About

Susie Breuer
Susie BreuerOwner / Founder Co-Lab54
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“Although disciplined in planning and budgets, Susie understands the design process, striking balance between the creative and business teams that come to form a collection”
“Susie is very well respected both internally and externally. An inspirational example of how to build and maintain professional relationships.”
“Susie is a rock. She will take on an impossible project and cut it up into manageable chucks and then make it happen.”
“Susie is a fantastic speaker and a great resource for anyone in the apparel industry, but particularly for those seeking more information on developing a line / brand and what that entails.”

Susie

As an industry expert in product development and production, I am highly motivated and focused on delivering the best product for my clients.

With over 25 years in the business and a leaning towards start ups, and new division builds, I prefer to take the road less travelled and am attracted to companies and projects which have a non-traditional business model, product or approach.

Co-Lab54

Co-Lab54 is an international consultancy specializing in strategic product development and production solutions for the apparel industry.

The sole focus of the company is to enable a collaborative process between myself and the brand or individual to combine my experience with their vision.

Whether you are a Startup or an established brand, I will enable your vision to succeed by means of strategic planning, sourcing and process implementation.

The meaning behind the name:
Co-lab : Collaboration
54: Latitude of my hometown.

Consultancy

Areas of Expertise

Feasibility studies on product development proposals,

Strategic assistance on key team hires,

Budget creation for development / production cycles,

Collection range planning,

Key dates / T&A calendar creation,

Strategic production planning,

Creation of short and long term sourcing strategies.

Trumaker & Co, San Francisco : Development and production set up, collection expansion, fit improvement program:
Calvin Klein Europe BV, Amsterdam : Divisional set up European Platinum line. 
Seilenna, Swimwear NYC : Production coordination
Karl Lagerfeld Europe BV, Amsterdam : Divisional set up, team build, and PLM implementation.
Tommy Hilfiger Europe BV, Amsterdam: Collection management for New York Runway line.

Blue is The New Black

Blue is the New Black: The 10 Step Guide to Developing and Producing a Fashion Collection

In 2012, I wrote the book Blue is The New Black. My motivation was to give graduates and industry starters a context of the industry, which I felt, was missing.

Written for fashion graduates, newbie entrepreneurs and those in entry-level positions in the industry, Blue is the New Black demystifies the process of how to make a fashion collection accessible for all levels.

Since publication, the book has sold over 10,000 copies, has been reprinted 3 times and has been used as the course structure at AMFI, a teaching aid at Polimoda, and F.I.T NY, and as a reference tool within Tommy Hilfiger Europe.

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Workshop & Resources

Co-Lab54 + CreativeLive.com

Presents

E-Learning Workshop ‘Diversify Your Product Line’

Learn the fundamentals of product development, sourcing  and the art of building a cohesive collection

Click to buy

Fashion rule #243: Being polite, gets you places, being a bitch doesn’t

May 5th, 2015|0 Comments

8 months ago I quit my job at a fashion Startup with an idea to create a series of eLearning workshops, based on my book, and focusing on the product development process. 
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In an overcrowded market, are ‘direct’ and ‘custom’ the way to go?

January 21st, 2015|0 Comments

Making your brand and your product known in an over crowded market is challenging, and with buyers tough to reach and web traffic to your website hard to build, maybe you should be thinking differently […]

From Inspiration to Collection: Where do the ideas come from?

December 9th, 2014|0 Comments

Some fashion brands deliver new collections twice a year, some every three months and some monthly, and whilst it’s often one designer who heads up a brand, behind every jacket, purse or shoe, there is […]

Causing a Bottleneck? 3 Tips to Ease the Information Flow.

November 12th, 2014|0 Comments

Whether you are delivering, once, twice or three times a season, the way you plan and execute the development and production of your collection needs to be both documented and shared internally, ideally from the […]