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  • Faust
    kitsch killer
    • Sep 2006
    • 37852

    #16
    Originally posted by 123abc123 View Post
    yup, i'm quoting you'r blog . I have to say I have fallen for your posts they have (or at least I hope) evolved my taste in clothing. By the by what happened? Why did you stop posting so abruptly? Have you been writing somewhere else?
    SZ!
    Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

    StyleZeitgeist Magazine

    Comment

    • Yan
      Senior Member
      • Mar 2008
      • 386

      #17
      OK then. I am a new "British" designer. My second collection was bought by Harrods which was a real surprise to the "experts": who told me that there was no way on earth they were going to buy, given my very non London aesthetic. I work predominently with elastic strips which no-one else does. The collection Harrods bought included pieces held together with safety pins. If you know Harrods, you can see what an interesting and unexpected move this was for them. The collection has been in-store for just over a month and the best sellers are the safety pin pieces.

      I have been designing seriously for a year now. When I started, I played the game and applied for everything such as New Gen and had a London PR etc. I then realised that it was just a complete waste of money, which I did not have and karma, which I wanted to invest on the worthy. New Gen is practically impossible to get and the selection process would make you weep. I guess I am completely under the radar.......apart from that I am now stocked in one of the most famous department stores. I have deliberately chosen not to follow in the footsteps of my contemporaries and offer my pieces on websites dedicated to "emerging talent."

      So, I am not playing by London's rules and I am doing things my own way with a very limited budget but I am doing this completely alone. I have no help whatsoever but now is the time I need to be making the most of my opportunities.

      Any suggestions?
      Last edited by Yan; 12-28-2010, 08:23 AM.

      Comment

      • zamb
        Senior Member
        • Nov 2006
        • 5834

        #18
        Originally posted by Yan View Post
        OK then. I am a new "British" designer. My second collection was bought by Harrods which was a real surprise to the "experts": who told me that there was no way on earth they were going to buy, given my very non London aesthetic. I work predominently with elastic strips which no-one else does. The collection Harrods bought included pieces held together with safety pins. If you know Harrods, you can see what an interesting and unexpected move this was for them. The collection has been in-store for just over a month and the best sellers are the safety pin pieces.

        I have been designing seriously for a year now. When I started, I played the game and applied for everything such as New Gen and had a London PR etc. I then realised that it was just a complete waste of money, which I did not have and karma, which I wanted to invest on the worthy. New Gen is practically impossible to get and the selection process would make you weep. I guess I am completely under the radar.......apart from that I am now stocked in one of the most famous department stores. I have deliberately chosen not to follow in the footsteps of my contemporaries and offer my pieces on websites dedicated to "emerging talent."

        So, I am not playing by London's rules and I am doing things my own way with a very limited budget but I am doing this completely alone. I have no help whatsoever but now is the time I need to be making the most of my opportunities.

        Any suggestions?
        • concentrate on your patterns and the quality of the product,

        • make sure that your clothes fit well,

        • forget about the whole PR fashion show/ showing your vision nonsense (at least for now).................


        • See yourself as a maker of high quality products that so happen to be clothing rather than a "fashion designer"

        • Source good fabrics at the most reasonable rates possible.............without necessarily kissing the butts of the usual run of the gamut name dropping mills.........
        • if you can only do a small collection with really great pieces, do that rather than borrow money to fund something to look grand.
        • try to build up a healthy private clientele business and take the best care of them......... to complement your wholesale accounts.............its necessary for cash flow purposes and satisfied clients who wear your product to death are the best Publicity people you will ever need.

        wish you great success for 2011
        “You know,” he says, with a resilient smile, “it is a hard world for poets.”
        .................................................. .......................


        Zam Barrett Spring 2017 Now in stock

        Comment

        • municeps
          Junior Member
          • Nov 2010
          • 8

          #19
          I think the problem with the British fashion is that there's no industry to support these young designers. There isn't much of a production system, whereas in Paris for example, they've got all the manufacturers from lacemakers to larger factories where you can produce high quality goods.

          Also, marketwise, Britain is so much highstreet driven so there really isn't a market for young designers. These are few of the reasons that a lot of designers start their own brand in London and once they get their names known, they move to NY, Paris or Milan to the big fashion houses (Galliano, McQueen to Giles).

          Still, when you see the students' work, London does appear be strong, considering how they receive a lot of awards in the worldwide competitions etc.

          Comment

          • municeps
            Junior Member
            • Nov 2010
            • 8

            #20
            Originally posted by Yan View Post
            OK then. I am a new "British" designer. My second collection was bought by Harrods which was a real surprise to the "experts": who told me that there was no way on earth they were going to buy, given my very non London aesthetic. I work predominently with elastic strips which no-one else does. The collection Harrods bought included pieces held together with safety pins. If you know Harrods, you can see what an interesting and unexpected move this was for them. The collection has been in-store for just over a month and the best sellers are the safety pin pieces.

            I have been designing seriously for a year now. When I started, I played the game and applied for everything such as New Gen and had a London PR etc. I then realised that it was just a complete waste of money, which I did not have and karma, which I wanted to invest on the worthy. New Gen is practically impossible to get and the selection process would make you weep. I guess I am completely under the radar.......apart from that I am now stocked in one of the most famous department stores. I have deliberately chosen not to follow in the footsteps of my contemporaries and offer my pieces on websites dedicated to "emerging talent."

            So, I am not playing by London's rules and I am doing things my own way with a very limited budget but I am doing this completely alone. I have no help whatsoever but now is the time I need to be making the most of my opportunities.

            Any suggestions?
            Start selling online through your own website!

            Comment

            • Faust
              kitsch killer
              • Sep 2006
              • 37852

              #21
              Originally posted by municeps View Post
              Start selling online through your own website!
              Wrong. It's the fastest way to sour relationships with retail partners. The best advice I can give is to cultivate your existing relationships and reach out to stores directly. And make yourself a stellar website. Fashion still doesn't get by and large how much of an asset a good website is. It's your face, your business card, your image, your PR.
              Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

              StyleZeitgeist Magazine

              Comment

              • SHYE_POSER
                Senior Member
                • Mar 2009
                • 1143

                #22
                Spot on once again. Yan, take it old school, go knocking on doors, take your pieces directly to the stores, present your work, and your look books. This way you build a personal relationship with the stores and buyers.
                merz: your look has all the grace of george michael at the tail end of a coke binge.

                Comment

                • Yan
                  Senior Member
                  • Mar 2008
                  • 386

                  #23
                  Agree with all the words except the website, although it could be a vehicle to sell sample/ experimental pieces.

                  My problem, and its a good problem is now I am limited to which retailers I can now approach in the UK which then leads me to look further afield, which is when I could do with some help...............

                  Comment

                  • seenmy
                    Senior Member
                    • May 2009
                    • 430

                    #24
                    in reality if you are good,the right people will eventually come to you,if you are 'selling' in harrods you have a good calling card,particulary if as you say they are experiencing a sell through on your product.The one thing you can garentee in this industry is people talk.

                    Comment

                    • Yan
                      Senior Member
                      • Mar 2008
                      • 386

                      #25
                      Originally posted by zamb View Post
                      • concentrate on your patterns and the quality of the product,

                      • make sure that your clothes fit well,

                      • forget about the whole PR fashion show/ showing your vision nonsense (at least for now).................


                      • See yourself as a maker of high quality products that so happen to be clothing rather than a "fashion designer"

                      • Source good fabrics at the most reasonable rates possible.............without necessarily kissing the butts of the usual run of the gamut name dropping mills.........
                      • if you can only do a small collection with really great pieces, do that rather than borrow money to fund something to look grand.
                      • try to build up a healthy private clientele business and take the best care of them......... to complement your wholesale accounts.............its necessary for cash flow purposes and satisfied clients who wear your product to death are the best Publicity people you will ever need.

                      wish you great success for 2011
                      Thanks Zamb. My year has really been a bit all over the place. I got the Harrods order without having any private customers or other stockists, but I kind of have a plan for the latter.
                      I haven't got any lines of credit available to me. In fact I have enough money to produce a small collection and maybe do a Paris showroom again. Ideally, I would like to start building a group of good people around me but good people are very .................
                      I wish you well for 2011. Be well.

                      Comment

                      • Faust
                        kitsch killer
                        • Sep 2006
                        • 37852

                        #26
                        Originally posted by Yan View Post
                        Agree with all the words except the website, although it could be a vehicle to sell sample/ experimental pieces.

                        My problem, and its a good problem is now I am limited to which retailers I can now approach in the UK which then leads me to look further afield, which is when I could do with some help...............
                        Fashion is notoriously adamant about the web - I cannot fathom why. Whether you like it or not, Internet is important. Underestimate it, and you shoot yourself in the foot.
                        Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

                        StyleZeitgeist Magazine

                        Comment

                        • Yan
                          Senior Member
                          • Mar 2008
                          • 386

                          #27
                          Originally posted by Faust View Post
                          Fashion is notoriously adamant about the web - I cannot fathom why. Whether you like it or not, Internet is important. Underestimate it, and you shoot yourself in the foot.
                          I meant selling on your own website. I am very aware that my own site needs a ton of work but have not got the funds to make it right although I am looking at other ways...........

                          Comment

                          • Yan
                            Senior Member
                            • Mar 2008
                            • 386

                            #28
                            My idealistic dream is for a global group of like minded designers to pool their collective resources and help each other with things like introductions to retailers etc.
                            For my part, I have had no problem with introducing some of my fellow designers to Harrods. I do not see designers as being in competition with each other. I am just painfully aware of how the establishment is happy to create and maintain an order in which the designer is pretty much at the bottom of the pecking order.
                            Case in point being trade shows. Do they really care if they showcase and promote a designer to buyers? Is it not the case that if a designer fails, there are 10 more eager to take their place?

                            Comment

                            • Faust
                              kitsch killer
                              • Sep 2006
                              • 37852

                              #29
                              Ah, sorry for the misunderstanding about the web!
                              Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

                              StyleZeitgeist Magazine

                              Comment

                              • municeps
                                Junior Member
                                • Nov 2010
                                • 8

                                #30
                                Originally posted by Faust View Post
                                Wrong. It's the fastest way to sour relationships with retail partners. The best advice I can give is to cultivate your existing relationships and reach out to stores directly. And make yourself a stellar website. Fashion still doesn't get by and large how much of an asset a good website is. It's your face, your business card, your image, your PR.


                                I don't think you can conclude that this is 'wrong'. It really depends on the designer's work and his target audience. I don't know the nature of Yan's work or strategy so not sure this will work for him but it is a way for a young designer to maintain a sustainable business. And actually it is a growing trend now even in big brands.

                                In reality, to get good manufacturers, you need to place consistent orders in a decent volume which a young designer cannot. For these designers it might be most dangerous to get production factories without promised orders and also, they are not able to get good manufacturers in small volume.

                                Products from in house production cannot match the price of pieces from factories because their buying power for the sources and the system. When young designers deal with retailers with in house product it is only for PR unless they charge a reasonable price for themselves which normally the customers are not ready to pay for.

                                The risk lies here. Either way when one deals with retailers for its sake, he cannot not make any money. You end up only having to play the PR game to get enough publicity to invite more investors or more sponsorships. We've seen enough of this in the last decade in London and know it never works. Even the most successful British designers(McQueen, Galliano, Chalayan) didn't make any money here and had to go to Paris to work for companies.

                                But please don't think this is the only way in fashion.

                                If you are a sincere maker of good products, your work will tell in the end. Selling your work directly to your customers is the reasonable solution. The more important relationship is with your customers, not retailers. Retailers always change according to the needs of the customers. If you have enough base of people who appreciate your work, the buyers and shops will naturally follow.

                                The important thing is to make people have respect and admiration for your work, I don't think selling online will diminish them. It also depends on how you do it.

                                Comment

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