I placed this post under the category of 'The Art of Shopping' but me shopping away to my own personal fancies and desires is a completely kettle of fish from BUYING for a boutique. This is the sort of shopping that makes or breaks designers financially, the Business of Fashion (recent commentary on LFW is heavily interesting stuff...) that I previously hadn't a clue about and now realise, we can't all sigh and think complimenting how pretty a dress is, is going to keep a designer in business. Some of you may have twigged that for AW08-9, I will be the guest-buyer for Brittique.com because Nicole, the owner has just given birth to a lovely baby boy and is all the way in New York.
So in her *ahem* good faith in my good taste, I have been given the task of picking out pieces for the upcoming season that may not necessarily be to my own whimsical fancy but have to sell. A daunting task indeed and professional buyers will smirk at my lack of experience and immaturity for sure. However, as much as I have a particular, niche, personal taste, I do feel that I have a rough idea of what the general public demands and in any case, Brittique isn't for any gal but mostly gals with tastes similar to mine and a penchant for British-based labels. So I have and will be at buying appointments for the following... and a few more if I wheedle to Nicole about it (afterall, it is she with the buying budget...).
h Chalayan, Camilla Staerk, Peter Jensen, Louise Amstrup, Hannah Marshall, Emma Cook
I'm trying not to treat this in the same way I play Monopoly, which is buying up the whole streets and smacking houses and hotels down pronto, and shall keep my head firmly on my shoulders. I shall however probably make myself sick though when the stuff I pick out goes on sales, nervous to see whether anything has been sold and whether I made the right choices. I hear designers love logging into some sort of Net a Porter sales barometer to see whether their stuff is selling well so I might be obsessively checking too....
