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Posts from the ‘Behind The Scenes’ Category

Jan 5

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You’re Giving Us A Bad Name…

One of my favourite things to do is window shop – particularly at sale time. Not in the traditional sense of the idea, but with a fashion industry hat on.

I love looking at what didn’t sell and thinking about why. Estimating cost price for garments and determining whether the retail price is even vaguely reasonable.

In my latest round of window shopping at Myer and David Jones (department stores are best for this kind of outing) I was absolutely shocked and – let’s face it – appalled at the calibre of garments being passed off as “high end designer”. It’s not my business, interest or intent to bad mouth other labels, so I’m not going to name and shame anyone here. What I will say is that when I’m evaluating a garment this is what I look for:

  1. Longevity of style – is it very very seasonal? Is there anything about it that can be reused in the future, or has been reused from previous collections in terms of cut?
  2. Origin of manufacture - I don’t have any major issues with offshore production if it’s certified fair trade (beyond the whole ‘supporting your local economy’ argument), but it’s a very clear fact that the cost of production in significantly reduced when it’s done in developing countries (Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, China, India, Pakistan, even Romania etc.). There’s no arguing this. Additionally, production in these countries means substantially higher ‘minimum’ orders are required, so the cost per garment is lower again. Before I started Bento I once got costings to manufacture t-shirts in Mexico. They were $3 apiece, INCLUDING fabric!
  3. Materials used - many people believe if something is (for example) 100% silk, then it can reasonably be compared to all other fabric that is 100% silk. The fact is silk, like cotton, wool, cashmere, linen, and every other fibre comes in varying degrees of quality. In the case of silk, it can be treated in many different ways and these different treatments change the price point. Many fabrics not only come in different qualities, they also come in different weights. So that ’tissue tee’ you got sold on for being ‘soft, lightweight, breathable, etc.’ is actually just cheaper than its heavier counterpart.

Given all this, I was pretty horrified by a diffusion label tee I found in a department store that was $80 reduced from $249 which was made in China from a Cotton/Polyester blend fabric. It did have a rather gorgeous print on it though.

During my excursion, these were the labels that really stood out for me as being worth the cash:

Jayson Brundson
Ellery
Dries Van Noten
Ginger & Smart
Chloe (main line)

Importantly though this outing drove home for me the fact that we probably don’t charge even nearly enough for Bento items, and that if all those other labels can achieve such success charging completely outrageous prices then I’m sure we can do very well too.

How do you decide whether something is ‘worth it’?

Oct 20

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Should We Make This Dress?

Wholesale orders for Autumn/Winter 2012 have so far, been slow. Less than ideal, yes… but more a comment on the current economic environment than the calibre of the collection.

Anyway, with wholesale orders being slow this means we have to make some tough decisions on a few styles that we haven’t received orders for. Do we pay to have them made anyway and sell them online or in a pop up shop? Or do we just scratch that style completely?

One of the styles up for consideration is the Eliza wrap dress, shown below. It’s 100% Australian merino wool jersey and will retail between $299.95 and $349.95 depending upon the volume made. I’m actually not a big wearer of maxi dresses, but I like to try every single Bento item personally before they go into production. Put simply, you feel things in wearing that you can’t see on a model.

You can’t really tell from this picture, but the front of the dress is cut in a tulip shape so it comes up at the front, meaning you can see boots or tights you’re wearing underneath. It’s also less likely to get wet when it’s raining! Finally, it can be worn as a long cardigan too.

The weekend just gone, I wore the dress out shopping… and was literally inundated by people asking where it was from. At one point I even had a small crowd standing around me wanting to know about it and touch it.

So now I’m thinking – should I pay to have this dress made for sale? Would you buy it given the price listed above? Keep in mind that I don’t have endless wads of cash. If we make this dress, we won’t be able to make something else. There’s no value making it if it won’t sell.

 

Thanks for your help!

Sam

Oct 12

The Bento A to Z of Melbourne (part two)

Here we unveil our favourite Melbournian bits that start with the letters L to Z. Missed A to K? Don’t fret, it’s here… A to K.

L
Le Chien
The best coffee within walking distance of our studio.
5 Gamon Street, Seddon

M
Maha
The most amazing middle eastern food you’ll ever have.
www.mahabg.com.au

N
Nacional
For the polenta cake. Oh goodness.
www.nacional.com.au

O
one hundredth gallery
Supporting emerging artists, designers, film makers and other creative types.
www.100thgallery.com

P
Pollon
Melbourne’s most beautiful florist.
www.pollonflowers.com.au

Q
Quan 88
In a street full of eating options they still stand out. Hooray for cheap and tasty asian cuisine!
88 Victoria Street, Richmond

R
Rice ‘n’ Rolls
Noodles on the run. Extra love for gluten-free options.
181 William Street, Melbourne

S
Santiago
Paella, tapas and spanish lessons. Yum. Or rather, ñam.
www.santiagotaps.com.au

T
The Tan
A running track to see and be seen. In your FACE, Central Park.
Botanical Gardens, Melbourne

U
Yu-u
In a word, Japanese. Don’t think, go.
137 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

V
Virgin Active
Indoor rock climbing, martial arts classes and GHDs in the change rooms. THIS is a gym.
www.virginactive.com.au

W
The Westin
Where else can you buy authentic Balenciaga and McQueen in the driveway?
www.starwoodhotels.com

X
Lab X
Film processing when you want the best… or it can’t be done elsewhere (or both).
40 Packington Street, St Kilda

Y
Yes Sushi
Brown rice sushi. Nuff said.
620 Collins Street, Melbourne

Z
Zoo
Because sometimes you just need to look at things you can’t touch. Or eat.
www.zoo.org.au

Oct 5

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Tag!

From season two onwards, Bento pieces have new (and more luxurious) care and brand tags in them. This video will give you all the juicy details… Sorry my voice / video is a little out of sync in some parts. Not really sure why it’s doing that!
(All advice on the matter gratefully received).

 

 

Oct 1

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Behind The Scenes – Episode One

Thought we’d get into some video blogging so you can see a bit more about what goes on at the Bento studio.

This first episode is just a bit of fun. Sorry if I sound weird; I had to film it a few times!

Sam

Aug 27

Tumblr

We’ve jumped on the Tumblr bandwagon… it’s quite addictive! We’re using it as a mosaic for all the bits and pieces we see along the way – take a look! www.thisisbento.tumblr.com

Aug 1

Jack + Bill

On Saturday I headed to 1000 Pound Bend in Melbourne for the Jack + Bill casting call. Jack + Bill is a pop-up PR agency run by industry heavyweights Porter Novelli. (For those who aren’t in the know, Porter Novelli is a serious end of town agency… their clients are businesses like Visa and Opera Australia). The casting call was a panel interview process to win 3 months representation from Jack + Bill.

Anyway – it was a great experience. I was nervous as heck, but that’s cool. It’d be more worrying if I wasn’t. They asked super smart questions and ran the day as a slick operation. My corporate shadow was extremely happy – the volume of fashion events that are run like a mobile kids petting zoo is pretty concerning.

Below are a couple of shots of me being interviewed by lovely Porter Novelli consultant Carol Laws.

I’ll get the results and find out if I was one of the successful applicants in the next two weeks. Keep your fingers crossed!

Jul 20

More Than Lace And Champagne

Almost anyone can print a tshirt or make a pair of earrings to sell and call themselves a designer.

Here’s the bummer. There is SO much more to running a label than making pretty things. In fact, making pretty things is only a tiny part of the equation. There’s a whole bunch of managing finances and negotiations and details that truly puts a spanner in the works.

In my personal, small and humble opinion I think it’s likely that the reason so many labels come and go is that they’re started and run in the pursuit of just that – things. Realistically though, running a fashion based business is no different to starting an financial planning firm or a construction company.

In both finance and construction there are laws that govern how these businesses and the people that work for them must operate. I’m sure this doesn’t come as a surprise to you. What may surprise you is that it’s just the same for the fashion industry. There are laws, rules and regulations with which we must abide too. Across the board these are generally created for the purpose of ensuring people do the right thing.

As heartbreaking as it is (for me, anyway), people aren’t on the whole inclined to do the right thing all on their own… particularly when there’s a benefit in them doing the wrong thing, and even more so if there’s a good chance they’ll never see those who were harmed by their actions.

Personally, I think everyone has the right to pursue their dreams, and if your dream is to run your own business then you should work out a way to do it and chase it with everything you’ve got.

That said, for goodness sake… take the time and use a little bit of logic to work out what’s required of you and your business. Tax is a pretty obvious one that cuts across all industries, but every area has its own details.

A good example in fashion is the laws around labelling.

I’m paraphrasing here, but in a nutshell the requirements for labelling a garment are that you detail what the fabric is made of, where the garment was made and how to care for it. The care label must be readable for the life of the garment using the care instructions given.

This makes pretty good logical sense, right? People need to be able to know what your item is made from and whatnot in order to begin to be able to compare it to others on the market. But that aside, some folks are unlucky enough to be allergic to some fibres. Or they don’t want to wear them because of their personal beliefs. Whatever the purpose, it’s fairly reasonable that you should be able to know what you’re buying.

Other than that however, it’s a legal requirement.

Last week I was visiting a boutique that had just received some new stock from a local label. This is a picture of a care label on a new garment from that brand:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not terribly readable now, is it?

A quick check revealed that this was actually the only style that even HAD a care label. All the others didn’t even get one.

It’s cowboys like this that create problems for the rest of the industry. Along with those that think it’s okay not to pay fair wages. Or refuse to pay their bills.

So please, if you’re going to start a business – look beyond your dreamy reasoning and do your homework. There’s more to any dream than the stuff you see on the surface.

Jul 1

2 Comments

The Wedding

Even if you’ve never planned a wedding yourself, you’ve probably seen it happen. What is conceptually a fantastically happy and enjoyable day and process leading up to it becomes quite the ordeal the closer the event gets.

Here’s the thing though, planning the wedding in itself is actually a piece of cake. There are no shortage of options, resources and “helpful” friends and family and strangers to support you. The stressful part in many ways is the pressure from everyone for the result to be perfect. We’re told by society that everything about the wedding itself must be the culmination of a lifetime of dreaming about that one day.

Realistically though, it doesn’t actually matter. I’m prepared to bet that no one remembers what my bridesmaid wore (except perhaps my husband and the aforementioned bridesmaid herself), even though we got married less than 18 months ago. A lot went wrong at our wedding. The man in charge messed up our vows (we got someone else’s), our marriage certificate has typos and my husbands date of birth wrong, my hair came undone before I even got to the church and the speeches were fairly interesting (my dad told a story about a lamb… seriously). But you know what? We’re just as married now as we would have been if it had all gone according to plan. I adore my husband and that’s the part that matters most.

You know the other big thing? No one who cares about you enough to attend your wedding judges you on that day or the results of that day. No one looks at the photos afterwards and develops a single opinion about you as a result. And certainly, your income for the next 12 months is not dependent upon those photos.

And here’s where I get to my point. Our third collection (Autumn/Winter 2012) is being photographed next week. Next Sunday a team of people that I’ve put together will show up at a prearranged location and do their thing to make a series of garments that I’ve designed look as good as possible.

Both Bento and I will be judged on the outcome.

Whether media will give me the time of day and stockists will talk to me and if the collection will sell will be determined based on the photos taken on that one day.

Equally though, that one day is in many ways the physical realisation of the Bento dream. It is what I set out to do in action.

I’m both terrified and exhilarated. But mostly just scared out of my brain.

Wish me luck.

Jun 15

6 Comments

Full Transparency

We mentioned a while ago that we might be doing this, and here you have it… the completely transparent costs involved in producing a Bento garment.

The t-shirt shown above will be available from Spring/Summer 2011 – 2012 onwards. It is produced in Australia from 100% cotton which is also made in Australia.

As a small clothing label that prides itself on using manufacturers that have all the right paperwork and pay employees fairly in appropriate working conditions, our manufacturing costs are a lot more than, say, a larger company that produces offshore.

Anyway, here are the development costs:

Pattern & toiling – $500.00
Sample fabrics – $50.00
Sampling in 2 colours – $80.00

Total for two samples: $630.00

The sample itself then needs to be photographed and so forth, but we’ll overlook those costs for the moment.

When the t-shirt goes into production, we need to ‘grade’ the original sample pattern to other sizes. Our samples are  a size 2 (8-10), which then needs to be translated into our full size range (1 – 6). The cost of this part varies on the number of pattern pieces for each garment – that is, how fiddly it is. Grading can cost a fortune if you have a large size range (one of the many reasons lots of designers don’t do an extensive size run).

For this t-shirt, it’s about $400.00

The fabric itself isn’t actually terribly expensive (approximately $3.50 per meter). Out of interest, most labels use fabric under $10.00 a meter… ours is usually more like $18.00 – $25.00 a meter. This t-shirt fabric is by FAR the cheapest we use! Average fabric allocation for the t-shirt is 1m.

Manufacturing costs are $25.00 per t-shirt.

Happily, there is no haberdashery on this t-shirt (buttons, zips, etc.) so we “save” money there, but it still has care labels and a swing tag, which account for another $1.50 per t-shirt.

So, each t-shirt costs a grand total of $30.00 to produce. We sell them to stockists for around $40.00 and they sell them to you for around $80.00.

To be clear, we’re making less than $10.00 per t-shirt. Given it cost $1030.00 to just sample and grade the t-shirts, we’d have to sell more than 100 of them to even cover just those costs alone, without paying our team a salary or covering those lookbook costs.

Sure, we could charge more for each t-shirt, but for every $1 we add to our cost, the retail price goes up $2. And really, $80.00 for a t-shirt (even though it’s amazing quality, ethically produced and entirely made in Australia) is really more than enough, don’t you think?

So there you have it. Next time you’re thinking clothing labels must be raking it in, think again.

 

Edited to add: Manufacturing costs do go down as our volumes increase, but it’s a bit of a catch 22 – if we were producing 500 t-shirts we can have them made for as little as $13 each, but we need to be able to fund the production and have orders for that number first.

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