Fashion Framework – Your step-by-step guide to building your own fashion range
8, 15 & 22 March 2022
11:00 – 12:00

This concise course, run over three modules, is aimed at those fashion entrepreneurs who have all the creative ideas but none of the practical know-how.

It will provide a clear roadmap to creating your first fashion range and a working knowledge of the design and development process. If you have had dreams of starting a label but have never gotten going because you didn’t know where to start, this is for you. If you have tried before and failed because you couldn't figure out how to get past a certain point, this is for you. Let us help you to navigate this complex industry so that you can share your talents with the world!

Range Planning & Costing (Module 1): 8 March 2022
This module explains, step by step, the process you will go through in getting your first clothing range from concept through to production and ready to sell to your ideal clients. It will cover key industry terms and walk you through the importance of, and how to plan your first clothing range. Finally, it covers how to create an accurate garment costing, providing you with a usable spreadsheet to use yourself at the end of the session.

Product Development (Module 2): 15 March 2022
Module 2 guides you through fabrics, what fabrics to use for which garments and the dangers of buying fabrics from a retail store. The module supplies a list of fabric wholesalers in South Africa and a link to other industry resources. It guides you through what to look for when purchasing fabrics, and things to be careful or aware of.
This module also covers how to approach getting patterns made and finding the right CMT to do your samples and production; as well as provides examples of spec sheets and tech packs that should be given to your CMT for production. Finally, we explore quality checking, sampling and the garment development process.

Production (Module 3): 22 March 2022
This module explains pattern grading, garment labels, wash care labels and how to start preparing for production. We will walk you through delivering everything to your CMT and the best practices in working with them.

A vitally important part of your process is the collection and final quality check that you need to perform. This module gives you a guideline on doing this; and we round things up with a section on photographing your garments and the importance of visual merchandising.

About the presenter:

Rose Molteno

Rose dreamed of being a couture fashion designer from a young age, so it was an easy choice for her to study fashion design at the Cape Town College of Fashion Design. She excelled in her studies and started her first fashion business with a friend intending to sell ladies semi-formal dresses. In the year spent on this endeavour, she learned a lot of hard lessons and gained invaluable experience before choosing to let it go to go to work for Michelle Harper as her assistant designer. There she learnt more about how a small fashion business worked, before going on be the buyer, merchandiser and manager of a chain of fashion retail stores. Finally, in 2010, she struck out on her own to start Molteno Creations full time. In the past 11 years, the business has grown to have a fine reputation in South Africa and stocks a few boutiques in the UK after having participated in UK bridal fashion Week. The business continues to grow and intends to widen its footprint into the UK and Europe.