Photo Shoot Time!

So I have been told i’m going on the next photo shoot! I’m excited to do something different and get involved with helping prepare the glamourous shots they create that are seen in the magazine weekly! There is a number of shoots that go on per week usually, catwalk & plus sized, celebrity and model on location, some are here and there due to cancellations (by celebrities), if they are working behind schedule or working before for an upcoming issue. 2 of the stylists have gone to brazil for some photo shoots for the magazine that come out whilst they are out there and some for the weeks ahead they are shooting whilst they are there. We had to write down the credits for them (description of the clothes, where they are from and how much they are) so when they send us the photos we can quickly match and type the credits ready to put in the magazine.
So i had to do that also for the clothes and accessories that are being taken to my photo shoot. There are always spares incase they don’t look right on the model or something disastrous happens! This shoot has given me the opportunity to work closer with the stylist and work out how they are arranging it and themes and ideas..etc I have realised that this placement must be what I make of it, we are not asked to do much that involves something new or learning new as we are tidying or returning clothes most of the day, everyday so I will grab every opportunity like the photo shoot to learn as much as I can, obviously work hard and then ask questions I still need to know

End of week number 1

It’s the end of week number 1 at the magazine and we have been doing returns most of the week. Some of the other girls on placement have been on photo shoots but we are taking it in turns so I should get to go on one next week! It’s become clear that rarely will anyone talk to us about whats going on or introduce themselves, even if they ask you to do something for them. Sometimes it can feel frustrating or upsetting the way you may be treated, and continuous tidying and returning literally hundreds of clothes, but I understand the importance of work experience and I want to help out however I can. I know they are busy and I understand this is the way to achieve a job in the industry, to work hard and show you are willing to. I do believe it will pay off. Making the tea is the best way I have learnt to learn peoples names and have a quick few words even if it is ‘yes' or ‘no' answers. Making my face familiar and hopefully them remembering my willingness is important so if they need something they know they can rely on me and that I will work hard. It could even help them remember if I ever applied for a job there! You never know. Making tea may be a small simple thing but it can make a huge difference!

Work Placement Number 2!

I started my second placement this week working at a weekly fashion magazine. One of the fashion stylists gave us our introduction, health and safety sheets etc and then showed us where the fashion cupboards were as well as the photocopier/s. She went through the process of sending returns (clothes and accessories sent to the magazine for possible shoots) with us, which i was already familiar with due to my work experience at Reveal the previous year and we got started. There was 5 other work placement girls working alongside me, which I was relieved about as the cupboard was absolutely full of clothes. We couldn’t all fit in there and it was a hazard as we tripped multiple times over clothes or clothing ‘avalanches’ as we called them. We had to clear space out of the cupboard to be able to fit in and start sending stuff back. We did this constantly for the first few days and it became evidently clear that this was our biggest role. We weren’t further introduced to any other of the magazines employees and felt like we didn’t really know what was going on outside of our cupboard! Whereas before during my previous work placements I have worked closely, literally, with employees, we were in our own space away from their open office and there seemed to be not much opportunity to ask questions far away from them whilst they were busy. I was hoping it would get better, and we’d be given more to do and opportunity to talk and ask more about their job role and the magazine.

Questions

I had a few questions I asked the buyers before I left such as wanting to know the relationship between them and the designers. The buyers seemed to have a huge say on what colours, material and fit of the garment. In fittings if they decided they didn’t like it they could go from having it as a tunic to making it a crop top so I thought surely a designer would be annoyed with that if the did design it?! They told me however they have a lot of creativity. The designer draws a rough sketch and then it goes to them.. or sometimes they can contact suppliers and say based on another top they created or similar they want it in a different colour or print etc.. so the designer seems they are not always needed. This really interested me as I had wandered that before even starting placement. However they said that not all companies are like this, they have a lot of creativity but different brands buyers may not, every where would be different.
I got the opportunity to go on a store trip with the merchandisers and they met with the store manager on the store floor. They talked about what had sold well and what hadn’t and the merchandisers had to make sure everything was being marketed and displayed to the best of their ability. All motif tops needed to face outwards, as on a side rail the main detail wouldn’t be seen.
They talked about some of the casual wear and how for a couple of weeks they hadn’t sold well but when they changed the display and put the in a clever colour co-ordinated pattern the sales soared. They also were trying different ways of selling clothes that hadn’t sold well, by displaying it differently and it had increased sales and profits majorly. This was really interesting as I had never grasped how important these merchandising and displays just on the shop floor are. It’s all a creative art and its very well thought about and clever!

Week Two on Buying Placement

So far this week has been again really busy as one of the buyers have been off and with an already busy schedule everyones become even busier. Not just that, but this week has been scheduled to have a review, which is usually every 6 weeks but they have bought it forward and was only 4 weeks since their last one. I had a lot of steaming and hanging clothes to do to help the meeting run smoothly and also had to compile another comp shop.
The meeting lasted around 3 hours, which shows how big it was and how much there was to say. It was a really important review with the senior buyers and merchandisers and buying director. The head merchandiser started by going through the sales, comparing them to last year, expectations for next year and targets. I got very lost during that start and I was warned before that that part would probably ‘go straight over my head’. If you’re not aware of  the terms used or abbreviations on the merchandising sheet report its quite hard to understand and there was a lot of abbreviations and numbers!
The buyers then went through the clothing a few already in, but mostly that of what was still to come into stores. They presented it to the head buyers & director where they gave their views, mostly agreeing with the outfits but if not it would be about making one or two garments a bit cheaper or changing the colour a little, the date they were coming in or to order even  more in or if they wanted it made in a different style of top.
It was really interesting to hear them talking. It was a little surreal as all the merchandisers and BA’s and BAA’s sat watching on as the head buyers and merchandisers sat around a table watching the buyers show clothes and talk about sales. I enjoyed learning how they review their clothes and how well you need to be able to present and communicate so people understand fully what your expectations and requirements are as things would get confused and not be on the same wave length without that.

1st weeks reflection & thoughts!

Reflecting back on my first week it has been very busy and i’ve had a great insight into how buyers work as before I hadn’t really understood how they worked practically on a day to day basis which is a main reason I really wanted work experience in this area.
I was surprised how small the area they work in is. Its small given how many people work there and how the desks are arranged so they can fit nearly as many in as possible. As this is a very successful and popular company who earn millions every week I guess in my head I thought it’d be posh, spacious and next to luxurious. I was very wrong.
The clothing samples are hung all around as they have new samples in everyday, samples to arrange for fittings and meetings so where there aren’t desks there are samples most of the time.
The girls that Im working with work so hard, they come in sometimes extra early and leave late  to insure all the jobs are done.
I got the chance to go into a meeting where they showed huge mood boards of their next inspirations to the next collections due early spring. The buyers shared their thoughts and if they were happy with moving on with that. I asked if the designers created the boards but they said no apparently they all collect pictures, designers and buyers who have to work closely (although i havn’t seen much sign of this yet) of inspirational pictures to start off with and create the mood board, the job taken on by two of the buyers.
I feel I still have a lot to learn. I aim to ask questions about the relationship between the designers. buyers and the clothes, as it seems the buyers have final say in fittings, sometimes altering the clothes a lot which id imagine wouldn’t leave designers happy, but with some items and definitely basic clothes it seems the buyers chose what they want, materials and shape directly with the supplier. Whereas before I thought this would be the designers job to choose shapes etc..  I aim to ask about that this coming week along with how they buyers got into their jobs, what they’re doing when they’re spending their time organising things on the computers, who arranges what items of clothing go into each store.. as well as other questions as I feel although I have learnt this week quite a lot, I have been spending a lot of time steaming clothes and hanging clothes and I still have a lot of questions and still don’t fully understanding all the jobs they have to do each week.

Placement Number 1

Yesterday I started a two-week placement at a well-known high street brand in their buying department. I’m working in the jersey section, which includes casual and smart jersey based clothing.

My main jobs so far have been compiling a spreadsheet on competitive stores prices on specific items, sorting out samples and the sample cupboard and steaming clothes. Yesterday I had the chance to sit in a review which was really interesting where some assistant buyers and BAA’s from each buying group sat in a large meeting room and showed there best selling, number of sales for items in the week, how many ordered/reordered.. etc. I found that really interesting and was a great insight to how they work. They also where arranging fitting sessions for samples with Buyers and the Garment Tech and a model wore each item and they discussed (very quickly) what needs to be changed and emails of the instructions were emailed to the supplier for the next sample to be made up. They had to be quick as it’s important for all the groups to fit in their fitting sessions and they’re all very busy throughout the day.

I’ve found these first two days really interesting to see how the buyers work, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the two weeks as I learn more and ask questions. The other departments are on the same floor so as time goes on I will also get an insight to how they work.