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Uniform Design Competition March 2, 2011

Posted by SCAD Fashion Department in : Illustration, Industry News, Manufacturers, Organizations and Associations, SCAD, SCAD - Student and Alumni Enterprise , comments closed

The SCAD Fashion Department recently launched a project in conjunction with UNICEF and OrtaBlu to design uniforms for school children in Africa.

“The average weekly income in Sierra Leone is 7.00 USD. The average price for a school uniforms is 10.00 USD. Many parents don’t send their children to school because the cannot afford to buy them a school uniform.”  OrtaBlu, SCAD, and UNICEF hope to address this problem through YOUR uniform designs!!

The deadline for entry is March 11 and this competition is open to all SCAD students.   If you would like to learn more about the competition, visit the OrtaBlu website.

The winner of the competition will win a one week trip to Turkey to visit the main operations of Orta, the company working to develop uniforms for children whose parents cannot afford to buy them.   Second Prize is a $700 scholarship, Third Prize is a $500 scholarship.

Designers can work in teams of two or three students.  The judges are from UNICEF, VALENTINO, TEEN VOGUE, GQ Magazine Italy among others!   If you would like to participate, please register online and email Doris Treptow (if you are a student in Savannah) or Tiffany Horton (if you are a student in Atlanta) to confirm you participation.

- Tiffany Horton

Couture Close-Up March 2, 2011

Posted by SCAD Fashion Department in : Careers, Design Resources, Industry News, Inspiration, Manufacturers , comments closed

Chanel just posted close up video from their latest Haute Couture collection.   It’s a nice look at the embroidery and intricate hand work that goes in to each individual piece.  For more insight into Lesage, the atelier responsible for this handiwork, check out one of the books in the SCAD Library.

- Tiffany Horton

Digital Pitti January 18, 2011

Posted by SCAD Fashion Department in : Careers, Industry News, Manufacturers, Organizations and Associations, Retail, Trade Shows, Trends , comments closed

Leave it to the Italians to surprise you. In a country known for it’s strong grip on tradition, the modernization of their fashion industry has never been a focus. In fact, many of the most fashionable houses have seemed to consciously resist technological advancements.  That is, until now.

The Pitti fair, arguably the world’s preeminent menswear fair, has taken place in Florence since 1972.  Now it has gone digital.

Annually hosting over 1000 brands and more than 23,000 buyers from around the world, the fiar is a great way to see a variety of apparel and accessories offerings from numerous vendors.  The difficulty for buyers is remembering everything they saw.

Suzy Menkes of the International Herald Tribune recently interviewed Francesco Bottigliero who has been tasked with creating a digital platform to showcase the goods on display in Florence each year.  According to Mr. Bottigliero “research shows that the typical buyer stays at Pitti for a couple of days, visits about 50 stands in depth and leaves with a few fashion impressions and ‘pockets full of business cards.’”

His aim?  To recreate the Pitti fair in a virtual environment. “The idea is to offer attendees a second or third look, using their screens to “visit” stands that they did not have time to see and to compare and contrast products, materials and prices.”

The online fair will launch at the next edition of Pitti, but some sample images are online now.  Be sure to read Ms. Menkes’ article and visit the online edition of the fair e-Pitti to get a sneak peak at the possible future apparel buying.

- Tiffany Horton

A Conversation with Hilldun President Gary Wassner January 12, 2011

Posted by SCAD Fashion Department in : Careers, Industry News, Local Sources, Manufacturers, Organizations and Associations, Retail , comments closed

Dean Michael Fink recently directed me to excellent the blog Truth Plus.  Yesterday, they featured an interview with Gary Wassner, President of the fashion factoring and finance corporation, Hilldun.

The Hidden Stitch: A Conversation with Hilldun President Gary Wassner

This article is a great primer on what a factor does to help manage the business side of growing fashion firms, how to build a brand that lasts, why focusing on PR isn’t always wise, and the pitfalls of handing your label over to a private equity firm for fast cash.   Hilldun has worked with Betsey Johnson, Marc Jacobs, Tommy Hilfiger, Tuleh, and numerous other major American brands.    He discusses what his firm looks for before taking on a designer as a client “We look for designers who have heads on their shoulders, who understand the important aspects, the salient aspects of running and owning a business and know that it’s all about product; it’s not about press.”

Additionally, he shares his thoughts about the difficulties of manufacturing in China and possibility of bringing manufacturing back to the US.  This a MUST read for all students on both the Fashion and FASM sides.

- Tiffany Horton

Issey Miyake – Origami Collection October 27, 2010

Posted by SCAD Fashion Department in : Inspiration, Manufacturers, Trends , comments closed

For his latest collection, Issey Miyake worked with his R&D team to create apparel that expands from a flat, folded shape into a three dimensional garment when pulled from the top.  Using a software program devised by computer scientist Jun Mitani, 3-D shapes are developed from a single, flat sheet of paper which is then translated into a recycled PET polyester garment by Miyaki’s team.  The end result is not only beautiful, but mathmatically genius.

- Tiffany Horton

Spoonflower July 26, 2010

Posted by scollins in : Manufacturers, Textile Resources , comments closed

Fabric Printing:

Spoonflower is an awesome site for getting your own fabric printing. They have a variety of fabrics like linen/cotton blends, cotton lawn, organic cotton knit and organic cotton satin.

Textile Composition Abbreviations March 23, 2010

Posted by SCAD Fashion Department in : Manufacturers, Organizations and Associations, SCAD, Sewing and Workroom Supplies, Textile Resources , comments closed

Now that the SCAD-Atlanta Fashion Department has it’s own resource room, we have lots and lots of fabric samples for you to sift through when you are working on your class project.  The only problem is that many of these fabrics have composition labels that look something like “52% PC   26% PL   18% CO   4% PA” or “58% SE    21% PC    11% PA    9% WV   1% EL”.

What does it all mean?  Well, the first example means that the fiber content is 52% Acrylic, 26% Polyester, 18% Cotton, and 4% Nylon.  The second example is 58% Silk, 21% Acrylic, 11% Nylon, 9% Virgin Wool, and 1% Spandex.

The FTC (Ooh! Another Acronym! This one means the United States Federal Trade Commission)  has prohibited the use of abbreviations or acronyms for American-made products. However, if you buy your fabrics from overseas or have a look at any of the hundreds of textiles available in our resource room, you’ll see these labels on many of the headers – especially those from Italy and France.

So, here is your handy-dandy guide to textile abbreviations (courtesy of fabricstockexchange.com.)  If you come across anything that’s not on the list, please let me know so I can add it for the rest of us!

- Tiffany Teague

Abbreviation

Fabric Content

AC

Acetate

AF

Other Fibers

CA

Acetate

CLY

Lyocell

CMD

Modal

CO

Cotton

CTA

Triacetate

CU

Cupro

CUP

Cupro

CV

Viscose

EA

Elastane

EL

Elastane

HA

Hemp

HL

Cotton/Linen

JU

Jute

LI

Flax/Linen

MA

Modacrylic

MAC

Modacrylic

ME

Metal

MO

Modal

PA

Nylon

PAN

Acrylic

PC

Acrylic

PES

Polyester

PL

Polyester

PM

Metallicized Polyester

PU

Polyurethaneelastomere

RA

Ramie

SE

Silk

SI

Sisal

TA

Triacetate

TR

Textile Residues/Unspecified Composition

VI

Viscose

VY

Vinyl

WA

Angora

WB

Beaver

WG

Vicuna

WK

Camel Hair

WL

Llama

WM

Mohair

WO

Wool

WP

Alpaca

WS

Cashmere

WV

Virgin Wool

WY

Yak

Short Run Manufacturer February 25, 2010

Posted by SCAD Fashion Department in : Design Resources, Local Sources, Manufacturers, SCAD - Student and Alumni Enterprise , comments closed

Want to see your collections in stores but can only afford to have a small amount produced?  Well, InStyle Exchange might just be a great place to start.  With a headquarters in Texas and manufacturing facilities in China and India, their specialty is helping new and upcoming designers launch their labels.

I met one of the Managing Directors at an FGI event last year and was informed that they are very interested in working with SCAD students and recent graduates.   For more information, check out their website and then contact Kiran Bindra at 404.822.9185 or via email at kiran@instyleexchange.com.

- Tiffany Teague

Wal-Mart and Li and Fung February 1, 2010

Posted by SCAD Fashion Department in : Careers, Industry News, Manufacturers, SCAD , comments closed

What does a company like Wal-Mart do with a $300 billion product budget?  They spend a huge chunk of that  on private label production.  Over $100 billion in their annual purchasing goes to private label manufacturers like Hong-Kong based Li and Fung.

Last Thursday,  Wal-Mart announced that they will be consolidating $2 billion of their apparel business under Li and Fung, a century old manufacturer that specializes in large volume apparel production.  This should be great news for those of you who interviewed last week for their design internship program in New York.  Looks like there will be plenty to keep you busy!

Read more about the agreement between Li and Fung in the WWD article* where one Wall Street insider noted “Up until now, Wal-Mart has been unable to create a sufficient taste level internally to do fashion by itself.  To me, that’s a major shortcoming, and they need to address that. Li & Fung may help them along the way toward understanding fashion. If they put tasteful fashion on the floor, the customer will respond.”

Designers, this is a HUGE chance for you work at a company that not only owns the sourcing arm of Liz Claiborne Inc, whose brands include Lucky Brand, Juicy Couture and Kate Spade . . . but you could also potentially make a major impact on raising the taste level in a company that accounts for over 2% of America’s GDP.

- Tiffany Teague

*Note: You must be logged on to the SCAD network to access the WWD article – click the WWD link to the right to find the article if the link above doesn’t work.

The New Face of Knitwear January 28, 2010

Posted by SCAD Fashion Department in : Design Resources, Industry News, Inspiration, Manufacturers, Organizations and Associations, Trends , comments closed

I stumbled across this photo while visiting the ever-more-fantastic blog of Garance Doré back in December:

Absolutely fell in love with this top and even more so when I realized that it’s made of a knit.

Here are more other pieces from the latest lookbook of this fantastic Italian knitwear Designer, Mirco Giovannini.

Those of you interested in designing or learning more about knitwear should read this article in the JC Report called The New Faces of Knitwear.

Sandra Backlund, one designer mentioned in the article creates truly mind-blowing pieces.  Be sure to have a look at her work:

- Tiffany Teague