One of my friends recently asked me what a fashion designer does. I could see in her facial expressions that she thought I was working in a glamorous world full of mystery. But even though there are actually a lot of myths, many of you might be surprised to learn that it is not as glamorous as you might think.
Industry of several varieties
Before I started my own studio in Copenhagen, I worked for seven different fashion design companies, in different cities, with anything from seven to 200 employees. The job as a designer can vary depending on the company; there are designers working for in-house brands, retail stores, wholesalers and factories.
Whether their companies’ goals are B2B or B2C, the fashion supply chain is basically in-flow, ie. design, sourcing, sampling, production, marketing, retail. The extent to which a designer is involved in these processes depends on the scale of the business. You may ask: is a designer also involved in retail? Yes definitely.
Works in endless cycles
In the fashion industry, we follow the fashion calendar and work seasonally in one cycle. This entails constant deadlines: believe me, having a week to spend on design or brainstorming is a complete ‘luxury’.
Most of the time you buy fabrication, prepare technical packages with sampling instructions, check up on measurements and fittings, communicate with sample rooms and clothing factories, or prepare various presentations for the board or potential customers. So I would say that fashion designers spend 70 percent of their time not designing at all!
Quite often in a small business, fashion designers may have more opportunities to work across the supply chain. For example, purchasing new suppliers, calculating clothing costs, taking photos and visiting manufacturers.
A more satisfactory workflow
As the founder and chief designer of my own wedding dress studio, I work for each and every customer. Each of them has their own tailor-made journey, which usually takes 6-12 months from consultation to production.
Let’s take an example: This month I will try and make the latest fittings with summer brides, design dresses for October brides and send custom style and brand catalogs to next January’s brides. Compared to a seasonal cycle, I follow a scaled-down supply chain flow every day with different timelines and customers.
Unlike a ‘normal’ fashion designer who works for a company, I love making paper patterns from scratch as I think it’s part of the soul in a perfect fit. I also make lace and textile art. All of these are tailored to just one customer. That’s why we call it tailor – made, and it shapes my business and design philosophy.
Drawn to what fits best
During the chat with my friend, she told me that she was interested in getting into the fashion design industry as she likes illustration and sewing. In the fashion industry, they are excellent skills for a designer to utilize; however, there is no sure connection between them.
I spend less than 1/10 of my design process on sketching as I get more inspired by fabric and material as I develop my creations. I prefer 3D draping on mannequins and playing with fabric. Drawing is more of a visualization tool used when I present the wedding dress ideas to my clients. There are many ways to design clothes and a fashion collection. Different designers have different approaches and there is no sure formula.
For my own business, draping is more appropriate and organic when it comes to creating pieces and establishing a more realistic visualization. I love to immerse myself in a sea of fabric and be inspired by texture and motifs. For this I am dependent on a drug archive that I have retrieved from all over the world throughout my career. I like to think of it as ‘my precious’ and that my customers will feel the same.
Magical moments are best shared
One of the best parts of the design journey is working directly with my real brides and clients. At a large fashion company, there are many designers who do not meet their customers, but in my studio, I handle all the brides’ inquiries and 1-on-1 bridal consultations, so the customer can discuss their preferences with me directly.
It is at the 1-on-1 meetings, such as the individual fitting sessions, that the magic happens. By a mock-up fit – by using replaced fabric without any fancy fabric and laces, just a simple dress in a custom silhouette – with a Danish bride and her mother, I can remember feeling so happy that the fit was so good to her.
When I asked her mother for comments, she was almost speechless as she smiled at me through happy tears. I look forward so much to seeing their lovely moments when her daughter finally puts on her bespoke wedding dress.
Where babies are born
Every design I create is like a ‘baby’ to me as I see it come alive from idea to production. As a designer, it’s just so sensational and extraordinary for me to see real clients wear my designs and dress perfectly with their beautiful smiles.
It’s something I find touching in my heart and it strengthens my mission to be the best fashion designer I can be.
If you have anything you would like to know about the fashion industry, feel free to send me a message IG @ sherylyipbridal. Stick around!
Source: The Nordic Page