Fashion Management students from New Dehli visit The Factory

The cohort of students were on a two week mission to the UK to understand the western world’s fashion and manufacturing industry. As part of their Fashion Management course many of the students were in the process of setting up their own brands so gaining a global outlook and international awareness was key to their development.

They commenced their visit with a workshop led by Business Mentor Nigel Rust who gave the students an insight into ‘How Rich Are you Going to Be?’ which focused on forecasting and budgeting and cash flow. Questions such as ‘how much do you need to sell to start making money?’ and ‘how much money will you make as your sales increase?’ were explored enabling the students to relate answers back to their studies and potential businesses.

One student commented ‘a very informative and enriching session‘.

Following the morning workshop CEO Jenny Holloway provided an overview on ‘Finding the Right Manufacturer’. Topics included:

1. Finding suitable manufacturers – Where to look.

2. Selecting a manufacturer – What to look out for. Check list of requirements. The importance of a relationship. Sampling v Production.

3. Developing the relationship – developing mutual trust

4. UK v Overseas – the pros and cons

5. Communications – How to get your spec across. Delivery expectations. Quality. Progress chasing. What the manufacturer needs from you.

6. Production planning – What you need to do to keep the manufacturer on track.

The students were then taken on a tour of the Factory to see the manufacturing process in action and what to look out for when searching for a suitable factory. They completed an observation task which prompted the students to spend time on the factory floor looking for reasons why we are a fully compliant, SMETA approved factory. They correctly pointed out the yellow makings on the walk ways, the wires overhead, low lighting, quality control stations and that it was a generally clean and airy space for workers.

The next day the group were back to hear what life was like as a designer and exactly what it takes to run a label successfully. They were introduced to designer Tanya Elizabeth who after working as a designer for FC UK and Sienna Miller’s brand Savannah went on to set up her own label proudly designed and made in the UK.

Tanya discussed how she set up her own company and why ensuring it was 100% ‘Made in Britain’ was so important to her. She then took the students through her design process talking about her inspiration and mood boards and how much of her time is actually spent designing compared to the running of the business. She also spoke about how finding the right manufacturer who understood her needs was so important. Tanya’s collection is made in the Fashion Studio and it means she plays an active role in the production process and can keep an eye on quality.

Tanya was also able to take the students to the studio to show them the process first hand including all of the paperwork required such as a docket, progress sheet and fitting log.

For many of the students hearing the reality of running a label was a real eye opener and gave them lots to think about. One student commented: ‘I learned a lot about the determination and work needed for sustaining your own business.’

The final workshop took place on 18^th April when the students returned for a CPPD workshop with Production Manager Caroline Ash, a practical session with tutor Leyla Mehmet and to end the day a tour of the Albion Knitting Company to review a high end knitwear factory.

The students learnt what an open costing is, how factories use standard minutes, choosing the correct components for the garment and they were given an overview of the Galaxius system.

In the afternoon they spent time in the Stitching Academy where they were taught how to make a skirt from cutting out the pattern pieces to stitching together on the industrial sewing machines.

It was a real pleasure to provide an insight into the UK fashion industry and we hope the students found the visits to the Factory informative and beneficial to their own studies and future businesses. We wish them luck in their ventures as aspiring designers!