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Challenge Question Number 1 for Clothing Designer #1138Related Subject(s):Art Business & Accounting Studies Family & Consumer Sciences Related Soft Skill(s): Collecting Information Completing an Activity Describe a typical "challenge" encountered in your work: I design two to three lines a year of special occasion and mother of the bride dresses and suits. There are 10 to 15 pieces in each line and they must be completed about a month before the shows start. The spring shows begin in October, the fall shows in March and the holiday shows in July to August. Pictures of the garments must be taken by our photographer in New York before the shows.
When designing I sketch the style, decide on fabric and trim, and then make the pattern in size 8. One of each style is made to check fit and to see how it looks on the model. If that is satisfactory, the samples are cut and made.
After we see which pieces are selling, I size the patterns from 4 to 24. This master pattern is used to produce all the sizes needed.
As I am the owner of the business many other duties are in my job description including setting high standards for quality and ensuring manufacturing moves smoothly and quickly to the finished product. I pay the bills, make payroll and am responsible for the accounting.
I attend major shows around the country and do a few trunk shows for stores. They love having the designer there. Also, I am in contact weekly with our showrooms and sales representatives around the country to determine how sales are going, what styles are most popular and hearing comments from buyers. I also attend fabric shows to see what is new so we can incorporate that into our seasons “new look." I wait on customers who come into our showroom helping them find the right outfit, from our collection of exquisite styles, for their “special occasion.” My company sells to specialty women’s stores and bridal stores all across the U.S. and a few outside the U.S. Clearly describe what you expect from the students: Working in pairs, students will design a dress or suit for each other. Each person will describe the type of dress/suit and his/her partner will design a garment to fit the description of the item described. The designer will select fabric and trim and make a pattern for this garment. A sample garment will be made, reflecting the original request of the “buyer.” This item will be made to fit a doll, rather than the actual size of the person requesting the garment. In order to give the teacher some guidance in evaluating the student's project(s); list some tips that may help to assess the student's work: 1. Original designs should match the original request of the buyer. The buyer will list five components of her/his original request and these components should be checked off when the garment is completed. (Example: garment should be floor length, flowing material, trimmed in pearls, dark color, and should minimize the hip area.) 2. The designer needs to develop a bill for the customer, including the cost of fabric, trim and other items needed to complete the design.
3. Make an alternative bill for a “lower budget” item, using less expensive material and trim.
4. The buyer will complete the following survey: 5. Write an essay describing how you, as the designer, would prepare for the holiday show. What would you do to launch a successful glamour line for designs?
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