Fabric Sample Hunting

Lulu briefed me in order to get her some fabric samples for her Lulu Black Collection. She asked for medium weight Jersey, silk (matt), cotton, lace or croche fabric in either white, grey or black. She wanted the fabrics to be thick enough that they could hold a structure but thin enough that they can be worn in warm weather. She didn't mind if the fabrics had an interesting pattern, texture or embroidery. For the lace and croche fabric, lulu wanted an interesting modern pattern and she showed some examples. She gave me the whole day to go to all the shops on Berwick street and especially the Misan Showroom and Pongees in Shoreditch.

 I started my mission. I went from one end of Berwick street to the other, going into every store. A lot of the stores wanted me to be more specific about what I wanted but were helpful and helped me to make an informed decision about which samples to get. The number of samples I could get ranged from one to three so I tried to pick sensibly according to the choices available to me and how many samples I could get. Sticking to fabrics I know she would like if I was only allowed one or two samples. Broadwick silks, however, was the only store which allowed me to have as many samples as I liked. I told the store assistant what Lulu was looking for, and although he would rather I was more specific e.g. what kind of silk exactly? what quality? what was it was being used for? what kind of pattern? etc, he was very helpful and picked himself all the possibilities the store had to offer. Unfortunately, I couldn't go to the Misan Showroom or Pongees because I didn't realize it was appointment only.






















The next day I came back to the studio and showed Lulu and the studio manager, Joyce, my findings. By this point, Lulu had changed her mind about what fabrics she wanted so none of my findings were helpful. Instead, they wanted light weight silk (matt), jersey and cotton in black, grey and white, plain, with no texture or pattern. She also wanted me to keep an eye out for any lace or croche which I thought looked interesting.They told me not to come in the next day and continue my fabric sample hunting then.

 In the meantime, Nora, another design intern working at Lulu Liu, briefed me on what my task was that day. She told me to go on to the net-a-porter site and sketch all the garments that Lulu would find interesting for her Lulu Black collection. She showed me some examples. The brief was clean edged ruffles. designs that can be worn in warm weather and appeals to the Chinese market e.g. designs that are more 'cute' rather than 'sexy'. I spent the day sketching garments off of net-a-porter which I enjoyed. Towards the end of the day I was told to develop and change the most interesting designs to appeal more to the Chinese market and Lulu's brief of clean edged ruffles.

 I made sure I called Pongees and the Misan showroom ahead of time to book an appointment. This time I was more prepared; I had a better idea of Lulu's designs and she gave me clearer instructions on what kind of fabrics she wanted. I did the whole of Berwick street again as well as the Misan showroom and Ponguees. This time the trip went a lot more quickly and I was less stressed. Lulu was happy with my findings.

 I learnt from these tasks to be clearer on my instructions before I do the task in hand as it will save me time and stress.