Why You Need Style Numbers and How to Develop a System
Product names that your customer can easily associate with their favorite product from your collection is a great marketing angle. It’s easy for them to remember and recognize. However, when you are dealing with things on the back end of product development it can get a little grey and leaves a lot of room for error and misunderstanding.
Clarity in Communication
Let’s say that Sally has her line of sweatshirts. The style that sells out each time it is released is called “Superstar”. Sally wants to make another version of Superstar, but with a different fabrication. She wants her customer to expect the same cut, but the fabric behaves a little differently so a new pattern is needed to achieve the same drape. The pattern maker makes another version specifically for this fabric.
Here is where the trouble begins. What does the pattern maker call this new iteration? To Sally it’s still Superstar but she’s referring to it as “the new Superstar”. The pattern maker just labeled it as “Superstar New” and the date.
The pattern maker finishes up the job and the sample room is passed the work. Sally calls to check on the progress of the the “Superstar in the new fabric” along with a couple of other Superstar samples in work. Everyone’s like, ummm... which one?
Another possibility is that Sally wants to do a new series of Superstars but all with different screenprints on the front each with a different style of cat.
The printing team has a question about the rainbow cat, so they ask Sally what to do. Sally replies- “the one with pink on the side of the face”. But the print team is then left wondering if it is the pensive looking one or the one making eye contact.
Factoring in Variations
I know some of you are thinking, that a number can cause confusion too! Potentially, but numbers allow for variation. For instance, if Superstar was known as style # 1005 each variation in fabric could be a hyphenated number like -01. If it’s a style change then the best practice is to give it a new main number. Superstar 3/4 sleeve?- give it a new number. Superstar new fabric?- only the variation -02.
When you have elements like different embroidery or prints for the same style, that could be another set of numbers, as in the case of the cats.
Identifying Fabric
Even if you decide that you don’t want to do style numbers, at least protect yourself by referring to fabric and each colorways by the numbers that the supplier defines it as. If your factory has been shipped 3 rolls of pink fabric today and only one of them belongs to you, then you need to tell the factory what to look out for, going by it’s style name. They will also check your tech pack to confirm that the style number of the fabric received matches that listed. Mistakes in shipments can happen. In this case it’s best to double check because once it’s cut, that is what you are getting.
Cut Down on Product Development Mistakes
As a pattern maker, I work with many clients that start out using names instead of style #’s, or nothing at all, so I save the file as “blouse” or “pants” and it can get confusing and I run the risk of using the wrong starting point if we go back to this file later.
Here’s a common scenario that I find myself in: I am asked to revisit the “Lisa Jacket with the 3/4 sleeves from two years ago”. I have made a bajillion patterns since that point so it doesn’t come to mind immediately and I’m searching the designers website for a visual because the name came after I was done with my part. I finally find the file saved as “jacket 9-10-22”. However, upon closer inspection it looks like we made it a long sleeve for production and have 2 versions of this as a 3/4 sleeve with different body lengths. So I have to follow up with another email to confirm which is correct, and then you have to go back and dig further too. I will always ask the questions if something doen’t seem to work but there are others out there that may not do the same and are focused on just cranking out the work.
Product names will become a problem as your business grows
Let’s plan for the big leagues, yeah?
If you are dealing with wholesale clients, they are more than likely preferring to write their orders based on your style numbers, not names because a number describes a product with a lot more specificity. For instance, they can follow up on the order status of 1005-02 instead of the “Amy Shirt”. Also, numbers can coordinate with shipment info. When asked to ship with a barcode, your product will require it’s own UPS code or GTIN identifying number. These numbers correspond back to inventory systems and each unique number will represent a single product.
If you get to the point where you need to invest in a Product Lifecycle Management system (PLM) to create a new style file it’s going to have to have a number. PLM’s assign numbers because it’s a database.
Organize Yourself
You are going to end up with a lot of digital files of sketches, patterns, artworks, tech packs, etc. As your product assortment grows you will be referring back to past style to use elements of them. Do you really want to be shuffling though alphabetically organized files to search out a specific t-shirt sketch to base a new style on? You think it is the Ann, or could be the Amy, but then pants Ameila is in the mix too.
Style numbers allow you to differentiate between tops and bottoms. For Instance, All of the tops can start with 1’s. All of the skirts start with 5., etc. How amazing would it be when sketching a new style in Illustrator to look through only the 5’s because you need a skirt to start from.
Conclusion
I’ve hopefully given you a lot of food for thought. I’m not saying anyone need to abandon their naming systems. This is what makes sense to the customer which is priority. They can have the Jan shirt in every fabrication but with numbers you have the analytics to track exactly what fabrication is performing the best.
Also, you don’t have to take the numbering systems I have laid out literally. There is no one right way to assign style numbers and everyone has different systems. What I have demonstrated feels the most straighforward to me and what I have seen in practice for mass retail. You can keep it simple at first, then expand as you grow. The important part is to look professional now so when the buyer has pen in hand to write an order, or you need to develop barcodes you look like you have it all together.