The next thing to consider after which company a designer works for is their competition, both internal and external. Fashion design is a highly competitive job market. Designers are often given temporary contracts and only have a short time to prove themselves before their employer looks elsewhere. This, coupled with a high rate of redundancy due to the volatile nature of the market means that designers are under constant pressure to be at the forefront of their industry. The advantage of working in this competitive environment is that it spurs the designer on to achieve their best and results in higher overall standards in the industry. The successful work of one designer can sometimes have the effect of stifling the creativity of another. Appendix A shows examples of designers who work for Marks and Spencer, River Island and Warehouse copying the work of more influential designers in order to create something that will appeal to their customers and is in keeping with the seasons current trends.
As touched upon when considering differences between different companies, the designers target market is key to what is designed. This highlights an important difference between a designer and an artist. Art is a personal expression, and for most artists, the aim is to create something that they are happy with rather. For a designer, the aim is not necessarily to design a piece that they like themselves, but something that will appeal to the people that they want to but it. Certain companies have a very specific target market. The quote below is taken from the FAQ on www.fatface.com
Q. Who purchases Fat Face clothing?
A. People who go out and 'do' the outdoor life. The kit is built to take the knocks and is made from top quality materials. So if you are into high-octane sports, enjoy the outdoor life, or have an active lifestyle, we hope that our gear hits the spot...
The Designers at fat face aim to create a product targeted at a niche, sales figures would not come close to other high street retailers which is why it so important that the designs “hit the spot” for the group that they are targeting. In a larger company, the designer has the advantage of having access to the firms internal market research, as well as reports on the market produced by companies such as Mintel. Information such as fashion preferences, social trends etc. gives the designer a better chance of producing garment with mass appeal.
When it comes to Marketing issues there are two different types of companies in the fashion industry, the Design centred firm and the Market centred firm. Design centred firms work on the basis that the product should speak for itself, rather than aiming to follow a trend or respond to demand. This approach works for many well-known designers including Alexander McQueen, anything but conformist, whose often shocking designs have made hugely popular. This type of company gives the designer a huge amount of freedom and allows them to let their inspirations and creativity through. The Market centred firm aims to produce the product they think the consumer wants. The Designer faces many more limitations in a market-centred firm as they are usually controlled to a certain degree by merchandiser and buyers. As Market-Led companies are usually found on the high street, there is also the added pressure of keeping costs down. Market centred companies such as New Look tend to react rather than act. New Look’s website states:
“Our belief that fashion should be enjoyed by everybody regardless of age shape and size has resulted in a wider customer appeal than any other fashion retailer in the UK”
Aiming to satisfy the needs and wants of such a large market inevitably results in some blandness in design.
One difficulty that the designers faces is that their initial designer may be a long way from what is actually achievable when it comes to production. When designing for the high street, the designer is under pressure to keep production costs to a minimum. This means keeping the garment simple, using cheaper alternatives when it to materials and making sure the garment is suitable for mass production. For Travis Designs, a small company specialising in children swear, these concerns are often at the heart of the design process. Travis Designs often compete with other manufacturers on the same design brief, if the competition produce a similar product at a cheaper cost, Travis lose the business. It is therefore essential to keep all
costs down from reducing elaborate detailing, to working with similar patters and manufacturing techniques from garment to garment to limit the amount of trips the design team need to make to the Far East to go over new production. This is when working in the luxury market becomes a huge advantage as the consumer is prepared to pay considerably more for the finished product, allowing for the use of more expensive fabrics and more complicated patterns and detailing. In addition to this fewer pieces per style are produced for the luxury market meaning that production can be kept local rather than being sent to the Far East.
There are a huge number of external factors that affect the fashion market, which designers and businesses have no control over. One key influence is the government; in the UK, in the countries where production takes place and in countries where goods are finally exported to. Trading laws, Minimum wages and Exchange rates are just a few of the things that change regularly and have an affect on the overall process of initial design to final sale. A Current example of external decision that effects the fashion industry is the abolishment of the quota charge of goods leaving the Far East as of January 2005. For a small company such as Travis Designs that the final cost per garment has come down, giving the designers a little extra money to use for raw materials or manufacturing cost. However at Tesco PLC, the buyers have been told that they must recover the savings from Quota by getting suppliers to reduce their costs, so that is Tesco that benefits from increased profits. In this scenario, the designer does not see any benefit from the change to the law.
Ultimately, the situation highlighted above leads onto the single most important factor that drives the fashion industry and therefore what is expected of a designer: Profit. It considered acceptable by critics that the work of the artist often has a limited appeal. A designer work must have a certain amount of mass appeal in order for the garments to sell well and make a profit. All the other considerations looked at in this essay in some way tie in to the issue of profit and the best way in which to maximise this. This inevitably puts the designer under certain pressures, which to varying extents limits their creativity. However this is a small price to pay for working in a commercial environment that gives designers a platform to get their ideas off paper and into the shops, that allows the designer freedom to concentrate on their work whilst other business related considerations are taken care of by others and most importantly allows the designer to make a living out of the very thing they are most passionate about.
