I was the lead designer for activewear at GAP and fostered the growth of this category to being the most profitable in the company for 2 consecutive years from 2020-2022. This came to fruition through intensive competitor research and many design iterations along with wear tests until we landed with the best results.
The fashion design process is very similar to the UX process. The research side consists of market and trend analysis which supports the design and development stages. Then after few rounds of sketch iterations, we examine the details and to start creating mockups. Then of course, the prototyping stage to test out any concerns before implementing into the collection.
In fashion, we design products for humans to wear so it is important to understand the human body shape and measurements. We must consider all aspects of the product including fabrics, whether it's the weight of it for warmth or softness for feel. Does it include any technical functionalities such as water wicking, or wrinkle free? Of course, the silhouette of the garment and how it looks for each body type to incorporate diversity and inclusion.
Here’s a look at the product delivery stage. Before we approve styles for production, we need to do a few rounds of usability wear tests on a fit model to proceed with further design iterations. I worked alongside the technical designer and communicated fit issues to be improved for the next rounds of iterations.
The first round of prototype usually will require the most amount of updates. To provide corrections, I mark up the sample with style tape or use safety pins to manipulate the shape.
An adoption sample is a style that has been selected to be in the collection. This sample should have updates from the previous proto sample. We do another round of wear testing to review any further corrections before approving for production.
Along with the sample having correction markings, we provide digital pattern updates to the vendors to adjust the shape of the product. The red lines shown are the updates to the pattern.
Once a style is approved, we name it the final fit sample and becomes ready for hand off to the vendors to put into production. One style usually can range from 500pcs-300k units! This is why it’s crucial for us to do multiple test rounds.
In Fashion, we design for all 4 seasons annually. Research played a big part in the initial process as we needed to identify the latest trends in the market. At the start of every collection, design collaborates with the concept team to establish the vision for the season. This includes having key styles and fabrications for each month, color palette, accessories, and graphics. Having concept and direction is vital in keeping the brand image and also provides cohesiveness across all categories.
After creating concept for the season and researching trends, I always start with sketching in greyscale. Each category is given a product plan from the merchandising teams with a X amount of styles. I usually sketch a few iterations for each style group and then meet with my cross functional partners to discuss cost concerns or fabric capabilities before we land styles to move into prototyping.
To have a visual representation of sketches we needed mock ups samples. I created technical packets with design detail callouts to provide instructions for our vendors to develop the samples. To create a product, I have to consider the fabrication for the silhouette, trims such as buttons or drawcords, the combination of different fabrics and the weight, as well as specifications and measurements of the garment.
I was part of the initial 3D team at GAP to trial out this process as we continued to lean into new technology within the fashion industry. We used softwares CLO and Browzwear to build 3D apparel products in efforts to speed up development and reduce sampling which led to less wastage. This process helped eliminate at least 2 fit and test rounds since the turnaround was quicker for updates to be done digitally rather than physically.
During the height of covid, we were fully remote and as you can imagine, working with physical products this was a very challenging situation. We adapted to using Miro as our visual tool of communication. My responsibility included building these presentation boards with sketches and then presenting back to my cross-functional teams and stakeholders. We held weekly cross functional team meetings in discussing constraints and problem solving to land the most viable product for our customers as well as business goals.
Each product has it’s own constraints so it’s important that we over communicate to find the best solution. In fashion products we deal with fabrics so we have to weigh in the content difference when mixing and matching materials. Here you’ll see we have a sweatshirt with different contents to the matching rib. Together with my cross functional partners we landed on 3 neutral colorways to proceed with since the color difference will be less contrasted. Since the other colorways are now eliminated for this style, we will add it to another program to keep consistent color representation.
Customer reviews and comments were also some factors we considered when making decisions on length and width. Seeing the product live is always a great feeling. I usually go to the customer reviews section to look at user comments as it helps improve the next line of products.
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