IT STARTS WITH INSPIRATION. A STORY, A THEME, A MESSAGE THAT I, AS THE DESIGNER, WANT TO CONVEY. IN THIS CASE, I WAS WORKING WITH REBECCA MINKOFF AND THE THEME WAS "EASY RIDER," A MOTORCYCLE AND HARDWARE FOCUSED COLLECTION. REBECCA IS KNOWN FOR HER SIGNATURE "DOG CLIP" HARDWARE ON HER BAGS, SO WE WANTED TO INCORPORATE THIS INTO OUR DESIGNS. THESE ARE THE INSPIRATION BOARDS I CREATED FOR FOOTWEAR.
NEXT COMES SKETCHING IDEAS. HERE'S SOME "THUMBNAIL" SKETCHES OF IDEAS, AS WE CALL THEM IN THE BUSINESS.
THEN WE EDIT OUR THUMBNAILS AND SKETCH THE SHOE AS A FULL SIZE 8.5"X11" BLACK LINE DRAWING TO BE REVIEWED BY DESIGN, SALES AND MERCHANDISING. THIS IS WHEN WE EDIT THE LINE DOWN TO WHAT STYLES WE WILL SEND OUT TO FACTORIES TO PROTOTYPE. WE WILL USE THESE SKETCHES TO SEND TO THE FACTORY ALONG WITH DIRECTIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT.
A TYPICAL SKETCH WALL MAY LOOK LIKE THIS.
THEN WE MOVE ONTO THE DEVELOPMENT PACKAGE. WE NEED TO GIVE THE FACTORIES DIRECTIONS FOR BOTH THE CONSTRUCTION (THE LAST AND HEEL) AND THE UPPER (THE PART YOU WEAR ON YOUR FOOT.)
AFTER ALL INFORMATION IS SENT TO THE FACTORY, WE COMMUNICATE VIA EMAIL OR TRAVEL TO THE FACTORY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THEY MAY HAVE. THE PROTOTYPE MAY BE MADE IN ANY MATERIAL AND COLOR, JUST SO WE CAN SEE THE LINES OF THE SHOE AND MAKE CORRECTIONS.
AFTER PROTO REVIEW, IF THE STYLE IS MOVING FORWARD, WE SEND CORRECTIONS TO THE FACTORY, OR TRAVEL TO THE FACTORY TO CORRECT THE SAMPLE. WE TRY IT ON, WE CUT, WE TAPE, AND WE MARK UP THE SHOE TO LOOK LIKE HOW WE WANT.
WHILE THE FACTORY IS REALIZING OUR CORRECTIONS, WE DECIDE WHAT MATERIALS WE WANT THE SHOE TO BE MADE IN AND WE SPEC THE SHOE. THE FACTORY WILL USE THIS SPEC TO ORDER MATERIALS FOR THE FINAL MARKET SAMPLES. FOR PRIVACY REASONS, I CANNOT SHOW THE SPEC SHEET, BUT HERE'S THE PALETTE AND THE COLORED SKETCHES FOR HOW WE DETAILED THE SHOE FOR MARKET.
FINALLY, THE MARKET SAMPLES ARRIVE. HERE IS THE SHOE SAMPLED IN THE REQUESTED MATERIALS.
ONCE THE BUYERS SEE THE SHOES AND DECIDE WHAT THEY WILL PURCHASE FOR THE STORES, THE SHOE GOES INTO PRODUCTION. THIS IS THE FINAL BOOTIE SHOWN FOR SALE ON THE REBECCA MINKOFF WEBSITE AND REBECCA HERSELF MODELING THE STYLE ON INSTAGRAM.
