‘High Street trend for curvy women’
July 28, 2014 by admin
Filed under Choosing Lingerie
Has fashion always been an interest to you from a young age? Did you have any kind of fashion background before Made in Preston?
No, not at all!
In fact I’d go as far as to say I had zero interest in fashion growing up and hated shopping!
Which is perhaps why I have such an affinity with the convenience of e-commerce and having what I need delivered to my door!
My background is initially in modelling and then I studied literature at university, but I saw a gap in the market that arose from a personal problem where I couldn’t find clothes to wear and figured other people must surely have the same difficulties of being quite busty, but not plus size.
Talk a little about the problems you faced with not being able to find clothes to suit you’re body shape. How important do you think it is dressing for your shape?
I first identified that there was an increasing demand for clothing over a D cup as I was leaving university, and looking to buy a shirt for a job interview.
Although usually a size 8, I needed to purchase a size 14 for my bust to fit in the garment. This led to an online search but the products that were out there were either expensive, or aimed at a much older audience (or both).
I wanted to find something that was on-trend and affordable, but it didn’t exist.
It is so important to wear clothes that fit – either squeezing into a top or dress that is too small looks unsightly, or buying three sizes bigger so that it drowns you is equally as unsuitable.
What is most important to you when designing lingerie and garments. What would you say is your signature design aesthetic?
The Made In Preston brand is a bit of glamour meets urban style.
Our roots are in the industrial docklands of Preston, and we aim to represent confident young women who want High Street fashion to fit their boobs.
Our designs are inspired by trends that are being seen on the catwalks and on the high street (as well as on celebrities) and then we adapt these trends into shapes and cuts that flatter the body shape of an ample bosomed girl!
Of course we also have to balance commercial viability.
Talk us through the manufacturing process from initial designs, choosing fabrics and construction.
Products are designed, based on styles inspired from the catwalk or seen in the media and a first sample is made.
After a couple of fitting tests and amendments, a final sample is photographed and uploaded to the website.
The garment is then manufactured in fairly small quantities, and put on sale.
Our process is super quick – usually between five and 10 days for a new garment to go from being an idea, to being a purchasable product.
Fabrics are purchased from our agents who visit us every couple of months, and then we create our new products based on the fabrics that we have at our disposal.
The construction is generated from ‘blocks’ (tried and tested core patterns) and then as a team we come up with styles and shapes that will appeal to our customer.
How do you ensure your designs are on-trend and current?
We know what the trends will be many months in advance, as the catwalk shows for each season (London Fashion Week, etc) are held about six months before the season begins.
Fashion magazines are very good at keeping up to date with new and emerging trends, and we are in a great position to react to these as they emerge!
What was the inspiration behind your new summer collection? Are we going to be seeing any more new pieces soon?
This summer there has been a lot of monochrome, yellow has been a key colour trend and pastels have also been huge this season.
Fashion in recent years has become fast and disposable, with new trends replacing old ones very quickly.
The rise of affordable fashion has led people to buy the new trends and quickly move on to the next one – so we have new pieces arriving all of the time with most new products being added on the Friday of each week, just in time for the weekend.
What plans have you got for Made in Preston in the future?
At the moment Made In Preston is available online only, but as part of our expansion plans, we are starting to wholesale our brand from August so you may start to see our products in your local lingerie or fashion boutiques and over the next year, maybe even on the high street, too!
