RANGE BUYING - & OTHER STORIES //

For three years I have thrown things around, been stressed, mad and cried a couple of times but I am pleased to say I will be graduating a BA (Hons) Textile Design with Retail Management Degree with a 2:1. Pleased to say the least, my hard work has finally paid off. I am also very pleased with my final module result which consisted of a 1st for a Buying Report which I wrote and created a range for a store. With this being the area of expertise I want to build a career in, this mark was the most important to me.

To show a brief outline of the range I created, here are a few details that led me to graduate.
The new range was for & Other Stories which is run by the H&M Group. A fashion brand offering women a wide range of shoes, bags, accessories, beauty and ready-to-wear to create their personal style, or story.Their creative ateliers in Paris and Stockholm design diversified fashion collections with great attention to detail and quality at an affordable price. 

The collections are built around inspiring fashion stories. All their lines are diverse, ranging from masculine tailoring to feminine chic and designed to provide endless styling choices.

Carefully selected materials are an important ingredient in every piece. & Other Stories aims to design lasting wardrobe treasures within a wide price range. (stories.com)

Taking all of the companies core factors and brand identity into consideration, the range I created was created around a Geometric, City Style feel which would go on to create the story, GEO's. This featured oversized shapes, layered materials of mainly cotton and bold, geometric shapes inspired by the shapes found on industrial buildings. To create these shapes I looked at office buildings, contemporary buildings/car parks, industrial findings and glass. 

Using colours taken from the A/W 14/15 Womenswear Industrial Trend on WGSN, I was able to incorporate dark and muted industrial greys with bright accent colours such as yellow, maroon and sky blues to create a colour palette that worked great together. 

Pinterest board that gave online inspiration (http://www.pinterest.com/amycunneyworth1/)

Without going into to much detail of the process of the whole report, the considerations for each stores quantity measurements and colouring was crucial to the collection for it to work. With & Other Stories only having stores in major cities across the globe, the weather and fashion of the cities were a major factor in the whole decision process. For example; The Oversized Coat would be a higher quantity in colder countries around A/W than it would be for warmer climates, but that would allow more skirts to be placed in the warmer countries. Everything was weighed up and picked carefully to allow sales not to drop. A fixed quantity of all the products was able to be bought on the online store. 

To finish of the range I chose several other items from different departments within store. Taking a Geometric inspired jewellery set that consisted of a Necklace, Bracelet and matching Earrings to compliment and accessorise the range. Also, Cotton Care hand cream and a 'Blunt Grey' Nail Polish to suit the colour way. Smart, chunky black shoes where also brought into the range to create a whole look for the consumer. This not only adds on additional products for the consumer, but creates and finalises the story for the customer to see. Leaving outfit choices endless. Finishing off the product I also used a photo studio and improvised with a couple of items to show the style and feel of the range to be sold. This included my model Lily Evangeline (@lilyevangeline) modelling various items of clothing to incorporate the theme and colour way.

The story was to create a city like feel for the every day modern woman who is fashion conscious. Using bold shapes, overlapping materials and bold prints she is able to wear this comfortably to the office or dress it down. Nothing made to be matched together but can alternatively be placed with other items the consumer may already have. Personality through fashion is everything and I think there is a piece within this range for everyone. 

Here are some of the boards and my final Graduation Stand for Birmingham City University:

Mood Board - Colour Way, Inspirational Images, Model Pictures

 Full Range - Including every colour way of each item.

Additional Products and Quantity Measurements 

All contact information: Twitter: @amycbuyer Tumblr: amycunneyworth  Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/amycunneyworth1/

CV Available on request

Copyright to AmyCunneyworth.