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It’s The Economy, Stupid!
By admins | September 18, 2008
In the past when our economy struggled or the country was at war, fashion reflected the times. There was the conservative wartime ready-to-wear of the 40’s and more recently the grunge look of the 90’s recession. Fashion can also be an outlet for what we hope our future to be, like the glamorous and feminine couture evening wear of the great depression. So now that fashion week for Spring ‘09 has ended what is it that we are trying to say? It seems to us that many of the collections were more subdued and conservative, showing a more restrained sense of style. Looking at our current wardrobes, shows a rather schizophrenic style, which perhaps reflects our own uncertainty with the economy. Right now every other store is selling $250 jeans while at the same time Walmart has knit tops on the floor for less than the price of bread! In the magazines we see over the top fashionistas with f**k me pumps and heavily bejeweled couture while others favour the hobo-chic MaryKate look. On the one hand, we have belts as the hot trend to bring the waist and femininity back, and on the other we see the return of a quasi grunge style and the boyfriend jean. So is our current style showing optimism about our future or do we see things getting worse before getting better?
Regardless of where you believe the economy to be heading cutting costs and making your line more affordable is a must.
So here’s some tips for y’all, and please feel free to add your own in the comments;
- Location, Location, Location. Step one, move production location.
- Time to source new mills and knock off your own fabrics for a lower price point.
- Keep your color cards small, that means less color runs and dying up less yardage.
- For prints and patterns, think less yarn dye more printed and more 4-way repeats for better consumption.
- When using high priced fabrics, focus on cut and color and leave out all embellishments.
- Be aware of the amount of hardware, embroidery, printing, etc… and lose what is not absolutely necessary for the integrity of your design.
- No more hand stitching, hand beading, or hand work of any kind, if it can’t be done by a machine skip it.
- Sampling! The best way to save money internally, cut down on any exessive sampling!
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Topics: designers, economy, fashion, fashion industry, fashion shows, garment center, production, trend | No Comments » 
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