Inspiration & Moodboard
This is an optional service that we provide in case the brand wants help with the creative part. We present different styles, create a moodboard, which is a visual tool that communicates the concepts and visual ideas of the brand’s collection. Once we find the right path we agree on the specs and garments for samples, and that’s how we come up with the first drafts of the brand’s design.
Market Study
When doing the market study we will basically spot the competitive brands, which are the ones who have the same target customer. After finding the biggest competitors of the brand we will understand their dynamics, prices, quality of service and communication image. The next step is to purchase their garments and analyze their cuts, trims and quality of fabric. This is an important thing for the brand to do, to understand precisely which competition they are facing and how to positionate itself in the market. This is an optional service we provide to our clients.
Fabric Sourcing
When looking for the perfect fabric, the brand may know exactly what they are looking for and where to find it. but if they don't, we can help! There are two options when we do the search for the fabric.
- Advanced Sourcing: in this case the brand knows what they want, based on the requirements we will source the suppliers and offer different fabric swatches, after the fabrics are chosen we place the order.
- Premium Sourcing: in this case the brand needs textile recommendations, we will do meetings to consult and understand their needs, based on those talks we form a brief and options, after agreeing on the ideas we will source the suppliers and offer different fabric swatches, after the fabrics are chosen, we place the order.
This is a step that if not provided by the brand, it is mandatory for the production.
Tech Packs & Specs
A tech pack is a guideline provided by designers to factories, a document containing all the technical information about the product. It explains the method of how to turn your idea into a physical product. The tech packs are mandatory for both brand and production team when producing new collections and it helps clearly communicate every little detail to the manufacturer.
In case the brand doesn’t have tech packs there are two options of services we provide:
- Standard: the brand has drawings but no tech packs, in this case we will analyze the drawings, meet and agree on the idea and design the tech packs.
- Advanced: the brand has ideas but not drawings or tech packs in this case we get to know each other, analyze the ideas, agree on the concept, show drafts and design the tech packs.
Pattern Making
Pattern making is a SUPER important step, it is a critical input into the manufacturing process of the designs. Pattern making enables us to translate the designs from a single prototype into one final product. It is basically the process of transforming the design into paper, so later the cutters can use these models to cut the fabrics. This is a service we offer when we take care of the production.
Samples
As you may know, samples are prototypes of the garments, at Friendly Factories we provide one sample before the fabric sourcing, with the fabrics we have in stock, so the brand can analyze our cuts, steams and the quality of our finishings. After the fabric sourcing, the validation of our quality and the production agreement. We provide the brand a pre-production sample with the official fabric.
Production
Is the most fundamental step. After all the steps you’ve learned on this blog post, it is time to produce! Once the production begins, we take care of the quality control following every step of the production very closely and giving constant feedback to the brand.
Lookbook & Packshot
Packshots are the pictures of only the product with, normally, a white background. These pictures will present your product in an e-commerce store.
Lookbooks are the pictures with models, so the final customer can have an idea of the fit of the garment.
We provide both of those services if requested by the brand.
Uff, now you know the process of every piece of clothing from the idea to the product. Hope this has been as helpful to you as it was fun to me to write this blog post,
Xoxo see you soon (:
Keywords: Fashion Design, Tech Packs, Pattern Making, Lookbook, Packshot, Moodboard, Market Study, Specs, Fabric Sourcing, Samples, Production, Textile Manufacturers, Portugal, Producing in Europe, Textile factory Europe, Factory Portugal, Designing a clothing line.
