Ask Fashion Girl

Dear Ashley:

The term"collection"is often used, but seldom defined! A collection, or line, is the clothing and accessories offered to customers for a specific season. It's a term that used to apply only to the priciest haute couture, but now it's used to refer to ready-to-wear and manufacturers as well.

The number of collections per year depends on the market. For instance, a Juniors manufacturer would likely do a new line every month! In the Women's Contemporary market, two lines per season is the norm, to keep the stores updated with new stuff and to give the buyers variety.

A collection is proportional: three tops to two bottoms. That means the smallest collection would be five pieces. There can be up to 15 pieces in a line (that would mean nine tops and six bottoms). Generally, every women's line has a trouser, a skirt, and a button-front woven shirt.

What goes into the collection depends on who the target customer is and what lifestyle that person has or aspires to. Designers always study the lifestyle of the customers in their target market. After familiarizing themselves with that profile, they want to put key fashion items in the line for that season to appeal to that customer. If the poncho is in, they'll do a version of the poncho. If capri pants are in, they'll do a version of the capri pant. That's why you see a lot of different interpretations of the same style from different companies.

Another thing companies do is adapt from their previous successes. If a style sold well for them in the past, they'll reintroduce it but update it in some way.

I hope this clears up the confusion and helps you think about your own future collection!

Sincerely, Fashion Girl