The very simple answer is no, you don’t, but before you scroll to the next article you found on google- let me elaborate.
No, it’s not essential for you to have a design degree, but it is essential you know and understand what it takes to construct a garment. There are a lot of essential parts to creating a garment, and if you miss one at sample stage and/or production, it will result in unnecessary expenditure. Which, if you’re starting a new fashion brand – you will want to avoid.
A design degree – depending on where you study basically teaches you how to design garments. You’ll learn things like: draping, pattern-making, sewing, industrial sewing, grading, fashion illustration, CAD design, Technical design, and there may or may not be several textile classes you can take. There won’t be a lot of focus (if any) on how you turn your designs into a business and thus a brand.
So, in my opinion if you come from a business or marketing background you have an equal if not more chance of generating revenue from a fashion brand than if you come from a design background because business is business- the same principles really apply. However, this is not an article to discuss that – I have no real evidence to back that statement up. It is just my opinion based on my knowledge and experience with a variety of clients.
Back to topic, if you don’t have a design degree but want to start a fashion brand – here are the 6 things you need to know about garment construction before you begin.
1. CAD sketches
2. Tech Pak & Patterns
3. Understanding your fabric
4. Fit Sessions
5. Quality Control
6. Lead Times
CAD SKETCHES
CAD stands for Computer Aided Design, so, a CAD Sketch is basically a sketch you’ve drawn on the computer. Most commonly used in the fashion industry is Adobe Illustrator. This is a skill. One that if you don’t possess – you will need to hire a professional who does and can do them for you. Fashion illustrations are generally used in branding and presentations to buyers, merchandisers, which depending on your brand and business, might not be necessary. Technical sketches however are important, and are needed for every garment construction (sample and production stage).
TECH PAK & PATTERNS
A tech pak is a document that holds all the information a manufacturer needs to construct your patterns and then CMS (Cut, Make, Sew). There is no standard tech pak, but you want to make sure you list as much information as possible in there. The most important sheets being, POS, Construction notes and Fabric. I have a checklist for tech paks you can download from my resource library here. Patterns are what are what I like to call puzzle pieces. They are the pieces needed to make up your garment. A Patternmaker will create patterns from your tech pak which will then be used to CMS your samples. These patterns are then used to grade your sizes from.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR FABRIC
There is so much to fabric, there’s no way I’ll ever cover all the information and knowledge there is. I also wouldn’t be able to educate you on fabric like a textile design graduate or fabric specialist could, but what I will tell you is: The fiber content of each fabric hugely impacts how a garment needs to be constructed. For example: Woven fabrics cannot be sewn on the same machines as knit fabrics. A completely different stitch needs to be used. You need to know what your fabrics your garment is made in how they will need to be constructed because of this. Again, if you don’t, it will most definitely result in errors and you spending more of your budget rectifying. Instead of attempting to self-teach yourself – hire a professional who can help you make educated decisions and eliminate any errors.
FIT SESSIONS
These are what happen at sample stage. You ideally only want to hold one fit session, maximum two. Why?- because these are expensive. Not only to hold but also costs can mount up if you need to redo your samples more than once. To keep costs low, I encourage you to hire a professional to handle these. Fit is something that is hugely important to sales and one thing you need to get correct. So, if you aren’t knowledgeable in this area – hire someone that is. It will be money well spent!
QUALITY CONTROL
This is something your manufacturer will usually handle before it’s shipped to your buyers, but you might also hire an outside company to handle this for you depending on your brands set up and budget. This is another crucial stage – you need to make sure every garment passes through this and your checks are thorough, to ensure happy and loyal customers.
LEAD TIMES
Potentially the most crucial part to your garment construction and keeping your buyers happy. You need to know every lead time for every material that is used on the garment and every factor of construction. Fabric construction, fabric shipping, trim shipping, cms, finishing, shipping etc. Cover every time and then add a week is usually my working for reorders, for new products I add on 2 weeks just to cover any hiccups that could potentially occur. This ensures you're giving accurate ETA to your buyers, and meeting the demands of your customers.
This gives you a very brief idea and understanding of what you need to know about garment construction to help you launch your business without possessing a design degree but to learn more check out my resource library or if you are at a stage in your development you are in need of an industry expert and want to work with me get in touch.