Collaborative Efforts Boost Gap Product Design
by Dylan DeSimone, Gap Inc. blogger
Have you ever wondered how the pieces in your closet were created?
As you may have already guessed, many steps and hands are needed to bring the perfect pair of jeans, scallop top or spring floral dress to our stores and then to you.
It all begins with a truly collaborative design process right from the start. One of the most exciting and innovative steps of the process is how we partner with our vendors. When we talk about vendors, we mean the partners who we work with to design and produce the perfect pieces of fabric – denim, twill, etc. – so that together we can create the clothes our teams have designed. Softness, texture, weight, scale, aesthetics, functionality – all these things, and much, much more, come into play.
Many times, designs are even inspired by the fabrics that are created for them.
Our collaboration starts with open, two-way conversations around the new fabric capabilities vendors are inventing and/or perfecting, and there’s input from all functions over what will work best for the customer. One constant filter is “What will shoppers love?” and “How can these pieces work for them?”
[EYE FOR DETAIL: Gap Inc.’s attentive process in the denim line]
Another major element of this partnership is our seasonal Development Trips.
This is where Gap Inc.’s experts in design, merchandising, production, sourcing, vendors . . . everyone can be in the same room, working on the design, material and fit of a product together.
Thanks to new and improved, close collaboration with our vendors, Gap Inc. teams are able to source exactly what the customer needs. This improved kind of partnership is not only carrying us to new and revamped concepts and stylish looks, but a quick product turnaround.
And it’s increasingly resulting in unique items.
Gap Inc.’s collaborative approach and emphasis on alignment is part of our evolution. The flexibility with our vendors allows us to innovate and explore what’s possible.
Learn more about the people who design our clothes
Read about our Product Development Trips
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