Hi Catherine

Thank you for your email. The team have put together some thoughts for you below:


1.       What are the advantages of using pattern books?
·         Allows a whole collection and co-ordinates to be shown together in one place.
·         Allows clients to view all colourways in one place.
·         Allows a “scheme” to be shown together to provide ideas and inspiration to clients.
·         Space saving - if space is limited in the showroom to hang all fabrics in all colourways.
·         Easier for Reps to take whole collections out “on the road” to show clients.
·         Easy to identify brands within a showroom library or a retail space.
·         Inspirational images that show clients ideas of how the fabric can be used.
·         Separates collections and types of fabrics

2.       What are the disadvantages of using pattern books?
·         They can be heavy to move and bulky to store.
·         When  parts of older collections are discontinued, the book can become largely redundant and therefore takes up valuable space when only a few fabrics are current.
·         Difficult to move around and create schemes purely using pattern books rather than hangers or fabric lengths.
·         Designs can become hidden within the book and rely on customers making full use of the books.
·         For large designs it is only possible to display a portion of the pattern.
·         May get damaged from moving them around too much

3.       Do you feel there is a future for pattern books? If so, what changes might there be?
·         Yes, definitely a future.
·         A potential change could be a pattern book design where you can remove/insert fabrics within the book when fabrics are discontinued.
·         See if clients prefer to have smaller size books with less product or larger books with more product.

4.       Do you feel pattern books are a crucial part of the consumer purchasing journey?
·         They are crucial if space dictates that fabrics cannot be displayed as lengths or hangers.

5.       Do you feel pattern books fully show-off and display a collection appropriately?
·         Yes, providing that large designs are accompanied by images to show the customer the whole design.
·         With the correct layout and appropriate imagery a pattern book can work perfectly.

Kind regards
Clara

From: Catherine Wells [mailto:catherinemwells@yahoo.co.uk] 

To Clara,

Another student, Georgina, and myself, visited the showroom at Chelsea Harbour at the end of trade on 8th November inquiring as to whether you could answer some questions for our research into the future of pattern books, to which we were given your card to forward on the questions to yourself.

We are currently in our final year of university studying Fashion Communication and Promotion at Nottingham Trent University. For our first research module we are looking at the role of pattern/ fabric swatch books in the fashion and interior industries, and what the future may be for them. 

I wondered if you had a few moments to spare to answer these five short questions. Any response would be greatly appreciated!

The information you give me will be used in support of my work and may be written up in my project/dissertation. Anything you say will be treated with the strictest confidence and your contribution to the discussion will not attribute you as an individual. What you say will be used for illustration only; to reinforce points that I make


Catherine Wells

07596610361