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

Learning from the buyers assistants

Hello everyone!

Now I’ve survived almost three weeks of the internship and it is going really well. I’m starting to get a clearer view of how things work here at Rut. I am mostly helping the buyer’s assistants with their tasks such as measuring clothes and preparing orders. It is really fun and I also learn a lot. The assistants are very skilled when it comes to materials and fit and it is great for me to be able to learn so much from them. I’ve also put together a booklet with picture of the Ava June collection to show to external buyers.

I am starting to learn Navision much better and I have also started to draft guidelines for my report about the internship. I am planning to do interviews with the buyers at Rut but first I need to gather some more information about the company and read up on the theory I will be using in the report.

/Michelle 

My first week of the internship

Hi everyone!

This is my first blog entry for the fieldstudy course. I am doing an internship at Rut&Circle in Gothenburg this summer. Rut&Circle is a Swedish fashion brand and my internship is at the buying department. Since Rut is a small company I get to visit and interact with all of the different departments of the company, which is really fun. I am hoping to learn a lot during this internship and I am very happy to be here. 

During my internship period we will be two interns at the buying department. I’m starting to get to know the other intern, the buyers and the assistants and everyone seems really nice. I’m also starting to get to know the system we are working in here, Navision. It’s a lot of new information to take in and a lot to do but fun so far!

/Michelle

Taiwan Textile Federation

Before I came here to study, I've worked in Taiwan for 3 years in textile and apparel industry. I know from work that this industry is a highly specialized one. Therefore, to understand the industry as a whole, I visited Taiwan Textile Federation and 5 other industrial association on 7/9. As my topic is about the handling of waste, I asked them if they know what methods their members are currently using. My first impression from the answers they gave me is that mills from upstream are more organized and devoted into this sort of matters compared to mills from downstream.

I am now trying to pull some contacts arranging visits to mills to testify against my first impression and to find out more!

Joanne