About Lucy'Jo Coombes the Designer
A Brief history of skills and experience...
I am a creative, enthusiastic and hard working forward thinking fashion designer. I have worked for influential suppliers and high-street store Republic which has enabled me to work well in a team and at meeting deadlines. It is my goal to produce on-trend, top selling designs. I work excellently well under pressure, I love to be challenged and I also have a keen interest in travel. I love meeting with customers and liaising with factories. I am a very fast learner and have excellent communicational and presentation skills. I always strive to be the best to ensure the best results.
I have in-depth knowledge of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator CS2-CS6. I have an extensive knowledge of design and pattern cutting, both moulage and flat to innovative cutting, with extensive hands on experience with trend prediction, fabric sourcing and manufacture. I have experience with Extra (stock control software). I am experienced in Microsoft Excel and full knowledge of Apple and Pc suites. I have an excellent catalogue of graphic/embellishment and print artworks using relevant software and free hand. Working with the techniques of factories to ensure the most up-to-date finishers. I have worked as a graphic designer for top high-street stores. This has enabled me to be confident in producing exclusive graphics, and sending relevant packs to the factories for development.
Republic, Leeds (June 2012-Feb2013)
Designer – Ladies-wear Fashion and Graphics Multi-product/Multi-brand
Role:
· To produce a steady flow of graphic/prints/embellishments and designs for all brands
· Mentored Junior Designer in creating @Republic street brand – taking strong leadership through garment and print production to ensure the overall look.
· Running of my own department and liaising with the whole Ladies-wear team to ensure unison throughout the departments.
· Managing workload to ensure in line with the critical path, ensuring the right product would land at the right time, to achieve the best hit rate.
· Participating in training and developing assistants.
· Ecom/Social Media Trend Champion- over seeing and influencing
· Advertising trends to follow critical paths
· Advertising and pulling new looks together for photo shoots
· Styling photo-shoots and ensuring our key ideas are followed through.
· Working with Social media to ensure connections with our customers.
· What’s Hot Report Trend Champion– producing a weekly company trend update, to report street trends/ music to ensure all staff are up to date and do not miss trends.
· Trend forecasting and seasonal presentations
· Working with buyers to develop on-trend time aware product.
· Worked with suppliers and factories on a daily basis – conducting meetings and presentations.
· Producing company - wide branding to ensure strong name for Republic
· Supported Accessories and Nightwear through a steady production of Designs and Prints.
· Conducting shopping reports and sample shopping.
· Keeping a close relationship with store managers to work through any problems and keeping up-to-date with customer feedback.
· Conducting a range of research for trends/ideas/new shapes for Multi-brand product, identifying what is right for our customer.
Visage, Manchester (Feb2012-June 2012)
Ladies wear fashion Graphic Designer
Role:
· Research of graphics/trends this includes producing trend boards/sketches/new ideas.
· Attending fashion shows and going on shopping trips to find emerging trends and to buy sample to work from niche and designer retailers.
· To translate ideas to commercial designs for the mass market.
· To produce artwork graphic/print/embellishment to present at customer meetings.
· To produce detailed design sheets for the factories to work from, making sure they have all the information to produce excellent first samples.
· Quality control all samples, and produce own amendments to issue to factories
· Liaising with customers and suppliers to develop new ranges. Including attending sales meetings.
· Produce a range of graphical artworks, also working free hand.
· Identify customers handwriting and working to the strengths.
· Primark Account Champion – working with my buyer to produce designs and graphic content for high street store Primark, overseeing the look and working with the Primark team to ensure a constant flow of product.
Whispering Smith, Manchester Office (Feb2011-EndJan 2012)
Junior Designer for Ladies Wear Soft Woven’s
Role:
· Designer for brands such as BHS, Republic (Miso, Crafted, SoulCal and White Label), L.K Bennett, Dorothy Perkins, New Look, Ring spun, USC, Bank and other high-street stores.
· Working to fabric source, fit and follow progression of samples in India, Hong Kong and China. Ensuring quality control issues are met to standard producing a quality garment.
· Daily Liaising with manufacturers and customers.
· Production of trend forecasts, sales mails and shop reports.
· Working and designing with a World-wide organisation with offices in Milan, New York and Germany with daily contact to the offices and staff.
· Designing a wide range of garments trousers, tops, dresses, skirts, shorts, in a range of fabric qualities, woven and jersey mixes, with different finishing and fabric techniques.
· Producing up-to-date trend lead collection to enable the designs perfect for the time, to ensure quality and cost to enable repeat orders.
· To produce exclusive prints/embellishments and placement designs.
· To produce size/fabric specifications for my designs on a daily basis which are sent overseas to negiociate costing to create initial sample, following the progression to final production.
· To also create a stock range distributed worldwide following from design to exclusive prints to chasing sample, to promoting items to our customers to ensure best sales.
· Liaising with new customers and factories to develop a great working relationship.
I have completed 5 years study in this field, resulting in a National Diploma 3x Distinction level and a BA (HONS) in Fashion Design resulting at a high 2:1. I have an in-depth knowledge of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator CS2 to CS5. I have an extensive knowledge of design and pattern cutting, both moulage, flat and innovative cutting and manufacture.
I have great experience with working with overseas factories to discuss, fabric,product production, costing and deliveries. I have designed a range of garments for a wide range of customers with varying age-groups and needs.
I have experience working with George at Asda head office in Lutterworth, Leister. Working as a womanswear designer, in my time there I worked on different lines such as: casual wear, formal wear, denim, foot wear and global comparative shopping. I was responsible for researching and trend analysis, garment fitting, liaising with buyers and overseas management. Also working on the design teams themselves to produce and present ideas for future seasons to the board of directors.
I exhibited at London Graduate Fashion Week, where I was selected to present my current collection in Birmingham with nine other graduates chosen by J Model Management out of over a thousand graduates. This show commenced on the 1st August 2010. I have also been asked to join www.own-label.co.uk, which is a site to showcase designers work. I was contacted from Graduate Fashion Week to enter, I entered "Little Black Dress" of which I came 2nd and "Open Brief" of which I came 3rd out of over 60 designers in each section, completing with thousands of votes. I recently have also commissioned a menswear piece for the host of Leeds Fashion Week.
In the past I have been interviewed by a number of different local newspapers and magazines about the ideas behind my collections.
I am very interested in design, womanswear or menswear, due to my board experience of highstreet to couture garment designing, I am very versatile and can work on all levels of design as I am excellant at obtaining brief-lead outcomes. However I also really enjoy trend researching and pattern cutting.
Finally I worked within a Boutique to create collections, sold within the store. I am the sole designer for one-off couture pieces. I controlled;
· Designing of pieces 2x Womanswear collection, 1x Menswear collection
· Pattern cutting
· Fabric sourcing
· Manufacture
· Alterations
· Make-to-order pieces
Best Sellers within the collection are my range of couture dresses costing from £65-£150, and my avant-garde tailored Jackets costing from £80-£200. These pieces have been included in several fashion shows and photo-shoots.
Temple Spa Fashion Show, Little Black Dress (Dec 2011)
www.look.com (Sept 2011)
Designer Alviero Martini (May 2011)
Leeds Fashion Week (Sept 2010)
J Model Management Fashion Show (Aug 2010)
Own Label on Line Competitions (July-Aug 2010)