slow week

This week was a very slow week at work.  We are currently between seasons so the workload is not very heavy right now in our department.  Everyone is finishing up Holiday stuff now and not heavily into spring season yet.  Basically, I just continue to measure, cut, file and do in-house errands.

Since not much is happening I thought I would talk a little about the random tidbits I have learned so far.  First off, I have decided that I don't particularly like measuring garments.  There are so many technicalities to, but, however, I have gotten faster at it.  I like measuring pants though.  They not only easier to measure, but the measurements wanted (front/back rise, inseam, waistband/joint seam circumference, ect.) are more straightforward.  Measuring stuff reminds me of when Laurel had us create knock-off patterns of garments in class one day.

After I've measured all this stuff it is a lot easier to identify what the patterns would look like.  Cutting patterns is also easier because I can figure out which piece is which without a ton of scrutiny.  The commercial patterns aren't labeled like we label them at school, so its harder to know what you're looking at if you aren't familiar with the style.  Most of the patterns are labeled similarly, with slight variations depending on the factory that made it.  The pieces tend to include the style number (sometimes without the division or season characters, which makes it harder to file if I don't know what the piece is), the size, the grain line (which doesn't necessarily have an arrow) and sometimes it will have a coded number that includes some measurements and/or a code for which piece it is.  For example something might say LFRT, which would mean 'Left Front.'  Something interesting about the patterns is the seam allowance.  Typically it's 1/2" to 3/8" on major seams.  Armholes, if sleeveless, and necklines often have a 1/4" to 3/8" depending on the factory/style.  The darts are usually folded out, not trimmed down.  Also, Michael Kors uses french seams on all the major seams in dresses and tops.  So the side seams and armholes are all french seams.  Another thing I didn't know is that neither leather or shearling get a seam allowance because it's so bulky.  It's all just built in.

People often ask me where all the factories we use are.  There are several big factories that my supervisors work with: China Ting- everything silk; MMK- I don't know where this is, but they do a lot of wovens as well as knits; Coddy- a lot of pants are sent here as well as other things; Kyra- a factory in India handles a lot of our specialty tops like anything with sequins.  We also have Wellstart, Xhjing Jiang (which I have no idea where this is or what they do), and I think one in Korea.  An interesting thing I learned about sequins, however, is that when you have something where you can see a slight variation in color of the sequins that produces a visual line somewhere, it is a result of where the seamstress stopped working for the day.  The sequined pieces can't be done in a day because of the tedious labor it requires.  Can't have the seamstresses be blind!

Hopefully, it picks up soon so I have more to do!  And the camera is finally working so I will try to get some more pictures up here.  Have a great weekend!

best week ever

This week at work was very exciting- we had a sample sale!  A sample sale is a sale for employees only of all the garments that were either dropped from production in previous seasons or items that we received from factories to fit on our models.  Therefore, there can be any array of issues with the garments ranging from small, unnoticeable details or big fit problems.  On Wednesday the interns had to help set up the sale and I can tell you I was totally shocked at how much stuff there was. There was stuff from 2006- and I have no idea why that stuff wasn't sold in a previous sale because they happen at least once a year.  Anyway, the sale had everything from shorts, skirts, pants, dresses and tops to fur jackets, leather bombers, sweaters and scarves. It took up the entire showroom. The best part was that about half way through the day all the interns had 20 minutes to stuff a giant shopping bag worth of stuff- anything we wanted- FOR FREE!  We were all very calm on the outside, but I'm sure freaking out on the inside. I had a complete field day and walked away with several thousand dollars worth of stuff: tops, sweaters, two trench coats, a poncho rain coat, a wool coat, pants, skirts... so much!  Then one of my supervisors gave me a black leather jacket afterwards!  Wednesday was a great day for sure!  Oh and I finally met Michael (informally) in the elevator!  

As far as continuing to learn, this week I learned a bit about how to use their computer systems.  We use a program called Enovia, which is a web PLM.  This program allows us to enter in all the measurements, sketches, costs and orders, materials, any information for every piece ever created.  Enovia allows a user to search for a particular style in many different ways. One could search a specific style number or just a portion of it. You can search a category, for example 'knits.'. It's a somewhat confusing program to figure out at first.  I only know how to do about one task so far, but it is the home of literally any information we need. What's cool about it is that it isn't only a program for the tech department. I dont know which specific departments have access to all the info, but other departments can update different sections of information so everyone is always on the same page. 

Through my use of the program and now that I've been working for about a month, I have definitely noticed that I understand a lot more of the tech lingo. For example when I am measuring things it goes a lot faster now and I am more familiar with what certain measurements should be close to. I don't have to constantly refer to my notes about what certain things mean. Overall, I am enjoying my experience. Especially if the free stuff keeps coming!  I guess if I'm not getting paid, I really don't mind being paid in merchandise! 

weeks 3 and 4

So I forgot to blog last week, but I'll catch everyone up now!  Last week was more of the same things I've been doing- cutting patterns, measuring, filing, helping to get the office organized for the start of the Spring 2013 lines.  Something fun happened though on Tuesday...I got to be a fit model for a pair of pants...for all of about 3 minutes.  Except I definitely looked like an idiot because I put the pants on backwards at first.  They probably thought, "And this girl is a fashion major??" but I'm going to go ahead and blame it on my morning grogginess and the fact that there was no waistband.  That works right?  Embarrassing way to start my morning for sure.
This week was again more of the same.  I walked past a meeting though with Michael Kors himself so I saw his reflection in the mirror several times!  Maybe I'll meet him eventually?  This week was also the showroom debut of the Resort 2012 Collection accessories line.  Yesterday I got to go see all the new bags coming out and there are definitely some cool ones!  Nice colors...sorry I can't share!  Since it was the Collection line they were the super expensive bags too. 
Since my weeks are getting repetitive as far as what I do, I thought I would share with you a little about how different things in the company work in the upcoming posts.  One of the very first things that was handed to me when I got to the tech department 4 weeks ago was a sheet explaining the break down of Michael Kors style numbers.  The style numbers are composed of a total of 10 numbers and letters.  The 10 numbers are broken down into 5 categories.  For example a style number looks like the following:

MU88021A09

The first letter denotes which division the style is in.  The divisions we work in specifically include Missy, Petite, Plus (W), and Outlet (J).

The next letter is for the season of the style: F for fall, H for holiday, U for summer and S for spring.

The first number in the set is the last number of the year of that season.  So this style was for 2008.

The next 4 numbers are a body code.  The first number in the 4 number body code tells you what type of garment it is. 

       1- jackets  2-outerwear  3-pants  4-tops  6-sweaters  7-skirts  8-dresses  9-denim

     (I don't know why there is no 5...)  The 3 numbers correspond with specific patterns for that style.

The last 3 digits and/or letters are the fabric codes.  Each fabric has it's own code, but I don't know how the codes are made up.

So the style number above is a dress for the Missy Summer 2008 line made from A09 fabric (whatever that is- everyone who works here knows what the codes mean, but I don't work with that area much).

At first it was really confusing to learn the style numbers, but now that I have to file measurement charts and patterns all the time, it's getting easier.  The difficult part is everyone I work for files a little bit differently as far as whether letters or numbers come first when putting them in order.  I have to write things like that down to keep track of it all!  But so far, I have been learning a lot.  A lot of little things and tricks that you don't get taught in school unless you come across a specific problem.  Hopefully, I can remember them all to take back to school with me.  

I apologize for the lack of photos.  My camera/computer connection isn't working but it should be fixed this week!

week 2: hands on experience

This week was a short week- no work on Monday for Memorial Day.  But I learned a lot this week!  On Tuesday I was with Ark and Adrienne and I learned a little about how to fix the fit of pants.  Jillian, our fit model, came in to fit some pants- some that I wouldn't particularly like to ever have, but that's my opinion.  A few pairs had too much room in the bum area, so ark showed me how to fix that.  Generally, he cuts the seam at center back and spreads it a bit.  While spreading the seam he straightens the angle at which the seam is sewn together, which makes the bagginess go away.

Another set of pants had a very specific problem.  They were studded cargo pants but the material used for the pants is very thin; therefore, there is not a lot of fabric for the studs to grab onto.  This means the back of the studs are very sharp against the skin...so we had to figure out how to cover the backs in order to avoid any consumer lawsuits.

The nice thing about going to fittings is that I am slowly beginning to be able to recognize what problems look like rather than looking at a garment and thinking, "Oh, that looks nice!"  I am also learning little by little how one would go about fixing certain fit issues.

Wednesday I worked with Becky and I actually got to sew something.  This past week was 'Proto Week,' which means all the garments for the Spring 2013 line are shown to Michael for review.  This is the first time he sees things in 3D garment form rather than just sketches.  The design team decided they wanted scarves for spring, but this was a last minute decision.  So I got to make scarves this week.  They sent us down pieces of large, swatched fabric and wanted us to hem them into square scarves.  One piece of the fabric they sent was cut diagonally so I had to piece it together with another section in order to complete the pattern.  It was a good project because I had something to do for a few hours where I didn't have to ask questions every ten minutes.  Plus Michael will be looking at something I had a direct hand in making, which is a pretty cool idea!

Overall, a successful week!  And for some reason my camera is having issues, so the pictures are still coming...