For my Major Project Preparation, I am interested in exploring the processes of fashion buying; especially the creative aspects such as predicting future trends, creating range plans and garment development. I have previously undertaken work experience in the buying industry, which has fuelled my passion to pursue a career in buying. I believe that I have some of the qualities required for a successful buyer, such as strong communication and decision-making skills and also an eye for colours and styles that work together. For this unit I intend to develop these skills within the buying process, and also gain new skills that will help address my weakness in terms of, gaining intuition for what the consumer wants in the fashion market, risking taking and being more adventurous, when it comes to garment development.
In order to create a range plan, I intend to firstly carry out relevant market research in the form of consumer surveys and focus groups, to identify my target market. I will also focus on brand marketing in the form of products, price, place and promotion. I am interested in carrying out both comparative and directional shopping in order to establish and compare the competition in the market; in order to make my outcome innovative and unique but also in line with current trends and my consumer profile.
To make sure that my outcome is current and forward thinking, I will need to explore major trend forecasting publications such as View2, Mudpie and Future Laboratory to gain insight into future fashion trends and make sure my outcome is relevant to the fashion industry of the future.
For the narrative of my concept I am going to take my inspirations from nature, as this is a major aspect of my design philosophy that I am passionate about, as I have grown up living in the countryside the majority of my life. I plan to incorporate design aspects such as colour palettes, prints, silhouettes, fabric textures and trims into my range plan from my research into this narrative.
Throughout this unit, I hope to gain the contact and feedback from an industry professional with buying knowledge and experience, as part of the required live element of this unit. This will enable me to acquire insider knowledge and insight into how I can improve my work and potentially pursue a career in this industry.
