Product development midterm Flashcards
Apparel PD
- the creation and realization of a garment from its initial concept to its sale to consumers
- have to think about the brand AND the customer
knocking off
- legal
- see something on runway, trickles down
- everybody does it
pros of private label
- higher profit
- exclusivity
- quality control
cons of private label
- no wholesaler support
- long lead times
- lack of customer brand recognition
- initial unknown demand
target customer
- a specific group of individuals at which a company aims its products and services
- describe them with as much info as possible
- can change, need to be specific
story telling
- story needs to be told but may not always be exactly the same
- creating a story to stay connected to the customer
Long lead times cause what
many missed opportunities in fashion
fast fashion/speed sourcing
- quick manufacturing at an affordable price
- as seen with some of our favorite retailers
techniques to shorten lead times
- trigger dates: the last possible date for an individual decision to be made without holding up the overall process
- local production: try to eliminate various points of production
ways to buy extra time with deadlines
- piece dyed fabrics
- garment dyed apparel
- delay packing assortment
most common definitions of merchandising
having the:
- right style
- at the right price
- in the right place
- at the right time
- in the right quantity
macro trends
- economic trends
- demographics, psychographics
- industry trends
- competitive landscape
9 features of apparel
- color
- print or pattern
- fiber content
- fabric construction
- texture/surface treatment
- silhouette
- garment construction
- fit/size specifications
- design details/trims
first question when creating a line
-whats selling, whats not, has the target customer changed
assortment planning
product managers are responsible for
- planning the number of styles to be developed
- the quantities, and the overall assortment
two different assortment approaches
assortment planning by
- group
- item
assortment planning by group
- assortment including both tops and bottoms is developed around a related color theme
- entire group will be delivered and shown on floor at same time
- encourages a higher UPT
assortment planning by item
- focus on specific styles rather than presenting a color-related collection
- key items are presented and bought in large quantities, in wide range of colors
- key items replenished throughout season to ensure inventory is available in store
- other styles included to ensure presence of “fashion” on the floor
ratios
-its important to assort the styles in proper proportions to ensure profitability
common ratios to look at in GROUP collection buy
- tops to bottoms style
- fashion to core styles
- basic colors to fashion colors
- long sleeve to short sleeve
common ratios to look at in ITEM collection buy
- buyer will look at similar ratios to group collection
- quantity per style to entire purchase
- ratio by end use (casual vs dressy, day vs evening)
fashion trend
- an overall “look” that is becoming popular
- trends can be reflected in a variety of items and classifications
competitive shopping
- shopping upscale stores
- shopping competing stores
trickle down theory
a style must first be adopted by people at the top of the social pyramid. The style then gradually wins acceptance at progressively lower social levels
trickle across theory
- mass market theory
- fashions move horizontally between groups on similar social levels rather than vertically from one level to another
trickle up theory
the young-particularly those of low-income families as well as those of higher income who adopt low-income lifestyles - are quicker than any other social group to create or adopt new and different fashions
benchmark brands
best performing brands priced similarly to a customer’s brand choice
aspirational brands
brands that customers would desire if they were within their reach
what is pantone
pantone is a world reowned authority on color
color wheel
circular array of all the different hues that exist when white light is refracted into its component parts
hue
the individual pure colors on the color wheel
value
different values of the same hue are created when either white or black is added to that hue
chroma
different chromas of the same hue are created when grey is added to it
three types of color combinations
- complementary
- analogous
- monochromatic
complementary
hues located directly across from each other on the color wheel
analogous
hues that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel
monochromatic
uses different values and chromas of one hue
color blocked
the use of contrasting blocks or panels of solid typically brighter color
color standards
selected by product developers for each collection and are to be matched in the production of the fabrics and garments
lab dips
a swatch of fabric test dyed to hit a color standard
light box
used by most companies to recreate the three most common light sources (fluorescent, incandescent, and daylight)
spectrometer
which is a machine that calculates % figures by reading and comparing colors on fabrics
metamerism
when colors match under one source of light but not another
color range
the entire selection of colors that will be used in a line of apparel for a specific delivery or season
four different ways that color is saturated
- fiber dyeing
- yarn dyeing
- piece dyeing
- garment dyeing
fiber dyeing
- earliest decision on color
- colors must be chosen before the yarn is created
- highest cost
yarn dyeing
- second earliest decision on color
- colors must be chosen after the yarn is spun but before the fabric is knitted or woven
- second highest cost
piece dyeing
- colors must be chosen after the fabric is knitted or woven but before its cut
- cheapest cost of all four techniques
- most common type of dyeing
- cheap and efficient
- disadvantage: large orders will require fabrics to be dyed in separate batches
garment dyeing
- latest decision on color
- cheaper than fiber dyeing and yarn dyeing but more expensive than piece dyeing
- most beneficial to the manufacturer than it is to the consumer
dyeing techniques in order of cost
- fiber dyeing
- yarn dyeing
- garment dyeing
- piece dyeing
dyeing techniques in order of the timing of the color decision
- fiber dyeing
- yarn dyeing
- piece dyeing
- garment dyeing
when dye stuff is applied to the surface of a completed fabric or garment
pattern
created as the fabric or garment is knitted or woven
fabric printing
the application of a small amount of dye stuff to the surface of a fabric
roller printing
- metal rollers are engraved with the desired design, one roller for each color to be applied
- the roller then prints one color of the design as it rolls over the fabrics surface
- very expensive to make these rollers
- used when quantity of printed fabric is high
- quick and accurate
rotary screen printing
- similar to roller printing but the “rollers” are porous screen that allow the dyestuff to be squeegeed onto the fabric from inside the “roller”
- cheaper to make these screens than to engrave metal rollers
- used if total fabric quantity is smaller
flat bed screen printing
-used mostly if a design is to be placed only on one part of a finished garment such as across the chest
direct printing
- most common type of printing
- 1 step process
- darker colors applied to front of fabric appear fainter on the back
dye and discharge printing
- at least a 2 step process
- used when its very important to have a consistent dark-colored background in the design
- usually more expensive than direct prints
one way print
- has a definite top and bottom, when you look at the fabric, it is either in the correct direction of upside down
- disadvantage: wasted fabric
two way print
- designed in a way that there is no definite top or bottom
- allows for maximum fabric usage ensuring less wastage and lower garment cost
conversational print
features pictures, words or other items that make it unique
companion prints
two separate prints are needed to be considered companions, designed to be used together
border print
has a special design or motif that runs along the selvedge of a fabric
engineered print
similar to border print, except the design is intended to fall in the same exact place on every garment, causes lots of waste
placement screen print
- similar to engineered print, however the screens do not waste fabric
- applied to fabric only after the pattern pieces have been cut out or the garment has been assembled
color way
term used for “color combination”
swatch names
strike-off: when the trial swatch is a printed fabric the swatch being submitted for approval is a strike off
handloom: when the trial swatch is a yarn dyed woven fabric
knitdown: when the trial swatch is a yarn dyed knitted fabric
pitch sheet
printed form that is used to organize the information needed to recolor an original print in new colorways
repeats
when a roller has evolved one full turn, the print will repeat itself
dye lots
each batch of fabric that is dyed in a large quantity
marker
large piece of paper showing the full-sized layout of all the pattern pieces
gauge (GG)
-a form of measurement, measuring the number of needles in one inch width of the machine needle bed
knits GG
- finer gauge
- 12gg and higher
sweaters GG
- courser gauge
- under 12gg
- 3 gauge more common in winter to make chunky sweaters
- 9 gauge more common for year round
repeat stripe
- yarn dyed
- size of maximum allowable repeat varies by type of machinery
engineered stripe
- yarn dyed
- special knitting machines can create a wide repeat
- high wastage since pattern must be placed on the same point for each garment
doubleknit jacquard knit
- yarn dyed
- somewhat unusual and expensive
- different colored yarns are knitted together into the fabric
- backside shows all of the colors knitted together
knit pattern types
- repeat stripe
- engineered stripe
- doubleknit jacquard
- self jacquard
- pieced knit
self jacquard
- usually piece dyed
- all one color
- the pattern is a surface texture
pieced knit
pieces of different color knitted fabrics are sewn together during the garment assembly process
embroidery
automated technique of showing thousands of stitches in colored embroidery thread to form a design
applique
small pieces of fabric are attached to a finished garment
striped sweater
- yarn dyed
- often knitted with a repeat
doubleknit jacquard sweater
- yarn dyed
- different colored yarns are knitted together into the fabric
- not floats
- pulls different colors to front
float jacquard
- yarn dyed
- different color yarns are knitted together horizontally
- pulls specific color to front
- snag easily
ladder-back jacquard sweater
- yarn dyed
- less common
- very heavy
- front is very clean
self jacquard sweater/cable sweater
- pattern is formed by a variety of stitches, creating a surface texture
- one of the most popular
- requires special machinery
intarsia sweater
- yarn dyed
- requires both hand and machine work in tandem
- manually switch colors to form design
- clean but expensive
sweater pattern types
- striped
- doubleknit jacquard
- float jacquard
- ladder-back jacquard
- self jacquard/cable
- intarsia
woven fabric (weaving)
- Produced on a loom with a row of yarns that run lengthwise in the fabric
- weft interlaced with warp
plain weave
-most common
twill weave
- Recognized by the apparent diagonal ridges on the fabric surface
- one over two
knitted fabric
- circular machine (most common method)
- flat bed machine: rectangle with straight edges and sides
most common knit fabric construction
- jersey (most common type): clearly visible front vertical and back horizontal
- rib knit: alternates between plain and purl stitch, vertical front and back
- interlock: for knits only, front and back are identical
