The New York Times had an interesting piece on how mannequin design has changed along with everything else in this business. A company called Fusion Specialties in Broomfield CO, has a brisk business in designing custom retail forms. Be sure to see the slide show (photo at right from the NYT). Fusion’s site is pretty slick; the one absence was how and why did this company start? Why Bloomfield? I have to tell you, I love it when companies like this are situated off the beaten path. More proof that you don’t have to live in a first tier city to make a go of it in this business.
I’ll leave you with the archives posting of the week (2,000+ more in the archives). In the meantime, I’ve lots of chores to do for the coming week -one of which is sewing a sportcoat for Mr. Fashion-Incubator. I couldn’t find anything suitable beyond a woven stripe so it’s time to put up or shut up (more in the forum). I hope your weekend is equally challenging and fun.
June 10, through June 16, 2005
Misc Pattern Tip: trim darts
June 10, through June 16, 2006
Constructing Sparkle
Management Software pt.2
Smug
20 Questions
Fit model’s blog
Sell through guarantees?
Bluff pockets
Guilt Cloth
Shirt making tips
June 10, through June 16, 2007
How to engage buyers at trade shows
Who do you hang with?
What will become of us? pt.2
Happy Birthday Kathleen
Who do you hang with? pt.2
Who do you hang with? pt.3
News from you 6/15/2007
June 10, through June 16, 2008
Japanese dress forms
To pin or not to pin
I.D. and O.D.
Vanity sizing: generational edition
It all stops here 1
June 10, through June 16, 2009
What to do if a competitor in Asia orders your product
What to do if a competitor orders your product
Training Within Industry (TWI) pt.3
Silver City Vintage
How to write garment & product descriptions
June 10, through June 16, 2010
The difference between a wannabe and a newbie
Keeping stuff can be riskier than getting rid of it
You do not determine value
What kind of entrepreneur are you?
What kind of entrepreneur are you? pt.2
Beginner’s guide to sewing with industrial machines
Beginner’s guide to sewing with industrial machines pt.2
I know Denver isn’t exactly a fashion mecca, but mannequins are more of a retail thing so I don’t really see how Denver is off the beaten path.
JT, my observance makes more sense in the context of longstanding site culture (you’re new, welcome!). Those of us in the west and hinterlands (like me) are somewhat annoyed by suggestions that only NY is fashion worthy. These mannequins are as fashiony as one could get and I don’t think my analogy was inappropriate in that manufacturing has been seeping out of “the” first tier city for a long time while at the same time, the city as the center of the retail and marketing business side (showrooms, editorial etc) has only gotten stronger. So if anything, now more than ever one could expect a mannequin maker to be in NY or close by in NJ. Iow, retailers of appreciable size have a presence there (read: hdqtrs, purchasing etc) but the same couldn’t be said of manufacturing. LA surpassed NY in total domestic apparel jobs almost 15 years ago. Now California is losing jobs to Texas. But that’s another story. Truly, manufacturing was much more regional (and hopefully resuming) than most people today realize.
So Athleta wants a headless runner as their mannequin – that’s creepy. And just wrong.
Just so everyone is aware, the “off the beaten path” comment is self-referential. The Entrepreneur’s Guide was written in Ft. Stanton, NM. Time and again, we have been dismissed by New York fashionistas whose view of the fashion world seems to be exactly that depicted on the cover of the March 29, 1976 copy of The New Yorker, where everything west of the Hudson to the Pacific is about the same size as Manhattan.
So, yes, Bloomfield is a vibrant city, but in the view of the fashion world, it might as well be Anna Creek Station, or Las Cruces.