We interveiwed Fran the Owner and Head Pattern Cutter at The Pattern Room to share her background and what she loves most about her work.
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I have worked as a garment tech for about ten years. During this time I worked in many positions learning the garment production business inside out. I had the opportunity to set up the garment tech department at JW Anderson. With the growth of the brand, the department was required and It took 3 seasons to get the processes in place to have the pre-production done in house. Now I am doing the same thing with The Pattern Room, it's a pre-production studio for small brands. I created the studio because I saw there was an underserved start-up market, I wanted to create something that would help materialise designer's visions, no matter what their professional background.
There are a lot of designers new to the world of pre-production. The Pattern Room not only offers services but we act as a portal to the world of fashion, talking our clients through every step of the process. I love seeing designers' visions and bringing them to life, it's an amazing part of the job! I love when we complete a toile to exactly what our client envisioned.
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What are your plans for The Pattern Room?
"Growth, branching out into grading, digitising and expanding our Pattern Room team."
What do you think about before cutting a pattern?
" Construction of how the pieces will fit together to create a 3D garment. If I don't know how to do something I will lay in bed at night putting it together in my head before putting it down on paper. I love a challenge. If issues ever come up for super complex patterns, I will do a mock-up toile for myself before putting it on paper."
What's the weirdest thing you've ever had to pattern cut?
" I can't tell you I signed an NDA. But I once was asked to make a pattern for a sex suit featuring a very long zip"
If you had to cut a pattern for an animal what would it be?
" Probably a little otter wet suit"
What are your top three favourite tools?
" My pattern master, a Japanese tracing wheel and my diary!"
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