Fashion for the future
As annoying as it may be when you walk into the office or the mall to be greeted by someone wearing the exact midriff-bearing separate or Bermuda shorts as you, it simply means a fashion buyer did their job really well in convincing you that your shared wardrobe constitutes this season's fashion trends.
Designers come up with endless ideas for the fashion of the future, but it’s up to fashion buyers, among others, to get those garments into shops. Image courtesy Stock.xchnge
So these are the people we can blame for those ‘up-to-there’ split pencil thin skirts and tight-fitting jeans that have taken over? What methods does Stacey Mentor, specialist buyer for Jet’s Next Generation, use to decide what is fashionable for the brand she works for?
“As South African fashion buyers, we mostly take our trends from the US and European markets, because that’s where trends usually originate,” says Mentor.
“However, I have to consider what South Africans like and my choices have to make reference to that. For example, South Africans love colour as opposed to more neutral colours that are more popular internationally. I also have to make reference to South African kitsch, slang and graphics whenever I consider what will work for the local market.”
Image courtesy Stock.xchnge
We have all had those instances when we have mentally, or even verbally, disapproved of someone’s attire. What does Mentor think is fashionable for her personally, as this must influence what she ends up stocking for her market?
“Anything can be fashionable, if it’s styled correctly and at least covers a current, classic or vintage trend,” she says.
“But even with that said, fashion is defined by each individual and I guess you either have it or you don’t. As a buyer, at times I need to add my own handwriting on the products, but mostly it comes down to the customer first. I buy what I think and hope will sell and what the customers will demand. In my portfolio for example, I deal with teenage girls aged between seven and 14, so I constantly have to think like those girls.”
A model shows off some of the garments chosen by fashion buyer Stacey Mentor for the latest Jet range. Picture: Supplied.
Regarding vintage trends: why does Mentor think fashion keeps revisiting styles from years gone by, and how does that impact her buying?
“Fashion history has always had an important influence on current fashion,” she notes.
“If you look way back to the 1800s, it had a massive impact on fashion in the 1950s and 1960s. Of course it was made more contemporary but that’s the beauty of fashion. We always look for inspiration from the past to improve the future of fashion. Most items have been redesigned but as we evolve so does our clothing – we constantly need to reinvent what once was.”
Early last year there were protests organised by employees in the clothing and textile industry, expressing their disappointment at the high volumes of imported clothes, which negatively affected their livelihoods. How much of what Mentor buys is designed or made locally?
Image courtesy Stock.xchnge
“It is quite a small portion, as we buy more commercial looking garments. However, retailers such as Legit have a strong hold in using local designers for their target market. I think in kidswear it’s a little more difficult as we do not have as many kidswear designers in South Africa, as we do for ladies and menswear,” she says.
What can be done to ensure that the number of local kidswear designers increases?
“We need to encourage young designers to branch out into designing clothing for kids and these then have to be sold at affordable prices,” says Mentor, sensibly.
