Today we’re talking about how to take your product idea from concept to actual product by hiring a technical designer. A Technical Designer is someone who can create a Technical Package (aka Tech Pack) for you to send to your manufacturer. A Tech Pack is like a blueprint that lists your materials, measurements, and colors so your manufacturer can make your products to your specifications.

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I’m interviewing my friend and designer Victoria Dickson who has over 16 years of experience in the fashion industry designing and developing everything from children’s clothing to activewear. We used to work together at La Jolla Group, she has had her own childrens line, and specializes in helping fashion startups get their product line off the ground. She is a wealth of knowledge and shares so many insightful tips and tricks!

Welcome Victoria! Tell Us a Little Bit About Your Background and Career.

So I graduated with my BFA in Fashion up in San Francisco and then moved straight down to Orange County and started at La Jolla Group.

I was there for several years, did menswear, and eventually went into juniors. After leaving La Jolla Group, I moved up to LA and worked for Walmart and did a tween line for them, which was actually really fun. It was definitely a different perspective coming from La Jolla, seeing how one of the largest product companies does business.

Like anything, it had its pros and cons. I was a very small fish in a very big sea there. I did something specific. I was designing a tweens line, but someone was merchandising, and someone was coming up with color concepts. I would bring selects and ideas to the table and sketch. In the end, the art department was doing final sketches. So I had one job and it was a very kind of “stay in your lane”.

And some of us like that, but for me, I kind of like to explore the bigger picture and get my hands in everything. So I knew that that wasn’t where I wanted to be for years and years.

From there I started freelancing and I had my own childrenswear line. I did that for about three years. I did it locally, naturally, sustainably, and all that good stuff. Produced and manufactured here in the U.S. It was in a few stores around the world in Japan and some locally. It wasn’t super big and I was a one-man team.

That was an amazing experience and in tandem with that, I was freelancing for a few activewear brands. Activewear was booming at the time, like 10 years ago.

Your Title Today is Apparel Brand and Design Consultant. If Someone Wants To Start Their Own Fashion Brand, What Could You Help Them Do?

From Early Idea Stage

People often come to me and say, this is my hand sketch I need a technical flat.

I have heard that Technical Designers are the engineers of fashion, which I thought was really cool. We’re obviously the literal technical side of things. I also help with anything from concepts, color trends, design or just sketching. So I kind of do it all.

Technical Designers Are the Engineers of Fashion.

And even though I’m a trained design professional, I also have been at the beginning of starting a product line. I learned quite a bit from doing my own line and working with startups. And now the past 8 to 10 years I’ve worked strictly with startups. It’s just kind of happened that way, but when I look back I think that it’s kind of my calling and what I’m most interested in.

Someone that’s just starting with an idea saying, I want to start a dancewear brand, but I don’t have any idea about designs and I can help them from there.

Larger Brands

Also at times, I can just be a small piece of the puzzle. Someone might come to me that already has a startup, saying “We’re this brand, we do these kinds of numbers a year, and we’ve been in business five years. What we really need you for is trending concepts.” So as a consultant ultimately, I hate this word, but I just offer my expertise in whatever capacity that is.

Other Kinds of Products

I’ve done a few things that are very random things like product design. I actually worked for a company that works for NASA. We were building this item, this accessory for a robot, which was very cool. It was like an underwater robot. And so I got to play with different things. But at times I’d say like, “I wouldn’t be good for this, but let me put you into contact with somebody else.” For example an accessory brand.

The Process of Working with a Technical Designer or Consultant

Find Your Story

I’d say the first step into starting a line or a product company would be, what’s your story? What’s your concept? I’ve had people come to me and need help from the very, very beginning like, “I want to start a clothing line, but I don’t really know what I wanna do.”

And I appreciate the passion in just wanting to make that jump, but ultimately I would do best if someone came to me with more of a concept. I would say to narrow it down in that case. I’d say maybe look at things like this or what are you drawn to?

I’d say the first step into starting a line or a product company would be, what’s your story?

Find Brands and Samples That Inspire You

For example, let’s say you want to start a line of sports bras for larger-chested women, but you don’t know where to start. I’d see what brands you’re into and we’d really start with the basics.

From there we’d find samples from other brands for reference like you like how this fabric feels, etc. and we’d gather everything together.

Fine Tune The Details

Then we’d get down to trends, color, and all that fun stuff. I’d do the technical sketches. I tend to do more sketching on the computer than by hand. I feel like that kind of skips that step.

While hand sketches are fun and can visually be wonderful, I’m quick enough on the computer that I could technical sketch, which then we can plop into that technical package that’s later for the factory. So you’re kind of skipping that step. We always need to be efficient with time.

Technical Designs

In most cases, I’ll be the technical designer as well as a consultant, and I will build the technical package that has everything. It’s just like the Bible, the engineering Bible that the factory needs to create your designs.

It’s definitely the technical side of things and can be less creative. I’ve learned actually over the years that I really like that part of it. I did not, at first. I think anybody that graduates from design school is like, no, I don’t want to do technical. I want to be creative and flowy, but I’ve learned to really appreciate that side of things. My brain tends to like that blueprint. I really like seeing that.

There are some companies that are huge, so as a consultant, I’ll connect them with another technical designer, for example, that robotics company. I was very beginning prototype for that, and I felt comfortable with that. But ultimately being that technical person down the line probably wouldn’t have been a good fit because it was so specific to what they needed.

So in that case I’ll connect them with somebody else by dipping into my pool of people I know that I think could be a good fit.

Send Tech Pack to Manufacturers

So after that, we shoot the tech packs to the manufacturers and go from there.

Find Someone Who Specializes in Your Area

Rebecca: What you’re saying is so true that sometimes, it’s not your expertise, it’s not your specialty. Whereas for me, I love bags. Bags are my specialty. I can make a tech pack for bags all day, but if someone wanted me to make a tech pack for activewear, I would be lost because I don’t know anything about the measurements or the grading or anything like that. That’s when I would call on someone like you to help me with that.

Victoria: Oh, I thank you. Call on me! So true, you’re someone that always comes to mind when I think of accessories because you were definitely my first experience in that in my career. And our tech packs can look very similar from a far standpoint or to someone that didn’t know, but specs, callouts, and stitch types are all different. Like active wear stitch types, we use a lot of flat lock, for example and it’s a stitch that prevents chafing to some extent, but also is very strong.

But then a denim designer, their tech pack would look quite different, right? So they would deal with stitch lines that are also specific to denim.

I hate when someone comes to me and is like, “Hey, can you develop this sock for us?” I’m like, “Oh, I hate saying no, but I’m not the best person.”

Rebecca: I feel like that shows professionalism. Like sometimes even when choosing a manufacturer, they’re like, “We can do anything. We can do clothes! We can do bags!” And you’re like “No you don’t. Tell me the truth.”

Victoria: Yeah definitely, factories also have their specialties. They’re really good at some things and not so great at other things. And sometimes they’re very eager to get your business, so they’ll say, we can do that, but that’s not really what they’re great at.

How many styles do you think someone should offer when they’re launching? What’s your philosophy on product assortment or product ranges when it comes to launching a clothing line?

I think it depends on your concept and your story, like what are you bringing? Like in the bra example, the person that’s starting a line for larger-breasted women, I think they could start with one to three bras. It could be very minimal. It’s so specific.

When I started my brand, it was more of a lifestyle sportswear clothing brand for little girls. So I started with five to six pieces. Because it was lifestyle, it was what you’d wear every day, mix and match. It would’ve been hard to start with one.

So basically when you start the line, I think something needs to be brought to the table that has a story. Is it different? Activewear’s saturated. So coming up with like a new legging, it’s like, okay, well what’s that new legging gonna be?

First off, ask yourself, is this the right product for the market? What’s the product for the market that’s needed? And I really just think it depends on what you’re designing. If your brain is thinking, I wanna do a whole line, then you might need to limit yourself. I’d say start with five-ish pieces.

First off, ask yourself, is this the right product for the market? What’s the product for the market that’s needed?

It costs money to produce and make samples and all that. If you have the concern of not having enough pieces, I really think you’d be okay with even one or two. It’s hard to answer that without knowing what the product is, but I really do think if it is specific enough like a line of bras or the perfect tee line, you know, that kind of thing you can start with one or two pieces and there shouldn’t be any hesitation in that.

Sometimes one to two products really can be the way to go because you can hone in and perfect those items. If we’re looking at a whole collection   it can be natural to jump around and then lose sight of what specifically you’re doing.

So I actually think smaller is better to start.

Rebecca: That’s great advice. I think maybe honing in on your key products or what really represents the brand you’re trying to launch is something that would be good to start with. A couple of items.

You have to keep in mind when you’re starting a new brand or a new line, that there are minimums you have to order with factories. So if you are ordering eight different styles and you have to get 100 of each style and size, that’s a lot of units to keep stored and to sell. So yeah, starting with a couple of items is great.

Where Can You Look for a Technical Designer?

LinkedIn

I’d start with just looking on LinkedIn. That’s a great way. I would say about 25% of my clients found me through LinkedIn. I’ll just get a message or they’ll find me, go to my website, and then contact me through there.

You can just query in the search box what you’re looking for. You could be specific, like bra technical designer, I keep using this bra thing, and a ton will come up. You can search locally, search for manufacturers that do bras, etc.

Let’s say you have your favorite company that you aspire to be, let’s say an activewear one that everyone might know. Let’s say Alo. Okay, you can go on LinkedIn and look up “Alo Technical Designer.” It’ll pop up who their technical designer is and you can reach out to them.

It never hurts. I have gotten responses from people that I never thought would respond and then of course I never hear from some people. It’s almost like job hunting, you know? As somebody in the industry, I would never feel bothered if someone did that to me. If I didn’t know how to help them, I’d say, “Hey, can’t help you, or, Hey, can’t help you, here’s the name of one of my friends,” and get connected that way.

Networking

Networking is also a big thing, word of mouth.

Freelance Sites

Upwork is a phenomenal one. I use that when I’m searching for people, but also have used it as a consultant. I would say that’s where my other 75% of clients are from. Wonderful site. Of course, they take the dreaded percentage, which is hard. But it has made connections for me that have been long-lasting. The past four years of companies that I’ve met have been super lucrative for me and phenomenal.

Where Do You Usually Look for Manufacturers?

LinkedIn

So again I love LinkedIn. I probably get several messages a week from new manufacturers, generally salesmen, reaching out to me in my messages and my DM’s. Get outta my DM’s manufacturers! That’s the kinda DM’s I get.

So that’s one way that you can search for them. But, that comes with the question of whether they are reputable or not. Everybody’s gonna say that they can do everything. That part can be a little tough when you’re going through LinkedIn, but it’s a way to at least get the ball rolling.

Trade Shows

A lot of trade shows will have a day of sourcing. So for example, a large trade show that they have in Vegas is called Magic. While I know tradeshows can cost time and money, it’s a great way to find manufacturers because they are a large part of sourcing at Magic. But then also while you’re there, you can look for fabrication or trims. It’s kind of a one-stop for all of that and connections.

The CFDA

One resource I even use myself outside of LinkedIn would be the CFDA (aka The Council of Fashion Designers of America). So if you just Google CFDA they have a ton of resource links for manufacturers, fabrications, and everything.

Maker’s Row

Makers Row is another site that I use personally and also for some of my clients. It’s super easy and accessible, especially for startups.

Some manufacturers on Maker’s Row do it all from beginning to end, which is called Vertical Manufacturing. Someone that’s starting a line can just go there and probably produce a line all in one place. You come with an idea, you contact this specific type of factory, and they’ll take your idea from very beginning to end. They’ll start sketches, then they’ll produce it and it’ll be on your doorstep.

Of course, that can be a bit more expensive. It’s a different route, but can also be a great option for someone just starting out any type of product line.

Networking

I think I mentioned networking, which can be hard if you don’t have a network yet. But just word of mouth, talking to people, or cold emailing on LinkedIn.

Sustainable Manufacturing

I want to mention, because this is the route I went for my line, if you’re looking for manufacturers that are ethical and sustainable there’s a ton of resources online that you can just research how to find ethical factories. You can see the accreditations you should ask for. Any factory can say, we’re ethical or we’re natural, or we’re sustainable, so ask for accreditations so there are paper trails, basically.

Thank You Internet!

Victoria: Just using online as a tool. Just over this whole conversation, I feel like now is the easiest time to start a product line.

Rebecca: Yes. The internet! I can’t imagine how people did it before. Would you just walk down downtown LA, like “Do you make activewear? Do you make activewear?” Like how do you find that?

Overseas versus Domestic Manufacturing

I would say, first off, depends on your product. So talk to a consultant, talk to people in the business, and you can start to get an idea of what would be a right fit for you.

I’ve used both in a nutshell. So someone tells me what products they’re looking to produce and what they’re looking to spend and I would judge from there.

So some big things to look at:

Cost

Cost is a huge thing, as we all know. Things that are produced here in the US tend to be more expensive than when they’re produced overseas.

Proximity

I loved being able to really oversee what was happening with my line. So for me, I did more of the organic and sustainable route and I also wanted it produced here. I was able to drop into my sewer or my factory and just kind of see that everything was okay. I liked building those relationships. That’s the big perk I got from doing it locally.

Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ)

In the U.S. you can produce as much or as little as you want. You can do five pieces of a bra, which is sometimes called a sample run. But the cost per unit is much higher.

While overseas manufacturers can really drop costs a substantial amount, but naturally because they’re able to drop costs, their requirements for MOQs are much higher. I haven’t been able to find lower than 250 per color lately.

So that’s a hard thing I think for new brands. I deal with it with everybody I work with. I dealt with it myself. It’s kind of that push and pull. Like, “Okay my product’s going to be pretty pricey and expensive. I hope people understand and get why that it is.” That can put a different pressure on what you’re producing.

I feel like we can talk about pros and cons all day of overseas versus locally, but I feel like the biggest conversation is cost and then minimums.

Rebecca: I think it also depends on your customer. If it’s important to your customer to have things made in the U.S. or sustainably, then they’re willing to pay that extra cost for the things that are made domestically.

Victoria: And you hope that’s how they feel and they get that.

For me, when I did my line it was important to be able to oversee it and have relationships with everybody I was working with. I personally love doing things locally in the U.S. but you know, I have wonderful relationships with factories overseas and have learned a lot from them. So there are definitely perks both ways.

Are There Any Additional Resources or Actionable Takeaways That You Would Share with Someone That’s Wanting to Launch Their Own Product-Based Business?

I love that you say actionable takeaways because I know that’s something big for you and something big for me as well. That’s huge for somebody starting a line because, you can say all this stuff and fluff, but it’s like, “Okay, so what’s actually my next step?”

Have A Strong Story

I would say start with some semblance of an outline.

1. Who’s your customer?
2. What’s your actual product?
3. What’s your passion?
4. What are you bringing to your customer that’s gonna wow them?

I know that sounds so cheesy, but it really is what it is. If you’re gonna be a T-shirt line, how’s it gonna be different than the 1 million other t-shirt lines? Is it about you? Put yourself into it.

What are you bringing to your customer that’s gonna wow them? I know that sounds so cheesy, but it really is what it is. If you’re gonna be a T-shirt line, how’s it gonna be different than the 1 million other t-shirt lines? Is it about you? Put yourself into it.

The big thing would be that solid idea and then other people can really help you run with the product. Have a story and then go from there.

Keep Moving Forward

Hopefully, someone that’s reading this is gung ho and this is super inspiring. But I know if I was reading this and had a product idea, there would be a lot of hesitation. So just keep moving forward with what you’re passionate about and people will see that. People will see that through the product.

Stay strong with what your passion is because other ideas can kind of deter you at times, especially when starting your own line. But I found knowing what was important to me and staying true to that is key.

Talk To Your Ideal Customer

Another good idea is talking to others that might be your customer, and then some that aren’t, about what you want to produce and see how they would talk about that.

What were other lines that they loved and maybe saw that were similar? So kind of just getting feedback from people. But again, really staying strong and true to what you want to do and not letting that part sway.

Interested in Connecting with Victoria?

Well, thank you so much Victoria, I really appreciate your knowledge. I feel like, as you mentioned, technical designers can be kind of hard to find and so your knowledge is really valuable. You know a lot about fabrics and stitches and how to do this whole thing, so I really appreciate you.

You can connect with Victoria on LinkedIn or on her website www.vdickson.com.

Free Product Business Launch Guide

If you found it helpful to learn about how a Technical Designer can help you, then you will LOVE my free Product Business Launch Guide where I provide 5 clear phases of how to start or scale your own product Business.

Links Mentioned

Victoria’s Childrenswear Line

We worked together at La Jolla Group

LinkedIn to find a Technical Designer or Manufacturer

Upwork to find a Technical Designer or Consultant

The Magic Tradeshow to Find Manufacturers and Source Materials

The CFDA for Manufacturers and Fabrications

Makers Row for Finding Manufacturers

Watch the Episode on Youtube 

Connect with Victoria on LinkedIn

Victoria’s website www.vdickson.com

Connect with Rebecca on Instagram

Work with Rebecca

Get the Free Product Launch Guide