Personable, professional and passionate about what she does, it’s easy to see why Felicity Wade decided to take a sabbatical from corporate life to set up the Wade Design network. After almost 30 years in the clothing industry, the illustrious Wade has decided to create a network of freelance designers, technologists, quality controllers and all those that contribute to the design process. The aim is simple as she explains, “I’ve quite a wide number of contacts that I’ve worked with considerably on and off over the years. If a company was looking to do a babywear collection I could put people together so they compile something without necessarily having to build on the headcount.” In these testing times, this idea could appear as very appealing to retailers who are trying to strike a balance between cutting costs, providing value to consumers and design and innovation.
The economic downturn has not just affected the clothing retailers’ revenue but as Wade highlights “the general challenge faced by retailers today is the ability to differentiate themselves. The high street has become quite bland in that shops are selling the same thing” Retailers need to give the customer a reason to enter the store and if this means re-assessing their proposition then so be it. Topshop, Reiss, New Look, Mothercare, Zara, COS and Jaeger are companies that Wade suggest stand out in the marketplace because they offer great and original designs to their customers.
Following a career in manufacturing and womenswear, Wade fell into designing childrenswear in the ‘90s whilst working at BHS. In mid-2000, she moved to Mothercare because “I wanted to work for a brand." There was no grand plan to work in childrens and babywear, but as Felicity says, "I’ve always been opportunistic, if an opportunity arises then I think, well, why not?”
So when Myleene Klass approached Mothercare about creating her own line, the then head of design Felicity saw the benefits to the brand. “Working with Myleene at Mothercare was mutually beneficial because, Myleene wanted to produce a baby range and Mothercare wanted a bit of Myleene's glamour and Myleene wanted Mothercare's credibility. Mothercare wanted to try something slightly different in terms of a product and Myleene added the glamour.” Wade admits that designers can in these cases be overlooked and undervalued but she does see ways that the high street has accommodated designers and transformed them into celebrities. Think Stella McCartney, Victor & Rolf and Karl Lagerfeld collaborations with H&M - the offer was different and a huge success.
Whilst mid-to-top range high street stores battle to produce unique designs, shops like Primark and Matalan pile on the pressure to reduce prices. Wade suggests that “If you think about the effects of the value proposition and value retailers, I think it trains the customer to underestimate what goes into a garment. You can buy T-shirts with embroidery for less than the price of a sandwich from a sandwich shop and that makes it very difficult to offer something else. It’s a problem that we, the retailers, have developed ourselves.”
Consumer habits have also altered over the last 20 years and Felicity knows that the internet has had a huge impact on the way we shop. “You may see a product in-store but search for a better deal later online.” With e-commerce only sites such as ASOS adding another dimension to the art of shopping, high street retailers have been investing hugely in the online industry. And we’re not just talking about e-commerce websites but they are blogging, social networking and participating online with their customers.
Felicity is the first to admit that she uses LinkedIn – a site set up for professionals – to network but fundamentally her way of working has not been changed by the advent of Cyberspace. As she explains, “in the business I’m in, I sell things and to get that, you have be inspired by real objects, exhibitions, fabric stores, bead stores, trade shows – things that are physical and tactile things in the first place.” She does use the web as an addition to her research - to follow parent websites or forums to see what products parents are recommending or look at street reports. Like the bricks and mortar retailers, the internet has opened a new avenue for Felicity Wade but will never replace her enjoyment in seeing what is out there on the high street.
According to Felicity, “it is vital to know the context in which you’re designing, have ideas early on and stick to them.” On offering advice to graduates wanting to follow a path in design she says that skill and competency are necessary but the key addition is creativity. You need to have strong ideas that you believe in and stick to them.
And the Wade Design Network demonstrates how Felicity has come up with an idea that she believes in, “I want to do something more for myself and I’m at the beginning but I want to put together groups of two or three people with complimentary skills.” Alongside creating the network, Wade is also putting together a trend service aimed at small to medium sized businesses. So with plenty of projects in the pipeline and a potential trend service on the way, Wade is certainly focused on her future. A future that is bright because Wade has the drive, ideas and retail knowledge to succeed.
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