Looking for a Point of Difference?

The fashion industry is always changing. Trends in how to design and manufacturer a product change just as often as hem lines. One of the biggest changes I have seen in the last year is that a lot of traditional developers/retailers have started to design. Now this may sounds a bit strange but what I mean by this is, in the past designers have often travelled overseas and purchased samples, come back and designed ‘based’ on these styles.

With the ‘onslaught’ of overseas retailers, it has made it increasingly hard to ‘develop’ product from these buying trips. On top of this, there is the financial pressure to reduce travel etc. There are a new breed of developers who are quickly climbing the ranks and we are liking it!

These developers still research the trends on buying trips and trend forecasting websites but they also bring more experimentation into the design process. They design unique garments!

But this makes it harder to develop your product with overseas manufacturers who are very literal and require detailed instructions and specifications to make a pattern. This new way of designing requires a closer relationship with a pattern maker to create unique patterns and problem solve any issues before heading back overseas for production.

Well not all pattern makers are set up for offshore production. The minimum requirement is a computer pattern making system that can export patterns to DXF, a universal file format that means you can open in most pattern making programs. Other skills a pattern maker needs to successfully work with offshore manufacturers include a knowledge of offshore specifications, and how a manufacturer thinks and works as well as an understanding of what can go wrong to set up instructions to elimiate the risk. At Sample Room we are onshore and offshore friendly.

You might come up against some resistance from your manfacturer and it is important for you to know why. They may want to control the patternmaking process to lock you into a ‘contract’- if you need that particular style/fit then you have no choice but to stay with them. They may not have a computer pattern making program and don’t want to tell you (we can always send a paper pattern by mail). They may not know how to import a DXF pattern (believe us this happened just the other day when we showed a Tasmanian manufacturer what a DXF pattern was and now he has discovered a whole new world to his manufacturing business!).

Anyway, whatever the reason, we just want you to know that if you are looking to do something a bit different and you have no idea how to get your idea across. Don’t worry, have a chat with us and we can get you to market quicker with unique design that no one else has thought of. How cool is that!

You can email us at info@sampleroom.com.au or give us a call on 03 9041 3488

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