As I mentioned before, fashion leaves on a very strict calendar and you have to keep up with its deadlines if you want to sell to retailers. In this session, I will show you how to plan the work on your collection in order to be on time, so you can show your collection to buyers when they plan their budgets and ready to make new orders. But before it is really critical to understand the definition of seasons in the fashion industry, as it might be very confusing for beginners. the fashion industry traditionally works in two distinct seasons Spring Summer refers to the six month period from January through June. And fall winter refers to the months from July through December. However in order for and consumers to come in March and buy the pieces from the new spring season, retail buyers usually place their orders with brands six months in advance.

So in August, October buyers To review and order Spring Summer collections and in January through March, they review and make orders for fall winter collections. Holiday and resort are collections that come after for winter clothes have gone on sale. But before spring summer clothes have been delivered to stores. So for you as a designer, it is critical to understand when you have to be prepared with each collection. Meaning for spring summer, for example, women's wear, you have to be ready in the middle of August through October. With fall winter women's where you have to be ready in the middle of January.

Early the earlier the better until through March. I will explain you. I will explain to you the planning process using the fall winter collection as an example. The same approach you can apply when you work on your spring Salmon or resort collections. To create a schedule, it is better to start with the dates when buyers open their budgets and plan the whole process backwards through all the steps. So we know that buyers start visiting fashion shows and trade shows in January, and this lasts until early March.

This means that during this period, they have budgets to make orders and they are more likely to consider new brands. This is the best time to approach buyers and introduce your brand in you can do it through arranging a personal meeting by visiting trade shows, or inviting them to your own show. Later we'll talk more about how you can approach buyers. The most important thing for you to remember now is that by January you have to be ready with your collection. You should be ready with the production samples. You should know where and how you will produce your collection in case you get the order You should have all the materials ready to start pitching buyers.

January through March is the period of your active pitching and reaching out to buyers. Because at this time they're making their merchandise plan for a new season. This means that if you want to show your collection to buyers in January by December 1, you should get your final production samples and span December developing your sales materials lookbook line sheets and brand presentation. This also means that you should arrange a photoshoot and find the graphic designer to lay out the lookbook for you. You need to plan time for printing the lookbook as well. Then, November is the time for you to work on your second production samples.

You should remember that samples are the most critical tool for sales and it requires a lot of time time and energy to make them perfect. So this is the time for you to provide final comments to your production manager, then it means that by October 1, it's best to see the first production samples. I know that some designers cry when they get them want to kill their production manager. This is normal, you will rarely find an ideal production house that will deliver an ideal sample right away. It really takes time. So then it means that in September, September was the time for you to create patterns and research a production company.

Pattern making is again is also very important and requires time as well as ensuring a proper fit. Remember, fit is really really important in fashion. Then, August is the time when you source fabrics and materials used trade shows and finalize your sketches. So finally July and sometimes june july is the time when you review the trends, work on the sketches and plan the entire concept of your collection. Overall, it means that you should start planning your collection no later than six months prior to the pitching. This is how the process ends up after collecting orders in March in April you order production materials fabric streams, then in May, in May you start the production.

Sometimes it may take two, three months. Then from the end of July, you begin deliveries and collect payments. Of course don't forget that the seasons overlap. This means that in March, you should start working on your Spring Summer Collection to show it in September October. Why am I stressing the importance of a fashion calendar? I have met many designers who asked me to sell their collection, but it was too late for this season and most of the buyers have closed their budgets.

Remember, successful pitching is not only about having a great collection or knowing the right person. It is also about having the right product at the right time.