PRODUCTION


After the trauma of the build-up to the collection, the excitement of the show and almost inevitable over-reaction to its reception (either euphoria or despair); you have to put your clothes into production.


What does that mean? Usually a headache when you first begin. There are so few manufacturers left in the United Kingdom and most of them are kept busy producing for high street giants like Marks and Spencer or major international labels such as Burberry. If you look abroad – to Italy, say – you come across another aspect of the problem. Most of the manufacturers, such as MaxMara, are just too big to wish to be involved in working in small numbers although AEFFE managed to do so with Fashion Fringe winners, Basso & Brooke, and finalists, Sinha Stanic. Italian manufacture is never cheap and you will need to find other places to make your clothes: perhaps Turkey, India or China.


THE PRESS


There are probably quite a few designers who would agree with Giles Deacon’s recent comment in The Sunday Times Style magazine that it is hard to respect the views of many fashion journalists because they are so ignorant of their field. But whether the individual knows a lot or a very little, he/she wields such considerable power that it is no exaggeration to say that, up to a point, fashion journalists are vital to your success. There are designers such as Maria Grachvogel who have managed to build and sustain very strong businesses with a world reach without relying too much on journalistic support but, in general, if you wish to become a name that the public recognises you have to do it with the co-operation of the fashion press.


Of course, it is the fashion journalist’s job to find and promote talent and, for that reason, new names always attract them. As so very few attend graduate fashion shows the real difficulty, especially if you are not from a London college, is getting noticed. You are working in a ridiculously crowded field. Fashion colleges churn out young designers in droves, and few of them stand much chance of being noticed, let alone of achieving success. But it is rare for real talent to go unrecognised. The press needs you, just as you need the press. Making yourself the best, and letting people know who you are, is the starting point.


THE PR COMPANY


The vast majority of young designers can find only too many reasons to feel unhappy with their PR company. They seem to feel that because they are not paying a PR very much (and no designer just starting can) they are not getting much in return. And there is some truth in it if we are looking at the question in the short-term. But a good PR company should look to long-term goals, rather than


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THE LOOK 12


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