Reflection (2015-07-24)

The field study was an interesting and instructive experience for me. I learned to be more flexible and to improvise and work independently and self-employed. Since the companies were not able to support my research due to their busy schedules, I chose a quantitative approach instead. I created an online survey for textile management students instead and interviewed five former and recent students with different backgrounds in the textile or textile related field.

            It was very interesting to find out how my fellow students experience our program, to hear their suggestions for improvement, and to see the differences between different textile universities.

I found out that the large majority of our students is satisfied with the program, but that they wish for more interaction with textile companies, better support on their search for an internship or a job and a better understanding about what jobs they can do later and what those jobs are really about, with practical examples. Moreover, computer programs such as Photoshop and Illustrator and recent subjects such as social media and online marketing should be addressed more detailed, according to many students.

Finally some progress (2015-07-01)

Nearly two weeks ago I published my online survey where I ask (former) textile management students about their experiences with textile and fashion companies, and I already got almost enough answers to continue my research. Moreover, everyone who I asked for a short interview agreed to be interviewed. It is very pleasant and exciting to finally make some progress and be able to complete the research.

            The perspective is a different one now – students’ impressions instead of companies’ – but since students study the program, they can probably best reflect the strengths and shortcomings of it. Therefore this change will hopefully not make the research any less meaningful.

The very busy schedules of companies (2015-06-16)

After a literature study about interview techniques in order to prepare myself for the interviews with companies that I was planning to have, I have searched for textile and fashion companies and their headquarters nearby. I contacted these companies both per telephone and email telling them about my research and asking for a short interview with one person representing the company. Although I explained them that a participation in the interview would be beneficial for both the university and the companies since the program shall be adjusted according to the results of the interviews, unfortunately none of the companies had time for an interview. I got basically the same answer from all of them - via mail or phone – that they are grateful for my interest in their company, but unfortunately do not have time to support this matter due to extremely busy schedules.

            I continued to contact companies for a while, hoping for less busy schedules during the summer months, but after two months I decided to change the methodology of my field study. Instead of interviewing companies, I am preparing an online survey where I ask textile management students about their impressions and experiences with the textile and fashion industry. In order to support and be able to better analyze the survey, I also want to interview a few former textile management students.

My field study about Textile Management (2015-04-07)

I decided to do a field study about textile management and what companies expect from master students of this program. In that matter I plan to interview a few companies. Before I can start my research, I need to define what the study program Textile Management is about.

Textile management is concerned with the development and management of clothing and apparel. This often combines fashion merchandising and design (NC State University, 2011). Textile management approaches all eight steps that are necessary for a textile garment to get to the end-customer. After a period of trend research the designs are made and styles are selected. Marketing activities and the evaluation of production processes and sourcing possibilities take place before the garments are produced and their quality is assured. In a last step the products are distributed to the retailer and can be sold to the customers. (Högskolan i Borås, 2014)

            Moreover, the program teaches several academic competences. Among others, the students learn how to describe and master scientific theoretical concepts and problems, critically review literature and relate it to quantitative and qualitative methods and handle academic writing as a tool in scientific work. Since social research is part of the program, students need to be able to comprehend and use appropriate basic statistical concepts in a quantitative research study, relate frameworks, methods and results to different research areas and consider ethical aspects of research strategy. (Högskolan i Borås, 2014)

Internship at Ellos

Hi everyone!

It´s been 4 months since I started my internship at Ellos and it´s been amazing so far. I still can´t believe how fast time flew and there is only one month left...

During these four months I have been working in the womenswear design department. I mostly worked with the designers and product managers from different concepts (preppy, rock-romantic, urban twist and urban classic), but also had a great input in the development of the swimwear SS16 prints. I made some prints that were sent to the suppliers a couple of months ago and I was really excited to see the samples printed on fabrics last week. The rotary printing technique was used and the samples needed to be approved. We checked the samples for any kind of mistakes in the repeat pattern, made sure that the colours are right and the size of the print is appropriate not only for the style, but also for the website and magazine photographs- the print should be clear and visible, not too small, otherwise, it will look blurry in the pictures. 

Some of my responsibilities are making flat sketches, specification sheets, prints, artworks, and updating boards. Moreover, I attended most design meetings and a few collection meetings that helped me get a more clear vision on how things work and how the collections are put together. One of the things that stood out for me was the great contribution of the designers and the whole design department in the creation of the Ellos magazine, by developing a flat plan with the outfits and different combinations of styles, This stage is really important since Ellos has no physical stores and the magazine and  website are the most important marketing channels. I also had the opportunity to attend sustainability meetings, regarding the construction of the “Premium Quality” line, a sustainable line of clothing, which was launched recently. 

The amount of knowledge I acquired at Ellos until now is enormous and the people there are great persons and true professionals. I´m enjoying every moment there and I´m going to get the best out of this last month there.....I´ll keep you updated :)

Mirela

Fun week

Hello everyone!

This week has been a really fun week of my internship!

My supervisor showed me how she is putting together a new collection for next spring. It was so inspiring to see how she works with this.

I’ve also started doing my interviews for the report. I’ve been interviewing one of the assistant buyers. She knows everything about patternmaking and a lot about the fashion industry in general so it was very interesting to be able to ask her about her that.

Friday I interviewed the logistics responsible and I got to know a lot of valuable information for my report. I’ve also done an interview with my supervisor where I got to ask her everything about being a buyer and about the company. Next week I will interview another buyer who knows a lot about the contracts with the suppliers and CSR issues.

/Michelle