Chloe is a fashion designer and product developer currently working at KITH. She received a BFA in Apparel Design from RISD.
Product development and trend development
Background is in putting garments together through the manufacturing process
Gets insight into how companies are run, how things are made
Map out the creative process
Depends on the collection, production team and product development will give a timeline
They care more about production timeline, not design process
one month of designing, initiate sample launches (ie. 3-4 week lead time for trims, first sample wouldn’t have the right trims)
Start earlier during the design process
Design a collection internally, then have partner approval
Time for review can give time to start development
Phases are overlapping
Typically have 1 year out, 8-9 months in this co
Production team will give timeline for prototyping / SMS round (3-4 weeks)
Buy collection off physical samples
Production team will send orders (colors, units, styles for factory to prepare for bulk ordering, will get the fabrics and trims)
- 100-120 days production lead time for a factory
- Can push for a shorter time for t shirts bulk order
- Depends on # of units to order, big brands is a few thousand pieces
- Woven is less units, cost for pocketing lining trims
Came from a 4 month fashion calendar in the past, same every season vs current company is everchanging — 3 months for development
Send out tech packs at each sample round, preparing for bulk production, has to be perfect for what they’re basing their orders on
Pre-production: only a bulk order is sent to factories, lands in the US, depends on payment/ship (air or boat) boat is longer lead time but cheaper, air is more expensive but shorter
Depends on manufacturing process and company cost
Italy takes a month off for August, they need to ship it way earlier before their break, coordinating holidays with different countries, they work and communicate differently
Challenges with tech pack creation?
Can be challenging, a product developer’s job is saying no sometimes (ie. cannot be done)
When something has gone to bulk ordering, liability fee (ie. creative director wants to change the trim)
Last set of eyes that looks at something before it goes, stressful
Good factories will let you know that something doesn’t look right, remove component
Responsible for bill of materials (list of components of a garment, fabric lining, trims, packaging)
- Indicate width and color and location of tape
Tech pack
Custom built software called PLM used at their co (product life management)
- Has sketches, build materials, technical designers can enter spec sheets and patterns
- Pulling a tech pack, pulls it all into a single file
- Easily upload images for things, ie. trim codes are similar but a different finish
- Can see what the artwork will look like, super user friendly
- “If I ever move jobs, I don’t think I could go back to old school PLM software” chef’s kiss, best thing ever!
- Great IT team, quick software updates, finding partners to make things easy and accessible
Used to have RLM software — was terrible, early 2000s software, gray, hard to search for things
- technically can request changes to the software, would take months and expensive
- Software was expensive and terrible to use!
- In the sub screen, size wasn’t big enough, couldn’t see the button at the bottom, very archaic!
1-2 things slipped occasionally, coordinating with suppliers
Work with technical designer, production team to figure out timing
Fabric team coordinates sample yardage, production team orders bulk fabrics
So many collections at once! Detail oriented, fix as soon as possible
How do you get input/feedback? Stay organized for timing?
All over email, different communication styles for factories
Meet once a week, go over all styles
vs. replies all in blue (very dense to parse through correspondence)
Most manufacturers don’t speak English
Asian suppliers rely on email vs phone, company has Mandarin speakers
Other software you use?
Only use Google docs, most fashion companies work in Excel
Prefer docs, less archaic than Microsoft
Cost sheets, shared WIPs in Google docs, so many people can access the same file at the same time
Loves edit history to see who changed the doc
Adobe Illustrator — use shortcuts to count # of studs (ie. circles in an artwork)
More “old school”, loves things that are easier and convenient, less steps
100-200 emails a day, need to be removed off emails
Tool to remove emails
Biggest challenge in the creative process?
Timing — 2 step process (ie. our company that approves, another company that)
Has portals for accepting and approving info
Automated tech to go through artworks?
“No amount of money can fix”
Some companies use AI to help design process, was funny to see the stuff that came up
Design processing is archaic, have a concept and idea, developing new artworks and styles
Live editing and live designing with the company owner, ie. changing colors (orange to black) for immediate design instead of waiting 1-2 weeks for sketches
Owner learning Illustrator to edit things himself, wants to be a designer, positive tool to expedite the design process
“Timing will always be against me”, working with the deadlines given to me
Debate of are we going to do this and have the time to do it right
Risk it or bag it to save on costs and go with a simpler design
All manufacturing overseas, get it done with the supplier
Manufacturing in the US is always going to be more expensive
Getting manufacturing back to the US, Louis Vuitton has a facility in Texas (40% wastage vs 20% industry standard) — cut wrong, sewn incorrectly
Easier said than done to bring things back to US, good sample makers are old (decades of experience)
Inhouse atelier in the last job, 60+ years old, master tailor in his 80s
Some schools in Paris teach couture and prolong the practice by teaching technical skills, takes decades of work and practice
A lot of factories don’t have people that know how to make good products, have good techniques
Finishing a garment takes a long time, complicated for tailoring (sometimes will glue things, most people don’t notice), not proper ways to do things
Pivoting all Chinese manufacturers to different countires due to tariffs!
Different areas in the world with different specialties
Favorite design tools and why?
Tool an intro class to clo3d, great tool for rendering, seeing how a garment will move with fabrics
Niche job/person to find, have been trying to find someone to expedite the creative process
designing, prototypes —> takes a lot of work for organization and planning, timelines don’t intersect
Trend cycles vs making something new
Zippers have a long lead time, working with molds
Physical samples take a long time
Prototypes — right fit but not fabric, trend
3d modeling is more cost effective, organizing sample yardage
Shipping fabric and taxes from a different country
3d modeling for fashion is the future!
Computing power takes energy
3d modeling is more practical, sustainable vs sampling process
Less expensive (clo3d subscription vs coordinating materials overseas)
Industry can change their procedure fast 3d vs physically
Some do that vs traditional
What’s your company’s process?
finding someone to do 3d modeling, hiring a freelancer
Works on SMU collections (special makeup collections at Kith)
Collabs with other brands
Process is different, calendar is non traditional (4 season calendar), but doing ongoing collections with different lead times
Pressure to make things perfect the first round, use coordinating skills
Depends on company owner — very visual founder, wants to see physical sample vs flat CAD
how it’ll look and feel, trying on a garment vs looking at 3d
So many benefits for 3d modeling, more cost effective! so many projects at the same time
3d modeling presentation vs proto presentation will give more time for development
Timelines are unrealistic, doesn’t work out
special custom labels/trims
one perfect sample —> go to development
typically want 3 stages (proto, SMS, PPS, TOP) top of production, last iteration before the factory starts
- SMS — salesman sample, distinguishing construction
- PPS — pre production sample (or post, depending on need)
Mostly only time for proto and SMS
present SMS to buyers, how it’ll look for production
Is its own merchandiser, only sells in our own stores (from multiretailer to selling own products)
Merchandising team is internal, rare in brands
Small brands want to sell with big ecommerce sites (ie. Revolve, SSENSE) to help their brand grow
Benefits for multiple sample rounds
Technical design team will spec the garment, pin it, mark it
Ask factories for patterns, don’t have to send things back
Different processes and methods to get a better result by 2-3 sample stage, isn’t possible for CAD
Need time to comment (ie. stretch fabric will stretch around a zipper), need to see how it’s handled
“This industry is made by hand.”