The glamour and the party hopping and the celebrity spotting aside… Fashion Week is an arena where the business of fashion governs the agenda and much of that takes place far from the glare of the paparazzi. So what do buyers want? Jasmeen Dugal (Founder Managing Editor of luxury style portal www.explosivefashion.in) shares actionable advice from some of the biggest retailers i.e. sure-fire ways to get designers in good stead.
Craft your collections from a retail perspective
Pradeep Hirani (Chairman at Kimaya Fashions Pvt Ltd) offers invaluable advice. “Business happens at retail enclosures though runways are an integral part of buying: we have to see how a designer’s creativity (garment) looks on a human body form and also how coherent the collection is… The garments should be practical while the showing can (if required that is) have value additions (music, sets and make-up) to facilitate an understanding of the theme. I am happy to see our designers have finally understood the commercial nuance of the business of fashion and are concentrating more on what sells and not what yells! I also feel it is better to be present at retail enclosures if you are not ready for the runway i.e. it is better to have a ‘no-show’ than to have a ‘bad-show’.”
Design a comprehensive collection and offer several looks within a singular cohesive theme. Anu Shyamsundar (Vice President-Retail—Evolv) feels “most designers offer only a few product categories such as dresses or tunics and it is very difficult for a buyer to put together a good representation of the designers in their stores. If you have designed a great blouse… make a great trouser to go with it! It is always better to buy from a complete comprehensive range!” Tina Tahiliani Parikh (Executive Director of Ensemble) reveals she “looks for technical expertise and a point of view in their design sensibility. What is also very important is that they should be consistent in their capacity to produce collection after collection season after season. Flash in the pan creativity is not for us. Moreover, the important criteria are that they need to fulfill our criteria of quality aesthetics.”
Do your homework
Do your homework when pitching to a buyer (studying the buyer list and hunting them down with a look book is not enough). A visit to their store is mandatory each season (virtual visit if overseas) because dynamics are constantly evolving. Whether it is a window display or how brands are divided throughout the store… you should be aware of it and form a fair idea of where you would like to see your collection inside the store. Study the genre of labels exhibited, the ones you want your label to be associated with and the pricing. Understanding pricing is crucial because though your product may be a fit aesthetically it has to fit within their pricing structure so that it will sell! This research will prepare you for an informative dialogue with buyers and show them that you are genuinely interested in their fashion house.
Can you support your retailer?
A fashion house will be more receptive when you work as a team. The retailers needs your support as much as you need them to showcase your label. Ask Yourself: Are you able to give the sales associates a manual to help them understand your collection… in hopes of better sales? Can you host a trunk show to help sell the collection and are you able to promote it prior so people come into the store? Will you be able to chat with the store to understand sales to see what is working or not and how you can make it better? These are all very essential ways you can develop a relationship with a store and are the conversations you can have early on with a buyer to show that you are vested in making the partnership work.
A newbie at Fashion Week?
“Young designers need to understand there is a lot of hard work behind the glamour. I would advise them to work towards establishing an independent point of view, which can stand out amongst the scores of labels present in the market today. They need to develop the USP of their collections and from a business perspective they need to find the right retail and business partners and be committed to their work,” says Tina Tahiliani Parikh.
Jignasa Shah (Head of Dress Designing and Garment Manufacturing, Sophia College) stresses on business ethics. “Aspiring designers should not avoid hard work and must develop a professional attitude. The pitfalls they must avoid are that though they can be as creative as possible their designs should be commercially viable… they should always keep business ethics in mind… and they should design garments which do not have only cosmetic beauty but are practical, durable and affordable.”
