- Fabric / Textile consultant

[gius]

Hello... (this is kind of directed more towards Lena since she wrote it as something she does in the How to be a Stylist thread, but I think it might be useful so I will post it here.)

Anyone know what is a fabric consultant?

Is it the same as a trend consultant? Would you be sent to the Premiere Fabric Salon in Paris to do research on the upcoming trends in textiles?
Or is it also a kind of designer who works with the head fashion designer. Like the fashion designer can do the pattern drafting and the textiles consultant/designer will research prints and weaves to go with the fashion designer's idea.
I was watching a short interview with Lucinda Chambers while she was working with Marni for s/s '06--she was saying how they were looking at a collection of printed fabric scraps for inspiration... Lucinda's a stylist, so I don't know what to think--but I've heard of "fabric stylist" and "image consultant" as well, so maybe it is the same thing.

I think, Lena, you didn't mention you studied textiles in school and rather studied Fashion Design instead, so I am wondering how you got into it.

 

[Lena]

gius, i worked as a trend cosultant for about six years and one of my main customers was a big printing/finishing fabric manufacturer in need for consulting both on fashion/textile trends and new fabrics (technologies, print, finishings etc)

a fashion consultant should be able to provide direction both in trends, fabrics, shapes and general mood depending on the company she/he is working for.
from my own experience, clients seem more attracted to 'field' work and cv than to school degrees or diplomas.. eg. a degree from a textile school may not be enough while field experince in retail or trend cosultancy may be essential in consulting a fabric house..

usually textile technicians work more in the lab than in consulting or forming the collection..
i hope i replied your questions and yes, you are right, i never specialised on textile studies, but believe me, it wasnt essential for my consulting jobs

 

[gius]

thanks for the reply, Lena yes you answered my question
so i guess this is just a manner of analyzing the trends from the shows yourself, and also subscribing even to the trend magazines. it's the consulting that sounds interesting to me, like helping establish a mood for a designer's collection, even if it is not trends-based... It sounds like it would be better to intern or be an assistant for a stylist to start getting work...

 

[Lena]

trend consulting is much more than scanning catwalks or going through professional publications & seminars on trend forecasting (when talking about forecasting i'm always reffering to the $7-5000 per 'book' publications and not to the 'trend magazines' available to the general public)

first one needs lots of air miles, traveling is essential when working with consulting, also keep in mind that you may eventually need to try:

*visiting all industry tradefair salons (fabrics, decoration, pret-a-porter, streetwear)
*scouting for new shops and street trends (locally and internationally)
*following economic and social developements
*analysing consumer and industrialist trends and behaviours etc.

no matter how interesting all this sounds, trend and/or strategy consultancy is too crucial for industrialists so before leading a whole company to the right strategy one needs to have a real wide range of experience and involvement both in retail and wholesale environment, which means, its not a job that can come easy to someone just starting up in the business

best thing to do is try to contact the big trend forecasting agencies and try to intern with them (its not a piece of cake since its a real 'competitive' environment, but its well worth trying)