Menswear Designer
Freelance Menswear Designer.
82. James works as a freelance menswear designer, sample maker, and small run manufacture, from his studio in central London.
He has over twenty years experience as a menswear designer, in which time he has gained a wealth of experience in all aspects of the fashion industry, working for some of the very best menswear designer brands.
With a complete understanding of menswear design, sampling, and manufacturing processes necessary to ensure his clients success, James is extremely flexible in the range of services he offers. He is happy to offer his professional advice to new menswear brands and startup businesses.
He has joined The London Pattern Cutter as a specialist menswear designer, available for contract hire, as a freelancer, or as part of a complete package of clothing industry services.
James has worked as a freelancer for an array of iconic menswear fashion brands in the UK and Europe, as well as numerous small brands, startups, and individual clients.
While James is a denimwear specialist, he has experienced all aspects of the menswear clothing industry, being involved from concept right through to production – Streetwear. Sportswear. Denim wear. Workwear. Tailoring.
Previous Clients.
Previous menswear clients include : Oswald Boateng, G-Star RAW,
Services Offered.
As a freelance menswear fashion designer, James is extremely flexible in the services he provides his clients. He is available for hire in London, or the UK and Europe.
Some clients require a comprehensive service in which he would oversee the entire process from design to production. Others only require specific services such as tech pack design, fabric sourcing, sampling, or factory contacts, etc.
Services offered include – Mood Boards. Colour Direction. Fittings. Sourcing. Production Management. Sketching Flats. Tech Packs. Samples. small Production Runs.
Fashion Design Studio.
Some clients only require an experienced menswear designer to look over their own designs, to provide some valuable professional advice, insights or tips. Others need a co-designer who can guide them through their own designs.
Menswear clothing design needs to be practical in order to be profitable. An experienced designer understands how to achieve the right balance between design and profitability.
Collection Design and Build-Up.
Having an idea for a collection is only a small part of making a menswear brand work. One of the key factors in designing and producing a successful collection is the planning.
This includes the build up and the balance of different garment types – Knowing the correct ratio of tops and bottoms, and understanding understanding the balance of commerciality and contemporary design.
James understands the challenges of this process, and can help with concept generation and range planning, building a colour story, building a cohesive fabric story within a collection, and compiling mood boards and other presentation devices.
Pattern Cutting.
Fashion designers need to have a good understanding of pattern cutting in order to provide accurate sketches and instructions to the pattern cutter, both to make the initial pattern, and alterations following garment fitting.
Most designers however, are reluctant to get involved in the pattern making process, preferring to use their creative ability purely for designing. However, designers can make very good pattern cutters, as they have a good eye for detail.
As the designer/pattern cutter, James would not need to liaise with a pattern cutter, and can choose to change and develop the designs in any way he chooses.
Turning a sketch into a well fitting garment requires the skills of an experienced pattern cutter. Many sample houses and factories have their own and can often work from a simple sketch. However, most brands wish to make something unique to them and require the help of an expert.
James has extensive experience in creating his own patterns for all types of garments, including tailoring. He has a full understanding of the complexities of the process as it relates to production, fabric yield, grading, etc.
At The London Pattern Cutter we also have available a number of very experienced specialist menswear pattern cutters.
Denim.
James is a denim specialist, advising on all aspects of denim and denim-type products with respect to design and construction.
Denim is a whole other world within fashion design, requiring in-depth knowledge absolutely essential for successful design and production.
Designing and developing different washes and treatments with suppliers. Denim is a very specialised area of menswear that requires a great deal of knowledge and experience.
Although many of the principles are the same as for other fabric types, there are elements to denim design, construction, and finishing that are highly specialised and nuanced.
It is pretty much impossible to navigate the world of denim design and product development without this specialist understanding and knowledge.
Having had ten years experience working with various iconic denim brands, James is familiar with all aspects of working with denim and can help with the design and construction of all denim type products.
With his specialist knowledge, James can assist with the branding and building of your denim range, advise on the various nuanced fits, different shrinkages, construction and specialised finishes and trims.
Understanding different denim fabrics, and their limits with resect to shrinkage, construction and finish is essential for any denim brand.
, designing and developing different washes and treatments with suppliers, and introducing clients to these mills and garment manufacturers.
Check out or How to start a denim brand workshop if you would like more information on how to set up and run a denim brand.
Creating Tech Packs.
Creating tech packs is a very important part of any fashion designers job. The tech pack provides an essential blueprint for your design to enable your chosen factory to make it correctly.
One of the main challenges faced by new brands is communicating their ideas to the people involved in the making of their garments, including the pattern cutters, graders, sample rooms, and garment factories.
Most sample houses and menswear factories work using tech packs. These are generally in the form of digital documents that contain all the necessary information to make your garments.
They include technical drawings, detailed sketches of some of the more complicated aspects of construction, measurement specs, and fabric and trim information.
The production of these denim garments is a very specialised field that can be pretty complicated.
After twenty years working with all types of sample houses and garment suppliers, both locally and internationally, Nims communication and tech pack skills are second nature. He can make them for individual garments, or for entire design collections.
Communication.
Communication with your pattern cutter, sampling house and factory is very important if you want to develop your product accurately and on time. If you are using a foreign factory this is even more important, and can prove difficult due to the possibility of a language or culture barrier.
Freelance Menswear Designer.
Nim is a very experienced and talented freelance menswear fashion designer and pattern cutter, with over twenty years in the fashion business. He will be happy to design your entire collection, or a single garment.
Previous Clients.
Nim has worked for many well known global menswear brands in both the UK and Europe. Names include Ozwald Boateng, G-Star-RAW, River Island, Scotch & Soda, and Posthuman Wardrobe.
All Aspects Of Menswear.
James is highly experienced in designing all aspects of menswear, both for the big iconic brands, and for small startup brands. He can design all types of apparel, from tailoring and corporate uniforms, to sportswear and streetwear.
As a freelance menswear fashion designer, James is extremely flexible in the services he provides to his clients. Some clients require a comprehensive service in which he will oversee the entire process from design to production, and beyond.
Sampling And Production.
Building the concept of a brand and designing the brand is only half the battle. Knowing how to get the garments made is another challenge. Finding the supplier that is right for you is crucial, and knowing how to communicate with them, equally so.
Sustainability.
James has always worked for menswear brands that put a lot of emphasis on sustainbility in their fashion products. This requires a great deal of knowledge of how this sustainability effects all aspects of design, development, sourcing and production.
Understanding the intricacies of the global move towards greener fashion – Particularly the benefits and problems of many new sustainable solutions, including recycled fibres, organic fibres, the use of alternative fibres, new technologies, reduced water consumption, recycling, upcycling , etc.
What Does A Fashion Designer Do ?
Designing and sketching is just a small part of any fashion designers job. Much of the time is spent researching market trends, consumer buying habits, and competitors.
Today much of that research is done online, but travelling to fashion and fabric shows is still a big part of the job. During these trips a designer will shop extensively for interesting styles and shapes that they can use for reference garments.
The fashion designer also needs to source fabrics, trims, factories, embroiderers, and printers etc. They need to liaise with all these suppliers, and to oversee the sampling process.
In a large high street company the designer will generally specialise in creating the designs, sourcing the fabrics, and overseeing the sample development.
In a smaller company the designer will often also create the patterns.
A designer needs to have a strong knowledge of garment construction and pattern cutting
Freelance fashion designers have multiple roles within any fashion business.
Fabric And Trim Sourcing.
Sourcing fabrics and trims, can be an extremely laborious, and even overwhelming task for the new fashion entrepreneur. It is one of the main tasks for a fashion designer.
Sourcing fabrics for a small menswear label is entirely different to sourcing for an established brand. A startup brand is not generally looking at buying in bulk, so choices are more limited.
It is important to know where to look for small orders, and to realise that you will not always find your perfect fabric or trim at an economic price.
Nim can Provide mill and agent contacts for all types of menswear fabrics and trims. He advises on fabric suitability and sustainability, and on suitable factories and locations for clients.
Consultancy.
James can provide design consultancy services to established brands, or new startups.
Hand sketching and translating into digital formats.
Creating technical sketches
Making tech-packs and detailed technical sketches for coherent factory communication.
EMAIL [email protected]