D
esigner
P
age:122
(Ray)
(05-12427) Job:05-12424 Title:RP-Field Guide-How to be a Fashion Designer
#175 Dtp:221 Page:123
120-145_12427.indd 123120-145_12427.indd 123 5/30/09 10:28:00 AM5/30/09 10:28:00 AM
what is negotiable and what is not,
and to what point. Any modification
can increase the cost of production,
or simply make it unfeasible. Although
on certain occasions a change made
in time can save a collection, it is also
true that some changes can betray
the philosophy of the collection or
project that has been undertaken.
PRESENTATION OF
THE COLLECTION
Once the designer or brand has decid-
ed either to work with an agent or act
independently, the first step in selling
the collection is to present a collec-
tion of samples to the purchasing
representatives of stores.
It is important to present the col-
lection in accordance with the prêt-
à-porter calendar; in other words,
January-February for a fall-winter
collection and July-September for a
spring-summer collection. With the
emergence of pre-collections, two
new presentation periods have begun
to carve a space out for themselves
on the calendar: May for intermedi-
ate collections between winter and
spring, and December for collections
that bridge summer and fall.
Presenting designs outside of the
established dates can lead to a disas-
ter. If one decides to show a collec-
tion early, normally clients are unwill-
SALES AND DISTRIBUTION
|
123
© Jorge Andreu. Conference of Lutz, SS 2009 at 080 Barcelona Fashion
D
esigner
P
age:122
(Ray) Text
(05-12427) Job:05-12424 Title:RP-Field Guide-How to be a Fashion Designer
#175 Dtp:221 Page:123
120-145_12427.indd 123120-145_12427.indd 123 5/30/09 10:28:00 AM5/30/09 10:28:00 AM
(Ray)
(05-12427) Job:05-12424 Title:RP-Field Guide-How to be a Fashion Designer
#175 Dtp:221 Page:124
120-145_12427.indd 124120-145_12427.indd 124 5/30/09 10:28:01 AM5/30/09 10:28:01 AM
ing to take a risk because they are
still unaware of new trends, they have
yet to see what other designers are
presenting, and they have not antici-
pated the upcoming season yet, etc.
Once the final show of Paris Women’s
Fashion Week is over, everything has
been decided. Thus, while presenting
early is risky, doing so late is impos-
sible, as all orders have already been
made and closed.
The showroom
This is the most common way to pres-
ent a collection to professional distri-
bution buyers. Showrooms are spaces
conceived and designed for selling to
stores. Concentrated normally in the
same areas of major capitals, they
are open during the same dates to
facilitate the visit of buyers, usually by
prearranged appointment.
If the resources are available, it is
ideal to have one’s own showroom
and invite interested potential clients
there to view the garments directly,
utilizing a wide range of elements
to explain both the collection and
the philosophy of the brand. When a
designer or brand is just starting out,
however, or when one wishes to enter
a foreign market, it is more custom-
ary to have recourse to a multi-brand
showroom. In many cases, the agent
or sales representative has a show-
room where she can present collec-
tions to store owners or managers.
Showrooms often mimic the stores
themselves, with the aim of offer-
ing ideas and suggestions about the
presentation of the collection. This is
far more typical of showrooms that
belong to the brand itself, in which
everything is carefully controlled,
although it is becoming increasingly
important in multi-brand showrooms
as well, where each collection has its
own area and tries to adapt accord-
ing to its own style. The objective, in
any case, is to create a relaxed and
personalized work environment.
Despite the fact that the sales cal-
endar is fixed and the presenta-
tion space must adhere to it, the
showroom is a place always open to
obtaining orders, defining changes,
and working on intermediate deliver-
ies or repositionings. Also, it is open
to stylists, who request garments
from a collection for fashion articles,
promoting the pieces in magazines or
via virtual portals.
124
|
FIELD GUIDE: HOW TO BE A FASHION DESIGNER
(Ray) Text
(05-12427) Job:05-12424 Title:RP-Field Guide-How to be a Fashion Designer
#175 Dtp:221 Page:124
120-145_12427.indd 124120-145_12427.indd 124 5/30/09 10:28:01 AM5/30/09 10:28:01 AM
D
esigner
P
age:124
(Ray)
(05-12427) Job:05-12424 Title:RP-Field Guide-How to be a Fashion Designer
#175 Dtp:221 Page:125
120-145_12427.indd 125120-145_12427.indd 125 5/30/09 10:28:02 AM5/30/09 10:28:02 AM
SALES AND DISTRIBUTION
|
125
© XXL brands in action
M.C.B.
D
esigner
P
age:124
(Ray) Text
(05-12427) Job:05-12424 Title:RP-Field Guide-How to be a Fashion Designer
#175 Dtp:221 Page:125
120-145_12427.indd 125120-145_12427.indd 125 5/30/09 10:28:02 AM5/30/09 10:28:02 AM
(Ray)
(05-12427) Job:05-12424 Title:RP-Field Guide-How to be a Fashion Designer
#175 Dtp:221 Page:126
120-145_12427.indd 126120-145_12427.indd 126 5/30/09 10:28:03 AM5/30/09 10:28:03 AM
Fairs and shows
These are specific sales events. In
contrast to a showroom, at a fair a
space is rented for a limited time
(three or four days, usually) for making
contacts and acquiring orders, though
not necessarily through prearranged
appointments. Brands and designers
attend if they do not have a show-
room or if they are seeking out new
contacts. They accompany the sales
agent, who is in charge of selecting the
points of sales, making contacts, and
negotiating orders. Furthermore, fairs
are a good platform for making oneself
known, especially to international buy-
ers with whom establishing contact is
otherwise difficult. It is an opportunity
to present oneself personally, show
the collection, and strike up an initial
sales relationship.
The range of fairs runs wide, and
therefore it is necessary to find one
that matches the collection one
wishes to sell for it to be a useful
framework of presentation. The grow-
ing specialization of distribution also
makes it obligatory that fairs be orga-
nized thematically: urban, feminine,
masculine, sports, swimwear, under-
wear, bridal, or footwear fashion, to
name a few, thus making the task
of determining which are the most
advisable to attend easier. In any
case, some fairs are simply a must,
whether due to their historical sig-
nificance or the volume of exhibitors,
such as Who’s Next, which is held
twice a year in Paris.
Men’s collections are the first to
be shown in Florence, at the Pitti
Immagine Uomo show (which now
incorporates a section for women’s
precollections), which then passes
the baton on to fashion shows, show-
rooms, and shows included in Men’s
Fashion Week Milan and Paris. At the
same time, Bread & Butter is held in
Berlin, featuring urban fashion collec-
tions for both men and women. Then
comes women’s prêt-à-porter, first in
New York, and later in London, Milan,
and Paris, respectively. Parallel to
the fashion weeks in these cities are
other professional fairs held in the
majority of European capitals.
Until recently, fairs specializing in
shoes, complements, and accesso-
ries were celebrated at a later date.
Today, however, they tend to follow
the same calendar as clothes collec-
tions, due to their growing presence
in boutiques.
126
|
FIELD GUIDE: HOW TO BE A FASHION DESIGNER
(Ray) Text
(05-12427) Job:05-12424 Title:RP-Field Guide-How to be a Fashion Designer
#175 Dtp:221 Page:126
120-145_12427.indd 126120-145_12427.indd 126 5/30/09 10:28:03 AM5/30/09 10:28:03 AM
D
esigner
P
age:126
(Ray)
(05-12427) Job:05-12424 Title:RP-Field Guide-How to be a Fashion Designer
#175 Dtp:221 Page:127
120-145_12427.indd 127120-145_12427.indd 127 5/30/09 10:28:03 AM5/30/09 10:28:03 AM
SALES AND DISTRIBUTION
|
127
© Carole Desheulles. Who’s Next
D
esigner
P
age:126
(Ray) Text
(05-12427) Job:05-12424 Title:RP-Field Guide-How to be a Fashion Designer
#175 Dtp:221 Page:127
120-145_12427.indd 127120-145_12427.indd 127 5/30/09 10:28:03 AM5/30/09 10:28:03 AM
..................Content has been hidden....................
You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.