The Fundamentals of Fit for Fashion Designers with Alvanon and Carrie Parry

Our next Meetup with Alvanon (http://bit.ly/1eolOjz) and Carrie Parry (http://bit.ly/1n7Jh88) is to help fashion designers understand the fundamentals of fit. This includes basic terminology, tools for success and things to think about when creating a fashion line.

A conversation with Alvanon’s Don Howard, Executive Director, AlvaInsight and fashion designer Carrie Parry (http://bit.ly/1n7Jh88), the recipient of their two-year mentorship program will be moderated by Melissa Hall of The Emerging Designer to help attendees to learn these basics.

DISCUSSION TOPICS

-What is Fit and why is it so Important?
-Aesthetic Fit vs Technical Fit
-Target Customer Size and Shape
-Critical Tools for Fit Success
-Establishing Clarity on Fit Intent
-Q&A / Open Discussion

AGENDA

6:30-6:45: Networking and Arrivals
6:45-7:30: Discussion
7:30-7:45: Q&A
7:45-8:00: Networking/Wrap Up

Please feel free to email us your questions about fit in advance so we can incorporate them into the conversation at [masked].

ABOUT ALVANON, The Apparel Fit Expert

Alvanon advises the world's top retailers and brands on fit and sizing strategies designed to grow sales, improve efficiency, and build competitive advantage. By providing world class research, strategic analysis, customized fit mannequins, master pattern blocks and integrated training, Alvanon's teams make fashion fit.

Founded in 2001, the Alvanon Group of companies is the global leader in providing full service, integrated fit solutions for the apparel industry. From its head office in New York, operations center in Hong Kong and operating offices in the UK and Germany, Alvanon provides customized fit strategies and product development tools to the world’s leading fashion brands, retailers, lingerie, swimwear, sportswear, mail order and corporate clothing suppliers. Alvanon’s fit offer combines the world’s largest database of 300,000 body scans with the unparalleled expertise, products and services provided by a team of over 70 dedicated sizing and body shape professionals.

Through its three integrated divisions, AlvaInsight, AlvaForm and AlvaBlock, Alvanon offers practical solutions that enable its clients to develop, execute and assess “fit” consistently and continuously from design through to consumer. AlvaInsight is Alvanon’s “front end” strategic consulting division comprising fashion and retail industry experts who draw upon apparel business insight, technical design expertise, rigorous statistical analysis and practical experience to help clients define their target markets’ specific fit criteria. The AlvaForm division, comprising 3D artists and anatomical “life” sculptors, develops and supplies both standard and customized mannequins that enable clients to create and maintain their fit standards consistently across the supply chain. The AlvaBlock division develops tailored pattern block templates based on a client’s AlvaForm, minimizing pattern-making inconsistencies across a global supply chain and significantly shortening product development timelines.

ABOUT DON HOWARD,Executive Director, AlvaInsight, Alvanon Inc.

Don Howard joined Alvanon in 2010 as a consultant and was named Executive Director of the AlvaInsight consulting team, April 2013.

Don has over 25 years of experience in the wholesale, vertical retail, design and manufacturing of women’s apparel. His expertise includes leading technical design and product development teams, with an emphasis on the preproduction process, and establishing and maintaining consistency of sizing and fit. He has a passion for teaching the subject at all levels of experience.

Don previously served as Vice President of Technical Design for Ann Taylor, where he established and maintained excellence in product fit and quality. His responsibilities included global technical organization, selection development of talent and employee improvement programs in the technical design arena. Prior to Ann Taylor, Don was Sr. Director of Technical Design/Quality Assurance for Retail Brand Alliance and was Pre Production Manager for Ellen Tracy. Earlier in his career, he served as a Production Manager for the Couture Houses of Pauline Trigere and Arnold Scassi.

Don graduated from Bowling Green State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and two daughters.

ABOUT CARRIE PARRY

Carrie Parry is a modern take on classic designs, offering timeless investment pieces crafted with artisanal and luxurious fabrications. By forgoing season-based styles and delivering directly at wholesale prices, we are able to offer true value to our customers. Each Carrie Parry piece is proudly cut and sewn in the USA, providing superb fit and elegant craftsmanship that is displayed with genuine transparency from concept to creation on the website http://www.carrieparry.com .

ABOUT CARRIE PARRY, DESIGNER / OWNER

From studying fashion design at the prestigious Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts in London to working for Jonathan Saunders, Zandra Rhodes, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Norma Kamali and Elaine Gold, designer Carrie Parry built a solid foundation in the fashion business world.

Never to rest in her pursuit of the craft, she also obtained a graduate degree from the University of Delaware in Socially Responsible and Sustainable Apparel Business, designed costumes for the Oscar winning film Memoirs of a Geisha and spent two seasons with the highly acclaimed English vintage traveling circus, Gifford’s Circus.

In 2011 she launched her eponymous label Carrie Parry, the culmination of her pursuit to integrate her love for textiles, innovative and quality design with her commitment to environmentally conscious and ethical production. The line quickly earned accolades including the 2014 US Embassy’s Fashion Envoy to Thailand, the 2012 Eileen Fisher Women Business Grant Award, the 2012 Green Fashion Competition during Amsterdam Fashion Week and the Ethical Fashion Forum's 2011 Innovation U.S.A. Award.

Today Carrie Parry offers beautifully designed pieces cut and sewn locally in the USA, with superior fit, impeccable quality, great customer service and respect for people and our environment—all at a fair price. She continues to innovate the industry with the launch of CarrieParry.com, offering “buy now, wear now” versatile fashion pieces sold directly to consumers. Her brand creates true luxury essentials, offering a modern take on the classic styles that withstand the trends of seasons.

Parry empowers consumers to celebrate their choice in fashion by offering a behind-the-scenes view of the crafting of each garment. From the sourcing of fabrics from artisans throughout the world to production in New York’s garment district, Parry offers unparalleled transparency in the journey the brand’s designs. Each piece is cut and sewn locally in the USA, providing superior fit and loving craftsmanship that is transparently displayed from concept to creation on the website http://www.carrieparry.com .