Our focus this month is on The Design Process; from first sketch, to getting your designs ready for your production house, we're covering everything you need to know. We're so honoured to have the expertise of award winning fashion consultant, James Hillman, for this Masterclass. Charlie also takes us through some great ways you can think about sustainability and ethics within your design. And to round it off, we have the most amazing interview with a brand who have created the first ever 100% bio-based jacket including materials made from castor beans, wool, corn, Tencel, cotton and corozo nuts.
James Hillman is an award winning fashion consultant. His London-based boutique fashion design and production consultancy has over seven years experience. Their approach combines intelligent business sense, aesthetic and functional creativity and seamless delivery. We are so fortunate that James is our guest expert for our presentation this month, taking us through the entire design process from idea to production.
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Sustainable Design
with Charlie Bradley RossRead More...Summary
There are many different sustainable design approaches, so I’m going to go through some of them in this video, and I hope that some of these inspire you to either adopt them yourself, or even better, create your own innovative approach to a more sustainable design practice.
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The Design Process - Production
with James HillmanRead More...Summary
In this video James takes us through the basics of working with a factory, with some top tips on what you should be asking them and the "ducks" you should have in a row before you meet them, including:
- How to set up a supply chain
- Reserving production space
- Communication: delivery expectations, quality, progress chasing and what the manufacturer needs from you.
- Production planning & schedule
- Keeping production on track.
- Terms and Conditions with manufacturers
- Quality control procedures
- What to do if it your production comes back and is not right?
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Creating Your Designs & Pattern Cutting
with James HillmanRead More...Summary
In this video James covers how to realise your design into a product, how to make patterns factory ready and tips on sending patterns to factories and managing the production process.
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The Creative Process
with James HillmanRead More...Summary
In this video James talks about how to start the design process, developing your initial ideas and building the range, finalising the designs for a collection and the changes to the collection after sampling.
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Fashion Design Calendar
with Charlie Bradley RossRead More...Summary
In this video James takes us through an overview of a traditional fashion design calendar, also known as a critical path.
Homework
We've created a downloadable calendar to fit with the critical path that James outlines in video one. Critical paths are not just reserved for fashion - if you are making a product, you will need a solid understanding of timelines. But, as he said, everyone should develop their own critical path in line with your brand and ethos - so we've also given you some options for more sustainable calendars! Perhaps your concept is about slow fashion and you are only going to have one collection a year, or you are only realising one product at a time. Your critical path will be different. Check out our templates and then fill in your own blank one!