can really hold the process up if not considered in time. It is very helpful to, ideally, get these pieces developed at a facility near where the vendor is located, so shipping from one region to another is not what prevents your delivery from happening on time.
2. Color Me Delayed
As fashion fanatics we are big fans of color, living and breathing it every day. At the outset of development, you will often have the vision of what color a particular range will be in. The key for no hold ups is to ensure that you are well aware of the deadlines for passing this color to, not only your main fabric vendor, but also to every other source that has a component on the garment. The last thing you want is that safety orange you are thrilled to be in this spring not to be able to be delivered until holiday!
3. Wash Your Cares Away
Do those wash tests early. As soon as you have production approved fabrics get your garment wash tested. Not only do you want to head off at the pass any issues that could be connected with the fabric, you also want to ensure that you don’t have to change the instructions on your care or content labels which means delays there. Fashion really is full circle.
4. She Wears it Well, We Hope….
Anyone who knows us knows we are big proponents of wear testing even if it’s a quick gut check. We’ve been saved enough times in our careers by wearing experiences that shed light on an issue that never came up in fitting. And have been bitten in the back side when we got over our skis, or our undies as it were, feeling too confident that we didn’t need a wear test only to then have a fire drill promptly ensue when someone had a poor experience. Even if just you and friends try on, you will have some understanding on how the design fits across sizes or body types. Additionally, you will know if there are any funky joins or stitching opportunities.
One word to the wise here; as a fit mentor of mine is fond of saying-if 3 out of 4 of you loved a garment and 1 didn’t, it’s not exactly fair representation to say 25% were not fans. Percentages aren’t applicable with such a small sampling. Just get down to it and figure out what the issue is and what the solve is.
Hopefully these #protips have given you some awareness of issues that can hold up your production process. We’re all about sharing our knowledge and mistakes so you can have smooth sailing, or at least relatively steady waters.
We'd love to hear from you! Reach out with any questions you have around fashion design or the process itself. Or any topics that you would like us to cover. We love talking product and are always happy to learn as well.
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