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Fashion studio assistant - Product Development & Production

Fashion studio assistant - Product Development & Production

Creative and design

Level 3 - Technical Occupation

Supporting designers to create new materials, styles, colours and patterns for fashion brands and labels.

Reference: OCC0173B

Status: inventory_2Occupational standard without apprenticeship

Average (median) salary: £30,052 per year

SOC 2020 code: 3429 Design occupations n.e.c.

SOC 2020 sub unit groups:

  • 3422/02 Clothing and fashion designers
  • 3422/05 Textile designers

Technical Education Products

Employers involved in creating the standard:

Roksanda Ilincic, Tom Lipop, Matthew Miller Ltd, LR Studio Ltd, Richard James, Osman Yousefzada, Christopher Raeburn, Lou Dalton, Burberry, Marios Schwab Ltd, Mulberry, Jonathan Saunders Ltd, Jasper Conran Ltd

Summary

Britain is world renowned for our creativity and design talent. British designers capture the mood of the moment, cascading it into the high street, creating a multi-billion pound industry. The direct value of the UK fashion industry to the UK economy is £26 billion. Fashion’s total contribution to the economy is estimated to have risen to over £46 billion in 2014. The key to creating further growth in the fashion industry is to professionalise and offer better career paths throughout the industry, not just in design talent. This apprenticeship will deliver specific skills that will ultimately contribute to all levels of a fashion business, developing leaders and teams to work alongside our design talent, as well as making Britain the best place to incubate a new business from initial excitement to commercial sustainability. A Fashion Studio Assistant is a key position in the designer industry, working with the team that creates a collection. This apprenticeship will introduce candidates to the designer fashion industry, with experience gained in both the product and commercial sides of a brand. In a large company, this role would be more focussed on the studio, but in a smaller company this role may also be involved in many other areas of the business. Busy, challenging, and exciting, the apprenticeship will encompass a wide variety of tasks, and will give a broad education in the reality of day-to-day life in a designer business. The apprenticeship starts in the heart of a designer business: The Studio, to learn about how a collection is created. It will then lead to 12 months in a more focussed area of the business: Product development or Production, Sales and Operations, or Fashion Marketing and Communications. In order to go on to many roles in this diverse industry, a foundation in understanding how a collection is created, marketed and sold is invaluable. On successful completion of the Apprenticeship Standard, a Fashion Studio Assistant would possess the following Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours:

Employers involved in creating the standard:

Roksanda Ilincic, Tom Lipop, Matthew Miller Ltd, LR Studio Ltd, Richard James, Osman Yousefzada, Christopher Raeburn, Lou Dalton, Burberry, Marios Schwab Ltd, Mulberry, Jonathan Saunders Ltd, Jasper Conran Ltd

Typical job titles include:

Fashion Studio Assistant
Sustainable fashion studio assistanteco

Keywords:

Creative And Design
Design
Fashion
Fashion Marketing & Communications
Materials

Knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs)

K1: Understanding of the seasonal cycle. Understanding of a product journey: conception, design, sample, sales, delivery, in store, marketing, PR. Understanding of the basic business cycle: cashflow, buying, producing, shipping, budgeting. How the different departments are involved in the creation and selling of a collection.
K2: Understanding of how a collection is brought together, how a Critical Path is created and followed.
K3: Working as part of a wide team. Understanding of health and safety issues.
K4: Awareness of how different departments contribute to a company’s goals.
K5: Working in a studio team, dealing with designers, manufacturers, technical staff, suppliers, production team, freelancers and clients.
K6: Basic understanding of different fabrics, yarns and trims, how they work, how they are priced, where they may be sourced from. Learning about ways to handle, cut and store materials. Potential to learn about designer specific techniques, such as print, embroidery, knit, jacquard and leather work.
K7: A basic understanding of pattern cutting and grading and the importance of fit. How to take measurements and cost a garment. Awareness of how CAD/CAM may be part of the process.
K8: Good basic knowledge of garment construction. Knowledge of the proto development stage, and the sealing of samples. Be able to cut and sew a toile.

S1: Time Management: Able to work to a strict deadline, and to deal with simple project management.
S2: Communication: Communication skills both written and verbal. Professional emails, diary management. Working as part of a team. Communicating with people internal and external to the organisation. Representing the organisation.
S3: Office Admin: Basic invoicing or ordering, diary management, planning and preparation for meetings, admin and data entry.
S4: Researching or sourcing of fabric/components. Placing orders and assistance with controlling inventory. Awareness of leadtimes and minimums for bulk ordering. Consideration of ethical and environmental factors when working with suppliers and factories.
S5: How to cost garments, ability to create a layplan and a bill of materials, how to enter information onto a product management system for use in sales and production.
S6: Understanding of the importance of an accurate technical sheet for manufacturers.
S7: Able to quality control garments, fabrics or accessories. Good eye for detail, awareness of what to look for, how to report and communicate issues. How to prepare garments ready for sale or presentation: steaming, labelling, packing, storing.

B1: Able to work to strict deadlines and to cope with a work pace varying considerably throughout the year. Ability to think on feet, be resourceful, and have a flexible attitude toward changes in work plans.
B2: Hardworking, able to work independently without supervision, hands on attitude and drive to succeed in a competitive environment. Interested in self-development.
B3: Shows maturity in coping with a fast paced, pressured environment. Professional approach to job, and in dealings with other members of staff and external company contacts.

Occupational Progression

This occupational progression map shows technical occupations that have transferable knowledge and skills.

In this map, the focused occupation is highlighted in yellow. The arrows indicate where transferable knowledge and skills exist between two occupations. This map shows some of the strongest progression links between the focused occupation and other occupations.

It is anticipated that individuals would be required to undertake further learning or training to progress to and from occupations. To find out more about an occupation featured in the progression map, including the learning options available, click the occupation.

Progression decisions have been reached by comparing the knowledge and skills statements between occupational standards, combined with individualised learner movement data.

Technical Occupations

Levels 2-3

Higher Technical Occupations

Levels 4-5

Professional Occupations

Levels 6-7

This is the focused occupation.
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Level 3

Progression link from focused occupation.
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Level 3

Progression link from focused occupation.
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Level 4

Progression link from focused occupation.
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Level 6

Creative and design

Sales, marketing and procurement