Photos: Adam Katz Sinding / Le 21ème Arrondissement

Last night, AFINGO hosted another rousing Fashion Forum on the topic Inspiration to Execution. The event was the second in our Soho House Series - made possible by our technology partner, Lectra, and smartwater. AFINGO Fashion Forums gather a panel of industry professionals with a myriad of viewpoints and experience to discuss a particular facet of the fashion industry. The most recent series focused on the how-tos of manufacturing and growing a label.

The panel was moderated by Britt Aboutaleb, Style News Editor of Elle.com, who posed questions to the savvy panel made of up AFINGO’s CEO, Liza Deyrmenjian; Meredith Kahn, jewelry designer behind Made Her Think; Bethany Mayer, designer and consultant from Edun and Surf Bazaar; Duncan Quinn, designer and bespoke menswear specialist; and Cynthia Vincent, designer of Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent.

As the event kicked off in the chic fifth-floor library at Soho House, candles flickered and the group was aTwitter, literally and technologically. Young designers sat with pens poised and listened intently for key information to help them break into the industry. Before questions for the panel, Liza invited Goods for Good founder Melissa Kushner to give a quick overview of her exceptional organization, which uses surplus fabrics to teach women in Africa the valuable skill of tailoring, with which they create school uniforms for orphans. Goods for Good is AFINGO’s charity of choice because Melissa has found a great use for the excess material from fashion production.

Then it was down to business: The first question of the night asked how many styles a first collection should consist of. Liza’s reply: she advises her new clients that 12-16 styles is what to shoot for – and it’s imperative that those styles give something to merchandise and tell a story. Bethany has chosen to “focus on a fabric rather than styles” to connect her line. Duncan emphasized having a collection that is, “very focused,” but still broad enough to offer choices.

Duncan, previously a lawyer, started his line by partnering with the same people who’d been making his personal clothes for years. He was lucky in that he knew, from years of having his own custom wardrobe made, who would create the best shirts, suits, ties, etc. Meredith started out making every piece herself, many of them impossible to recreate. She had to slowly learn, from talking to people in sometimes seemingly common sense channels, how to navigate the world of production. She insisted, “You cannot be shy,” when looking for allies to help grow your business. When growing a brand it is also important to have a through-line between collections, something that can clearly be associated with you. Bethany has had the same racer-back tank for seasons, just switching the length, shape and of course color. It’s the same idea, but changes “how you’re presenting it to people.”

The concept of having a signature piece, carried over from season to season, was debated. Duncan talked about a tie he made for years before becoming tired of seeing it and removing it from his collection. When he brought it back a few seasons later it sold out – a kind reminder that though the designer who’s worked with piece a thousand times is sick of it, it can be new and exciting to lots of customers. Meredith has had the same double-chain ring in her collection every season. She edits it slightly, adding diamonds, changing the colors, but keeps the same design because she too knows that every day someone can see that ring for the first time and think it’s beautiful. In the same vein, retailers may be bored by viewing the same shirt season after season and quest why designers aren’t doing something new. Retailers too can forget that there is always someone who hasn’t yet seen the design and might fall in love with it – especially for designs that have proven sales-successful. Cynthia, whose simple signature slip is an all-time bestseller, reminded us that “the retailer’s not always right.”

Britt then asked how designers handle producing outside of NYC. Those who produce overseas were adamant that you must have clear communication. Bethany, who had just returned from visiting facilities in India, emphasized the necessity of “leaving nothing open to interpretation.” Meredith reiterated that point, telling designers to “be as literal as you can. Essentially, you don’t think they’ll make a three-legged pant, but unless you say two legs you never know what might happen.” “I pretty much tried everywhere,” Cynthia admitted, noting successful foreign production is about “finding the right fit” and having good communication. She also stressed the importance of understanding the calendar required for production – the time it takes to create a sample, ship it from India or Asia or Peru, review it, have another proto shipped, edit again, ship again, etc. It all takes time and that has to be built into a production calendar. Plus, with all the shipping back and forth and visiting the factory every production cycle there are “a lot of hidden costs you need to look at.” She is now looking to bring 50-60% of her manufacturing back to the U.S. Liza, who is a major advocate for domestic production, offered to help champion the transition.

It’s easy to see why Cynthia would want to shift production back to the states; as anyone who’s had a line for so long she’s worked with a number of manufacturing nightmares. The panel asked her what the worst mistake was she’d seen with overseas manufacturing and there had been so many that it was hard to pick just one. Recently, a shipment of shoes had come in two sizes too big, and once her swatches were switched somewhere in China so a box of periwinkle goods all came back purple.

It’s the things that can go awry so far from sight that lead Liza to advocate for domestic production. What it boils down to is that when designing your first few seasons, especially your very first, you have far more control and will learn more about the process by producing domestically. Often designers want to get things done as cheaply as possible, so they immediately think about overseas production and “lose track of what’s available to them at hand.” When doing that first collection it’s important to watch the process from A-Z, see how your pieces go from the page to the pattern, from samples to production. With frequent trips to the facilities where your pieces are made you can gauge the quality of the production not just by the work but by who else has chosen to manufacture there. There are inevitably other peoples’ samples sitting around, so “always check the labels,” Liza instructed. But don’t entirely discount foreign production; Duncan cited the wonderful travel opportunities that come with foreign manufacturing and that seeing new places can provide ample inspiration, while Bethany noted the value of using artisanal methods that are not promoted domestically.

Something designers often forget is that garment manufacturing is one of the most labor-intensive processes in existence. There are “so many touch points at which something can go wrong,” Cynthia stressed. Between the patternmaker, the cutter, the grader, the various sewers, the person who puts the dress on a hanger, the person who wraps it in plastic, and the one who puts it in a box there are a hundred tiny things that can go wrong and spell disaster for a shipment. That all reiterates the importance of having a production calendar and factoring in time not just for shipping and design changes, but for mistakes and repairs.

The panel also touched on the triumphs and pitfalls of collaborating. Sometimes a collaborating designer comes to the first meeting with a definitive idea about which pieces inspired them to collaborate and what they want to create together; sometimes one label gives a soft concept and leaves the rest up to the other. Meredith has experienced both scenarios and said that both can yield great results, the key is merely figuring out “if you are the right match.” Cynthia gave insight on her wildly successful shoe line for Target, a venture she embarked on with the goal “to outsell any other guest designer.” When working on collaborations with mass-retailers like Target designers must sacrifice some quality in materials due to pricing, but she insisted that “if you push hard enough and are consistent” and know what you want you can eventually achieve the look and feel you want.

At the end of the panel, there was a brief audience Q. & A., which yielded answers on the influence of the press and style forecasting and opinions on contemporary trade shows. Meredith told us she is sometimes inspired by the style of a particular editor’s page, which allows you to “see your things through the eyes of other people.” On the topic of trend forecasting, Meredith said that she wasn’t a firm believer in it and if everybody followed it “we’d all be the same.” Cynthia doesn’t let forecasting affect her much either; if forecasting predicts color trends will be opposite of her next collection she proceeds anyway, trusting her gut. Of tradeshows, it was said that it’s important to be seen next to the designers you want to be associated with, but not to be disappointed with little activity after the first show – buyers wait and watch to see who will last multiple seasons.

Cheerful words of encouragement abounded at the Forum. “Trust your instincts,” Cynthia said. “Don’t be discouraged,” Liza urged. Some key notes to take away: “You need that base for people to identify with you” (Duncan), “Detail can change everything” (Bethany), and “When you are genuine people will help you” (Meredith), and my personal favorite “I hate velcro” (Cynthia, on creating shoes for Target that could be put on with one hand).

The tone of the evening was one of relaxed exuberance. The panel speakers and moderator were happy to share their experiences and wisdom with a new group of designers and fashion fans, who were in turn eager to learn from the successes and setbacks of the more experienced. After the panel ended attendees and speakers mixed and mingled, some gushing compliments, some asking questions, all enjoying the cozy night at the Soho House.