Design to Sale
• Where does a Fashion Designer get their
inspiration from ?
• Vivienne Westwood has been quoted as saying she
gets her ideas from visiting Museums.
• Designers may also gain inspiration from travel,
nature or their own culture.
• See: Patrick Munroe
• Once an image of the design has been created and
decided upon it is time to make the first pattern.
• A designer will work with a pattern cutter.
BTEC First in Retail - Unit 7 Fashion
Retailing 7.4.1
Pattern Cutting to Garment
• The pattern is developed using a tailor’s dummy
until the desired shape is achieved.
• See:Draping
• Once the pattern has been decided upon an initial
garment is made up using a fabric called calico.
This first garment is called a ‘ toile’.
• See: Pattern to Toile
• The garment at the stage may be developed
further and more sketches will be made
• The designer will then need to consider the fabric
that they want to use.
BTEC First in Retail - Unit 7 Fashion
Retailing 7.4.1
Fabric Decisions
• The designer will work with the team and a variety
of sample fabrics will be brought in before a
decision is made on which suits the garment
design.
• Designers will develop strong links with suppliers
they like for both fabrics and trimmings. They
may also commission fabric manufacturers to
create specific fabrics particularly for Haute
Couture designs.
• The garment will then be made up using the
fabrics and trimmings. If this is successful then
orders for more fabric will be agreed upon.
BTEC First in Retail - Unit 7 Fashion
Retailing 7.4.1
Collections
• A designer will want to show off their designs to encourage
future sales . In order to do this they need to create a
number of garments. This is called a collection – they may
even give the collection a theme.
• Fashion shows are held each season in order to show off the
collections of different designers. The catwalk enables
buyers and the media to see the garments created.
• See:Collections
• The most expensive collections are shown in key cities. See:
Designer Collections
• The Haute Couture and Pret a Porter shows allow buyers to
see what the future trends are in fashion. These are
publicised in the fashion & media.
BTEC First in Retail - Unit 7 Fashion
Retailing 7.4.1
Buyer to Stores
• Once a buyer has decided they like designs they will
need to discuss future product ranges with the rest of
the retail team.
• Once a product range plan has been decided upon they
will need to source products from suppliers/
wholesalers.
• Prices will be negotiated and orders placed.
• High street chains and larger stores will then need to
plan for the merchandising of the range. All their
stores / outlets will need to follow a similar layout.
• They may use merchandising software to help them.
See:Fashion Retail outlets-Range planning
BTEC First in Retail - Unit 7 Fashion
Retailing 7.4.1
What the customer wants ?
• Once the store has taken delivery of their garments
they need to make sure they are well displayed in order
to encourage the customers to buy.
• The fashion retail business is very competitive and
there is always a rush for companies to take the good
designs from the catwalk and turn them into saleable
products in the High Street.
• The whole process from design to sale may take up to a
year. The fashion designer, however will be creating
new designs all year through and will be looking for
inspiration for the next best selling trend on the
catwalk and the stores.
BTEC First in Retail - Unit 7 Fashion
Retailing 7.4.1