After 20+ years in the fashion industry I felt it my duty (oh, how noble of me) to take my knowledge and experience and pass it on to the crowd of makers, crafters, designers, and all round creatives who themselves had a vision of creating.

All too often I have seen companies who do not appreciate the complexity of a development process, the concept of planning, the need to identify a market, and most importantly, the need to treat their suppliers with common curtesy (being polite, gets you places, being a bitch doesn’t): things I believe are essential to the longevity of a collection and of a brand.

So I’ve made it my mission to educate and preach these aspects to anyone who is interested in listening.  To pass on these nuggets that will fundamentally change your business and make a random selection of products into a cohesive line.

My goal is simple: I want people’s businesses to succeed. I want to enable a beautiful product to be made and appreciated. Whether it’s for a huge international brand, or a maker with a spare room and a vision. I want to be part of it.

So join me on the 12th and 13th May in person in San Francisco, or on the live stream at:

https://www.creativelive.com/courses/diversifying-your-product-line-susie-breuer

My consultancy is co-lab54.com

I’m based in San Francisco

Below I give a prime example of one of these sweeteners from my past.

Many years ago at the start of the 90’s, I worked for a men’s retailer in the UK as a buyers assistant on the accessory team. Jokes, directed my way, many times included:

I was “big in men’s socks” or I was ‘finding an opening in men’s underwear’. Both funny, and both accurate.

My buyer at the time was a very strong-willed Scottish lady, fantastic to work with but scary at the same time due to her volcanic temper. She held nothing back when it came to swearing and to get on the wrong side of her was quite frankly foolish. She missed nothing, had an amazing eye for detail, and was very giving when it came to responsibilities in the job. As such, I received a great training in buying and merchandising from her.  She still, however, scared the living life out of me.

During my 1-year stint on that department, one of the projects she worked on was to create a plastic hanger upon which displayed pairs of socks. Specifically it allowed a tiered ladder effect, which displayed a 3 and 5 pack perfectly, whilst keeping the socks flat and in line. This helped for the shop floor display and also meant that all the colours of the pack could be seen at once without the customer having to flip through a lumpy pack to determine the option.

This sock ladder was her baby. It took months to design and even longer to develop, but the vision of the coloured socks, water falling with such ease and refinement was the motor that drove the process. So much so, that I discovered that this ladder and its vast array of colour combinations was this buyers sweetener to the extent that even the briefest of glimpses, led to a Scottish coo of excitement and a proclamation of love towards the article and its contents.

I picked up on this ‘cooing’ at an early stage and kept the board both close at hand and updated with new shades ready in preparation for the crisis de jour (short shipment of briefs or delivery extensions for ties were commonplace explosions).

For several weeks, the effect of ‘The board’ was quite amazing…… a hushed silence was requested….. The board surveyed and the proclamation of joy and love was made across the department on the functionality of the hanger and the aesthetic pleasure of the socks. Each time, after calm was restored, the board was gently removed and the day continued.

Of course, this particular sweetener didn’t last forever. She found me out and she also found it funny (which was lucky), but it still worked for what I needed which was to distract away from the negative, if only for a second, to focus on the positive.

Delivery delays, short shipments, late fabrics and floods in factories are always going to happen, but shouting and screaming won’t change the fact.  Even now, I make a point of always having a sweetener close by, even if it’s just for myself to step back from the crap and focus on the good.

It works, it helps and it reminds us all, especially our leaders that it’s not just about the one thing that is bad, it’s about the 10 things which are good. Which in this case, was in fact 6 things, 1 hanger, 5 pairs of socks.

Co-lab54 is my consultancy

For more industry tips and stories check out my book:  Blue is the New Black.

150 series

strap details

Established in 2009 by British product designers Patrick Bek and Oliver Fowles, this stylish duo produce classic yet simplistic watches from their London base. With the interiors based on Japanese and Swiss methods, the exterior and packaging has a true Brit twist with simplicity and subtlety.

With designs for men and women and a choice of leather or rubber straps, the styling is workable for day, evening, dog walking or even cake eating.

Prices start at 110GBP to +400GBP, International shipping available.

Apolis Philanthropist tote

Apolis mens clothing and accessories….

“Apolis, which translates as “global citizen,” is a living and breathing social enterprise  that equips and empowers people through opportunity instead of charity.  Apolis co-creates products with manufacturers and directly allows the market to determine the future of each item we produce. It is a hands-on model to provide people access to opportunity. We call it “advocacy through industry.” “

and why I like it….

It works with NGO’s in Uganda, Bangladesh and Nepal and supports local industry creating  self-sufficient communities.

Products include outerwear, shirts, pants, accessories and bags… e.g.    Philanthropist tote

I’m not a designer, never have been, and truth be told, have no ambition to be, but what I love about my job is the challenge of getting some developed and produced – the A to Z of the process, which has led to me write a book about the very same.

So, yesterday I was in the position of finishing one project and starting another – with a simple crossover of 3 hours to be exact. For this new project I do have a vague appreciation on the what, when and how but as the brand is technically a start-up ( albeit one with a ton of investment behind it) there are many aspects still to be confirmed, which should trouble me, but actually doesn’t (I think age is slowly removing the control freak in me) and I have to say that last night when I received the draft merchandise plan I actually felt quite calm about the task ahead.

I saw the range size, I saw the product groups and I saw the quantities, all that was missing were the sketches to match against the reference numbers on the sheet.

So – with a glass of wine to my left and a bowl of potato chips to my right, I clicked on the download button to open the sketch files. And then it happened…

My palms became moist, a knot formed in my stomach, my fingers twitched on the keypad and my heart raced, for there in front of me were the illustrated sketches from one of the worlds most famous designers. The enormity of the project hit me and in an instant I remembered why I love my job and why I love this industry. I work with insanely creative people and I help to realise their vision. I had an instant flashback to being 13 years old, tearing magazine pages of fashion shoots, longing to work in fashion in whatever guise that took.. And now, nearly 30 years later, I am privileged to work on a project which essentially takes ink on paper and turns it into a garment.

Holy shit I’m lucky!

…to be continued…..

A talented intern working for a large sportswear brand has just completed her fashion studies. As part of her final project she has decided to present a womens wear accessory concept and range.

Using the company where she interns for inspiration, she decides that another price level is needed, so one price point above the sportswear line, but lower than a catwalk line.

Her presentation looked amazing, it was clear, professional and precise so much so that the sportswear company discussed had considered using some of the aspects for their own research.

The college however, failed her, as they didn’t quite ‘get’ the concept.

anonymous fashion college, you are training people, not only to aspire to great levels of creativity and design but also to work professionally in the industry, to be commercial, to understand processes and to be market relevant. Maybe you should look outside the box a little and not just focus on the crazy avant guard.

So, I was debating whether to make a comment about the below article because it will label me as old, bitter and twisted (most of which is true) but at the same time, there was something in Colin McDowell’s piece for the B.O.F that really resonated with me – so I will share it, and then you can make the judgment on my bitterness.

The jist of his article is based in the premise that the hiking up of tuition fees (in the areas of Art and Fashion) will alienate the creative hub of England and will produce graduates from the privileged classes who are lacking in the ‘design hunger’ and who want to take the easy road to success..

Now to be fair, I don’t think that is a new situation. I don’t think the increase of fees will help the situation, and I agree with Colin about alienating the raw talent that cities like London nurture, but I think (and this is from experience) that over the last 10 years, there are already too many fashion graduates entering the industry expecting a cushy journey or exotic trips and instant fame.

Is there someone to blame? Or is it how society is now with an instant gratification generation expecting something for nothing?

The number of grads I have met who seem to think their first job should be senior designer or sourcing manager is quite scary, the knowledge they gather at college is basic and theoretical and is a great starting point, but it’s just that, a starting point.

It takes years to learn the industry and to understand the nuances of the process, It simply doesn’t happen in 6 months, yet trying to explain this to a first jobber is like telling them their dog died! It leaves them distraught and crest fallen.

Are colleges really to blame for this? Do they teach students that anything is possible and in 6 months they will get to be head of Dior? I don’t think so.

Or is it the preconceived notion from the likes of E! that the fashion industry is a ride to easy town in a pretty frock? After all Lindsay Lohan became creative had of Ungaro (albeit for 1 miserable season) – so therefore anyone can do it – and fail?

Whatever the case, the industry is changing and graduates expectations of it need to be kept in check.

Maybe the increase in college fees will prompt the colleges to really analyse what they are teaching and nudge them to make the courses more vocational and industry realistic, maybe it’s the job of the industry to re train the graduates once they start at the bottom rung, or maybe we have lost the likes of raw talent that once graced the streets of our cities and are let with a team of ‘i-want-it-now’ graduates.

A much-needed brush up on production procedures and methods was essential for chapter 8 of the book, so with a specific vendor in mind, the flights were booked and hotels reserved.

Now, I’m not going to go on about how hard the job is, or how stressful travel is in order to gain some kind of sympathy, but what I will say is that, these trips ARE tiring, and NOT glamorous. I think the only person who has the glamour job in Fashion is Mme Wintour, and for the rest of us mere mortals we do the late nights and early starts, the plane delays, the long walks from terminal to terminal, the strange taxi drivers and frisky security men.

So, with this in mind, Here is a brief recap of my trip to Portugal this week, all in the name of research.

In order to save money on flights (it’s me buying them now and not an employer) I headed for a German airline which for a bargain fee asked me nicely to change in Frankfurt and then head on to Porto later in the evening.

Knowing that Frankfurt airport is huge and a devil to navigate, I allowed enough time (ok, I hate being late – so, loads of time between my flights) which meant that for Tuesday, dinner was either a hot dog and some fizzy pop at a takeaway stand or a cocktail and bar snacks at the airport branch of the Sheraton.

Cocktail and snacks went down a treat, although I did have to battle with business guests recanting tales of their management meetings, and Swedish football fans glued to the big screen in the corner of the Lemons and Limes Bar. Still – it was enough to send me on my way to the front row of economy where I had a perfect view of how the business travel flies.

With it being 10.30pm, I was awake for precisely 20 minutes of the flight before I drooled and headflopped over my neighbour in the attempt to get some sleep.

On arrival at Porto, the driver, thankfully, was there to whisk me to the hotel 40 minutes further into the Portuguese countryside.

The cosy room was a vision of comfort and seclusion once I arrived and whilst I could have slept standing, clothed and with overnight bag in hand, I did the necessary and spent a further 20 minutes turning all the lights out. Note to Hotel; One light switch can do the job people…. no need for twenty.

Next day – bright and early, I was whisked to the factory where I spent the day working though production procedures, techniques, planning and trims. Now, as much as I would like to describe the details, infrastructure and layout of the above factory, I shan’t, It’s for the book, I need to formulate and turn the prose, and this, my friends takes time.

Relax – it will come, and hopefully you will like..

By the end of the Wednesday I was production’d out, let me tell you. However a glass of wine, excellent food and great company served a proper way to finish the day.

Note for those who are interested, If you travel to Porto and head outside of the town, into the hills of neighbourhood villages, there are no sign posts, no street names, and the most amazing restaurants are hidden in the middle of nowhere.

The one in question where I dined was next to a fabric mill, down an industrial estate, but nevertheless, had a view of a vineyard and amazing food! surprise!

1 hour after leaving the restaurant I was back at a different hotel about to check in. Now bearing in mind it was now 11pm and my flight was at 6am, my stay there was to be brief:

Here’s how check in went..

Me: checking in, the name’s Breuer

Hotel:  yes – staying for 2 nights?

Me: No, just the 1

Hotel: Really?

Me: Yes, really!

Hotel: Can I have your credit card

Me: Sure!, Can I have a wake up call tomorrow morning please?

Hotel: Yes, for what time?

Me: 4am!

Hotel: Of course!

Hotel: Ms Breuer, next time you stay, the breakfast will start at 7am until 10am,

Me: Thanks – good to know!

Hotel: Ms Breuer, would you like to use the gym?

Me: Does it look like I want to use the Gym, It’s now, 11.20 pm and I have to be up in 10 minutes, so it seems.

Hotel: I guess the gym is a no, ah so here is your card and the room is 233.

Hotel: Enjoy your stay!

And with that I headed to a beautiful room which unfortunately would only be required for sleeping and a super quick shower in around 8 minutes.

Thursday morning – with wake up call success, taxi’d and securitied, found me in an empty airport at around 04.30. ggrrrr

With no coffee, no food and no free wifi, I paced up and down the terminal walking like a runway model and finishing each strut with a Paris Hilton pose. Well, where else can one practice? Eventually the coffeehouse opened and an espresso was inhaled.

On the plane additional headflopping and dribbling was managed, and with the arrival at Frankfurt I tried to find some snack to nibble on..

Note to Airport – please make available non chocolate snacks at the magazine counters. Not everyone wants chocolate, some people like muesli bars and furthermore, SOME people are allergic to chocolate and beef jerky is not a true alternative. !

After further plane delays and more pacing  from me) the flight took off, landed and disembarked. I was on home turf.

In a dream world I would be chauffeured back home, lunch would be ready and a stack of magazines and mug of tea would be resting on the sofa. Alas Rather than heading back to my nest, to shower freshen up and relax, I headed straight into my consultancy job to be buried amongst fabric cards, spreadsheets and 106 emails. T’was a long day.

So there we have it, my research trip to Portugal in a nutshell. Busy, tiring but productive.

If you can find one glamorous aspect to that, please do let me know.

The layering effect of writing a book has to be done literally. Starting with the basic first draft, then layer on the illustrations, the interviews and finally the photos.

To do it via a keyboard and to have all items on a screen 15″ wide just doesn’t ‘float my comma’ i’m afraid.. as I need to see the whole picture in order to figure out where I am and where I need to go.

So stuck in the 70’s I shall remain, blissfully happy with coloured Post It notes and pens.

It seems that an increase in China’s middle class has forced a higher demand of leather goods pushing up the prices of the raw materials in the US, China and also Brazil.

Couple this with the adverse weather in Australia hitting wool production and the increase of the price of cotton and you get serious implications on every level of the garment industry from high street to high-end.

Interesting times when you consider who is going to take the price increase – the customer or the company. It has to go somewhere..