Apparel Advisory Board Member Spotlight: Laura Beasley
Six questions answered by our featured Apparel Advisory Board Member of the Month, Laura Beasley. Read her story to see her answers below.
#1 Briefly summarize your career path and your current position.
I graduated from Auburn with a BS in Fashion Merchandising and minors in Textile Chemistry and German. My first job was as a freelance accessories design assistant at DKNY in New York City. I sketched mechanicals for hardware, sourced materials, and worked directly with hardware model-makers. After a month, they offered me a full-time job as a Product Development Assistant for all DKNY accessories: handbags, belts, small leather goods (SLG), gloves, hats and scarves. I worked closely with Design and tried to keep them on schedule; I processed their specs with the factories, put in lab dips and tracked all developments, including samples. I learned how to engineer a handbag, how to cut screens for printed scarves, how to fit gloves and hats and when to push a designer and when to give them space. After DKNY I had a series of other design/PD roles in accessories at J.Crew, Cynthia Rowley, Rafe, Tumi and Coach. I am energized by working with product!
#2 What are the primary responsibilities of your current position?
Currently I have my own product development consulting company. I work with fashion brands who are experiencing problems in design and product development. They bring me in to diagnose their problems. Their issues may be with delivery, margin, quality or process. I do a diagnostic of their product creation process through a series of interviews and observations of their meetings. After this introductory period, I offer some actionable solutions. I find that what they thought was their problem is often a symptom of a much bigger problem.
#3 What are the major challenges of your current position?
My biggest challenge as a consultant is building trust. I breeze into a company as an outsider without a track record with the employees. They know that I am temporary so some do not take me seriously. I have to present myself as neutral and open. I spend a lot of time listening to their concerns and what they see as the core problem in the development process. I ask probing questions about subjects that are not usually discussed in the open and I hold their comments in confidence. Not everyone will speak frankly about what they see as the issue so I have to use my "soft skills" to draw them out. It requires intuition but it also takes practice.
#4 What competencies are necessary for success in your current position?
1. Most importantly, I need to understand how fashion companies are structured, how their products get made and the related development calendar. Without this foundational understanding, I will waste everyone's time with a million questions. Because I have worked in the industry for decades, I understand the steps that go into getting a product made. The primary calendar development steps are the same whether it is a shoe or a sweater so I am able work with an apparel company or an accessories company.
2. I have to be the most organized and accurate person in the room. I must capture the exact solutions and problems that the team members share with me. If I am not accurate then I may misconstrue the real problem they are trying to solve. Once I capture the issues, I categorize and rank them in order of importance.
3. My skills of persuasion and situational leadership are critical. Though I am hired by upper management to get to the root of a problem, they don't always want to hear the truth--really! I must find a way to raise these issues in a way that does not place blame on them or their superiors, even if they actually are to blame. Oh yes, politics are everywhere!
#5 What advice would you offer a student interested in a career in this industry?
If you are curious about how things work and you like to solve problems, then product development could be for you. If you are both organized and a natural planner, then product development could be for you. If you are creative (but not the most creative person) and you like to work closely with creative people without getting all the credit then product development could be for you (this is a nice way of saying that some designers have big egos, as as the face of a brand, they often get all the accolades).
When you are interviewing, have a point of view of what you want to do and be aware of your strengths. As a hiring manager, I don't want to hear "I'll do anything in any department" because it's risky for me to hire someone who might not like the job. I want to hire a candidate with real interest in the position. If you don't know what you want to do, ask your instructors or people in the industry about the many opportunities that are out there or read the job descriptions on LinkedIn. Then see where you match up. If you like order, look into working in quality control or logistics. If you are good at Excel and spreadsheets, consider becoming a planner or go into procurement. If you like to solve problems, look into product development or production. If you understand garment construction, look into technical design or product engineering. If you like physical work combined with creative work, think about visual merchandising. Likewise, if you are into yoga, apply to Outdoor Voices or Athleta. If you like classic American style, consider Ralph Lauren. If you love running, look into Nike or Adidas.
““When you are interviewing, have a point of view of what you want to do and be aware of your strengths.””
#6 What current trends or issues have the greatest impact on this job/business?
SUSTAINABILITY! This is currently a big buzz word in the fashion and retail industry; the definition of sustainability is shifting and very fluid. Every company in every industry is assessing their values and considering how they can be more sustainable. One might say that the availability of leather skins is a sustainable resource because the available hides are directly tied to the consumption of meat but someone else might say that that cattle industry produces more methane than any other industry so leather is not at all sustainable. This is why an individual brand has to decide what sustainability means to them. Some are presenting their path to the consumer, like Patagonia. Other brands are quietly taking steps to protect the factory workers and make a cleaner, more environmentally-friendly product. Regardless of the approach, today's consumer has a greater awareness of the human impact on the Earth and they want their purchases to validate those values.
Photo contributed by Laura Beasley
