Stella McCartney ‘STELLA ECO’ Autumn/Winter 2015 2016
Table of Contents
• Executive Summary • Company Statement • Brand History • Role Of a Buyer • Stella & Sustainability • Ethical trading initiative • Heshima Kenya • My Plan • Trend Research • Customer Profile
• • • • • • • • • •
SWOT analysis Competitors perception Coloir Palette Comp shop Mood Boards Street Style Range Plan Price architecture Range Spreadsheet WSSI
Executive Summary As Head Buyer, myself and the Stella McCartney design team will be working on creating a women swear collection that is based on sustainable fashion and all eco friendly from design to production. As people associate sustainable fashion with ‘hippie style’ I will be making sure that the collection is modern, and will appeal to my audience of 20-35year olds. The collection will be named ‘Stella Eco’ and will stay true Stella McCartney’s brand whilst simultaneously being on trend for Autumn Winter 15. I also decided to make Lupita Nyong’o the face of the collection, as Stella’s famous ‘THE NOEMI TOTE’ is produced in Kenya with the International Trade Center’s Ethical Fashion Program, which is where Lupita is from. Lupita Nyong’o is not only a famous actress, she has partaken in promotional campaigns such as Miu Miu's spring campaign, appeared on the covers of several magazines, including Vogue, ELLE and is always a regular on Harper Bazzar’s best dressed list. I also want this collection to be charitable, so a scarf that I will incorporate into my range will have 25% of the price go to Heshima Kenya, which is a charity that supports and protects unaccompanied and separated refugee children and youth, especially girls, young women and their children living in Nairobi, Kenya. The aim of this collection is to create an awareness of sustainable fashion, which means no leather, no fur, and making garments out of organic and raw materials. I want to show that sustainable can be modern, on trend and minimalistic. The collection will be introduced to stores in the UK from October 2015, lasting for 6 weeks. Based on selling profits we will then spread worldwide to free standing stores in cities such as Paris, Tokyo and Milan.
Brand History
• Stella McCartney launched her own fashion house
under her name in a partnership with Kering as a 50/50 joint venture and showed her first collection in Paris in October 2001. A lifelong vegetarian, Stella McCartney does not use any leather or fur in her designs. Her collections include women’s ready-to-wear, accessories, lingerie, eyewear, fragrance and kids. • Stella McCartney now operates 40 freestanding stores in locations including Manhattan’s Soho, London’s Mayfair and Brompton Cross, LA’s West Hollywood, Paris’ Palais Royal, Milan, Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing. Her collections are now distributed in over 70 countries through 600 wholesale accounts including specialty shops, and department stores, as well as shipping to 100 countries online. • In Winter 2010 Stella McCartney introduced the Falabella handbag, distinguish by a braided chain detail the bag has since become one of the designer’s bestselling items. • Stella McCartney’s commitment to sustainability is evident through-out all her collections and is part of the brand’s ethos to being a responsible, honest, and modern company.
Role of a buyer
As I’m a fashion buyer for luxury retailer, Stella McCartney it’s important to know and understand the job role. I am responsible for overseeing the development of a range of products for Stella McCartney. I need to travel overseas mainly to clothing suppliers and negotiate deals. Lead times are shorter for us, as are ranges aren’t as big as high street retailers. Before I buy I need to consider a few things. One is customer Demand (e.g. price, quality and availability), market trends which is to with seasonal trends. Store Policy is also important as I need to understand the target customer and brand. Financial Budgets need to be taken into consideration as well, as each product will be budgeted. As it’s an ethical range, I will have to source organic cotton and get manufacturers to make the garments out of raw materials and recycled ones. Organic cotton is grown in subtropical countries such as Turkey, China, USA from non genetically modified plants, which is where I may have to go to negotiate with suppliers. I will also negotiate with suppliers in India to manufacture embellished garments out of recycled materials.
Stella and Sustainability
• All Stella McCartney stores, offices and studios in the are powered by wind energy that is provided Ecotricity, a company that invests the money customers spend on electricity into clean forms power like wind.
UK by its of
• We continue to use as much organic cotton as possible in our collections and we are always exploring new eco materials and processes. In 2012, 34% of our denim and 36% of our jersey for ready-to-wear was made from organic cotton and 50% of all knitwear for Stella McCartney Kids was organic. • We created a carrier bag that is 100% biodegradable and made from corn. They were developed exclusively for us six years ago. • BIODEGRADABLE SOLES; Used in our collections since Autumn 2010, our biodegradable soles are made from a bioplastic called APINAT. This means they will degrade when placed in mature compost. • Eco Alter Nappa; This innovative material has a coating made from over 50% vegetable oil, a renewable natural resource. Using a vegetable oil means less petroleum in our products.
Ethical Trading Initiative
• In 2012 Stella McCartney joined the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), an alliance of companies, voluntary organizations and trade unions, all working together to improve working conditions around the world. Stella’s range of beautiful Noemi totes made in Nairobi, Kenya are produced with the ITC. The Program goes beyond charity by providing work to support sustainable livelihoods in disadvantaged communities in Africa. This a project that Stella McCartney passionately supports, “To have the work in Kenya is important — not only to support women and give them a much-needed income, but also to encourage this line of industry for small communities.”
• http://www.stellamccartney.com/experience/en/stellasworld/sustainability/
Heshima Kenya
• Heshima Kenya is a charity that provides shelter, education, vocational training, for refugee girls and young women who have lost their families through war. Heshima Kenya’s helps to empower girls and young women to strive for economic self-sufficiency and become community leaders in their own right. • Refugee women and girls design and hand make the ‘Maisha Scarves. I’ve decided that were going to do a collaboration with them, they will individually hand make the scarves using rayon and cotton, and I will incorporate them into the A/W15 collection for Stella Eco. Each scarf will come with a tag depicting the woman that created the scarf.
My Plan
My Stella Eco range is inspired from AW/1516 trends seen at Trade shows in cities such as Paris or London. As a buyer, I got to see what colours, prints and patterns, cuts or garments and key statement pieces were on trend for the Autumn/Winter
It’s essential to carry out comp shops for Stella McCartney in cities to understand and keep up-to-date with the competition as well as allowing me to spot opportunities, which perhaps my competitors have failed to explore or that Stella McCartney may be missing which we can bring to the shop floor in this collection.
I will carry out directional shops as they are important for a buyer to find out key trends and consumer habits, which can be taken place in fashion capitals such as Paris, Milan and New York. Here, I can analyse what’s in stores, and seeing what’s popular with customers by use of cool hunting. Also, by using websites such as WGSN I can predict future trends and incorporate current trends into my collection. The countries who supply the fabric I’ll use is china or Turkey for silk and organic cotton. Lace can be sourced from Russia, and polyester and viscose from England. I will make sure my garments are manufactured from previous recycled materials for my eco collection.
Lupita Nyong’o Visual Board
Trend Research#1 Key Prints and Patterns
Trend Research#1 Key Prints and Patterns 1) BLACKOUT FLORALS
Florals receive a graphic overhaul as designers simplify silhouettes into solid black shadows, providing an update for smart looks and workwear.
2) DIAMOND WINDOWPANE Variegated stripes and a diagonal alignment bring newness to the everpopular windowpane story
3) GRAPHIC ZIG-ZAG
4) WOODLAND
Striking chevrons emerge as the overriding geometric print for A/W 15/16. Designers experiment with techniques, highlighting spliced arrangements and tilted placements as a new direction for the classic zigzag repeat.
Designers delve deep into the woods to inspire this season’s floral ditsy print. Dense repeats of leaves, branches and wild flowers evoke an enchanting, autumnal feel in an earthy palette of burnt orange, forest green and brown.
DITSY
Trend Research#2 A/W1516 FLAWLESS
Trend Research#3 Flawless Textiles On WGSN, I’ve conducted research into my chosen trend to depict ideas from- ‘A/w16 FLAWLESS’. I will include some of these textiles into my Stella Eco range.
Modernist tactility
Minimalist graphics Celebrated synthetics
Double-faced contrasts
Swot Analysis STRENGHTS
1)Famous parents- Daughter of former beatles member Sir Paul McCartney & photographer and animal rights activist Linda McCartney 2) Cruelty free fashion- Reputation ensuring her products are cruelty-free 3) Environmentally friendly- She uses materials that are sustainable ad recycled 4) Support of Animal rights-A spokesperson for PETA 5) Sustainability Summary- Outlines its commitment to organisations every year 6) Strong brand recognition
THREATS
1) Collaborations She has involved, including partnerships with Adidas, a collection for H&M, GAP which are fast fashion brands that sanctum cheap labour 2) Limited Choices 3) Questioned by the social- Claim to be animal friendly company while still using silk and wool in the collection
WEAKNESSES
1) Faux leather- Loss in potential sales in leather accessories 2) Not 100% environmentally friendlyStella McCartney admits she is not 100% 3) Group that she belongs- Although Stella McCartney campaigns for animal rights, the company that owns the brand endorses the use of fur in many of its other fashion brands 4) Connections- Stella McCartney company is connected to a ring of brands that conflict with her morals
OPPORTUNITIES
1) Campaigns- Work with famous celebrities which do not use fur 2) 2) Make their own fabric- They don’t make their own fabric, can only use what's available
Competitors Perception EXPENSIVE
UNFASHIONABL E
FASHIONABLE
CHEAP
Colour Palette This minimalist palette uses luxurious metallics of Blonde Gold and Platinum with matte finishes. Neutrals of Camel, White and Chamois are grounded by Bitter Chocolate and warmed by highlights of Olive and Stock Blue. I think this colour palette would suit Stella McCartney’s brand.
Comp Shop- Stella McCartney
As Stella McCartney is my chosen brand that I will do my range in, I decided to look at key items and compare them to other competitors.
CRANBERRY CIGGERATTE TROUSERS £ 370.00 4-14 75% Wool, 25% Rayon
TURTLENECK JUMPER £ 700.00 4-14 Black/Camel 70% Virgin Wool, 30% Silk
CHARCOAL ANOUK CAPE £ 1,935.00 4-14 65% Wool, 30% Polyamide, 5% Cashmere
ALL-IN-ONE £ 1,095.00 4-14 100% Silk
STONES CUFF £ 1,000.00 S/M 100% Brass
Comp shop-Max Mara Max Mara is an Italian fashion brand which offers a range of affordable items to expensive ones.
BLACK ABBIE BOOTS £ 530.00 75% Polyurethane, 16% Polyester, 9% Cotton Black/Brown 35-41 This item is created from non-leather, cruelty-free materials using highly skilled manufacturing techniques. FRINGED MINI TOTE £ 1,055.00 Grey/black/brown 100% Polyester
Comp shop-Bottega Veneta Italian fashion brand, expensive but good quality garments. However there isn’t a wide range of items available.
EARRINGS £ 620 Silver, Enamel
Suede Bag £ 6,690 Calf-skin leather, Goatskin, Crocodile leather COO- Italy SILK PANTS £620 8-12 92% Silk, 8% Elastane COO- Italy
CASHMERE TRENCH £ 3,390 8-12 100% Cashmere, COO- Italy
TURTLENECK JUMPER £ 610 100% Cashmere 8-12 COO- Italy BOOTS £ 760 2-6 Calf-skin leather
Mood Board#1 Colour & texture
Mood Board#2 Concept
Paris Fashion Week Streets A/W 15/16
Product development Original cad
Removed the lines in the jacket by erasing them on photoshop to create a boyfriend shape blazer instead of tailored, tapered in at the waist
Filled the trouser suit with the paint bucket on Photoshop. The colour has been defined from my colour pallet on Photoshop
Range Plan:
Price architecture STATEMENT
CORE
Range Spreadsheet
This is a sample spreadsheet for the costs of the garments, sizes, fabrics and COO. I chose small quantities as the collection is limited edition within the Stella McCartney store in London Mayfair and only available for 7 weeks.
Range Spreadsheet
WSSI SPREADSHEET This is my WSSI Spreadsheet for the Cape that’s in my range.
The green boxes highlight the weeks the sales were higher than the forcasted weekly sales, the red highlights when sales when under target, and yellow means the sales were in line with what we expected.
WSSI SPREADSHEET
WSSI EVALUATION
My range for Stella McCartney will open up in the flagship store in London. The range is starting from the 24/10/2015 and running for 7 weeks before deciding on whether to bring it to more stores across Europe depending on sales statistics. Out of the three garments in my range that I chose to do a weekly sales and stock intake sheet, all items( black boots, two piece suit and the cape) were a sell out. This shows that the range was very popular with customers, so it may be a case of having to manufacture more garments and accessories ready for the opening stock.