If you are new to the garment industry or having trouble with continued development of your line, consider looking at the process as if building a house. Below is a list of 5 similarities that building a garment have to constructing a house:
1. Just like building a house you should spend as much effort as possible in the planning stage. The more accurate and thought out the garment is before actually building it, the closer it will be to your final product. Spend time thinking and communicating about the fabric and the silhouette you prefer. It will pay off big in the end!
2. The actual construction of the building has to be planned out in phases and analyzed to be structurally sound. Before a garment goes into manufacturing, there are several experts that analyze and plan the fit and construction methods. They are making sure it is the highest quality and the construction steps are efficient for end manufacturing.
3. When selecting materials such as flooring or siding for your home, designers take into consideration what you like and what fits into your budget.
This is much like the process of sourcing and selecting the correct fabric and trims for your garment.
4. Just like building a house plan for it to be a process and for it to take some time.
Plan for reiterations and give ample time to test the product for fit and quality before manufacturing.
5. This is the final and perhaps most important reason there are similarities of building a house and a garment. This one affects your bottom line! If you are going to change the building “plans” by adding or taking away rooms it will undoubtedly raise or lower the cost to build. If you are going to add panels and trims to a garment this will also affect the cost to build it – just like adding more rooms!
