On Monday 26th February, Gabby Shiner-Hill hosted a masterclass for students and start-ups eager to learn about the design development process. Gabby has over 15 years’ experience in the industry, she runs her own sourcing consultancy and holds a senior role as a lecturer at Ravensbourne University.
The masterclass consisted of a variety of learners; some of the attendees already have their own fashion label and were looking to expand and learn more, others had left their previous job working with established brands to pursue their own business, while the remainder were at the first stage of their journey and just wanted to learn about the small but crucial steps that go into the design development process.
One attendee revealed that she plans on launching her collection aimed at the taller female, at Henley Regatta this year, she attended the masterclass to learn the essential stages of finalizing her collection, so it was crucial for her to understand every step of what goes into a final design.
Gabby explained to the students the complete design process, she explained what a tech pack is, how to calculate your garment’s cost and most importantly how to communicate with a manufacturer in order to get your designs constructed exactly how you want them.
She spoke about sourcing fabric, understanding prints and the obstacles that may occur with patterns if the manufacturer is not explained how to cut them in the correct manner. The design development process is a vital part of producing a collection and a subject that a lot of designers lack knowledge of, but thanks to Gabby’s masterclass a few more designers have learnt some essential information that will further their design journey.
Following the masterclass here are a few comments from the students:
“Amazing class, very informative.”
“I learnt crucial information about the design development process.”
The next Masterclass with FashionCapital is on 6th March – Future Proofing your Brand with Trend Prediction.
Get ahead with advance information on trends with a look at what’s coming for spring/summer 2019. Lester, the Creative Director of the TRENDZOOM forecast service, will walk you through each of the emerging trend concepts from research to product design.