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Chapter 6

Designing the Line

Learning Objectives

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Understand Options for building and editing a line

Balance a line in terms of design and costs

Differentiating the line through custom color and prints

Steps in the designer’s workflow from concept until the line goes into production

Introduction to the Line

Line or collection —multiple garments targeted to a particular customer for a specific season

•Coordinates•Separates•Items

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Designing a Line of Coordinates

Groups related to each other in color, fabric, styling, and mood

Coordinated groups offer styling options with different figure types and preferences while using the same colors and fabrics

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Designing a Line of Separates

Garments in the store belong to the same season but they are not coordinates

“Fast fashion” stores offer knockoffs of current runway fashions

Coordination isn’t important in categories where consumers buy garments for each occasion or use

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Designing an Item Line

Item lines run the gamut from inexpensive and inviting for impulse buyers to expensive or limited production goods for collectors (e.g Knitwear)

Designers specialists with detailed knowledge of the fabrics and techniques within their category

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ThemeTrend forecasters synthesize information from around the globe into seasonal reports

A theme board captures the idea visually

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The Color Story The line’s seasonal color palette needs enough variety to appeal to the entire range of consumer preference

Each palette will include a few trendy colors, a core of seasonal favorites, and a few wardrobe basics

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Working with the Color Forecast

Colors are given a color name related to one of the themes or color stories

Factors to consider include: •Season*•Men’s, women’s, or children’s line *•Product category *•Price point *•Preferences related to geographic region •Preferences of target consumers

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Communicating Color Specifications

Color management is the system of communication between the design team and manufacturing.

Color specification systems identify colors according to hue, value, and chroma

The United States Bureau of Standards uses the Munsell Color System

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Communicating Color Specifications

Two companies — the SCOTDIC Textile Color System (54 hue families) and Pantone Matching System (6 digit notational, value+hue+chroma) —specialize in maintaining libraries and identifying each color by numeric code.Color standards guide color matching across all fabrications.

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The Fabric Story Design teams find trend-right fabrics by searching: •Fabric shows•Print shows•Fabric libraries (e.g. samples from mills)•Textile directories (e.g. online listing)

Fabric choice- hand and drape, fabric weight (bottom, top), knowledge.In addition to fabric choice, the design team locates sources for linings and interlining, findings (=notions), and trim

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Customizing Color and Fabrics

Colors, fabrics, and prints convey the company’s image to the customer as much as the clothes themselves

Including staple goods in the line saves money and ensures plentiful supply if the line takes off generating more than expected orders

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Custom Color• Solution dyeing (textile)• Yarn dyeing (textile)• Piece dyeing (fabric)• Garment dyeing

For non-print fabrics the sample is called a lab dip. (A lab dip is required for each fabric in line).

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Custom Prints

Prints can be added to the line from 3 sources: • Mills and fabric

manufacturers• Print shows• Designing prints in-house

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Custom Prints

Manufacturing by either rollers (engraved cylinders) or screens

•Direct printing

•Discharge printing

•Digital printing

* Prints come in “Colorways” within the line. Approval stage for print- “Strike off”

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Telling the Fabric Story

Novelty might come in the form of: •Texture (e.g. shine or deep pile)•Pattern (e.g. motif)•Performance (e.g. new fiber)

Designers consider turn time — the period of time between order and shipping when the fabric is produced, dyed, and finished

In sampling, fabrics get used to make samples of the designs in the line

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The Design Workflow

Designers often head teams with the skill assortment to create the line in-house

Patternmakers and samplemakers help turn concepts into a collection

After the color palette is set, themes illustrated, fabrics selected, and findings, notions, and trims sourced, work on the collection begins

Edited down to the best combinations

Group lines depend on coordination within the groups and across the groups within the line.

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Concept to Flat Sketch

Designers use flat sketches to design and style the line. Records decisions on structural and decorative design

Flats: a view of the garment as if it were laid out on a table top. Illustrates both the front view and back view

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Sketches- are Not flats.

Flats (Technical flats)

FlatsFashion Sketch

• A technical drawing as if it were laid out flat on a table [Definition from Text book, P.19].

• Very detail of the garment. • Without a person figure.

• Drawing of how the garment would look on a person.

Patternmaking The first step in turning flat sketches into clothes on a rack is patternmaking

Interprets the sketches into flats, geometric shapes using an understanding of fabric grain and production techniques

Combines the concepts of size and fit

The starting point for turning the design concept into a pattern is the sloper

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Sample makingThe pattern is tested by making a sample garment

Samples often done by a samplemaker

Able to diagnose and correct any problems with the pattern

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Sloper (p.135) Sloper- A basic pattern based on the measurements for the sample size plus minimum wearing ease.

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Fitting

Many companies employ a fit model to try on the sample

Size and proportions will closely match those of the target consumer

Fine tune ease and proportions

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Grading (p.135)

Grading begins with the set of measurements that define each size. Involves applying mathematical rules for how the body changes at different locations as size increases or decreases

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Costing Before the garment can be released for production, it must be costed out — each component and construction technique listed and assigned a dollar value

Design specifications get passed to a production person or technical designer for costing

• Contribution of fabric to cost (Marker)• Contribution of labor to cost (SAMs)

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Marker(p.137)

Marker• Layout of all the piece in all sizes on

a given width of fabric to determine the yardage needed to produce the garment.

• Contribution of fabric to cost

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SAMs (p.137)

Standard Allowable Minutes (SAMs)-used for each construction procedure to

figure labor costs per garment.

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Line in Production The designer may be asked to produce duplicate samples

Can be outsourced to either a domestic supplier or an overseas manufacturer.

Samples are used by the sales team and at trade shows to sell the line before production is complete

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Chapter Summary A designer develops a line or collection each season

Lines are organized as coordinated groups, separates and items

Planning for a line begins with a trends forecast

The company’s color forecast comes from multiple forecasting sources

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Chapter Summary The aesthetics of fabric choice help the company’s products stand out in a crowded marketplace while reflecting the season’s trends

Designers sometimes choose to customize colors and fabrics

Designers work in a team environment

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