Accelerating Time-to-Market: The New Paradigm in the Fashion Industry

In an era where consumers demand instant gratification, the fashion industry is undergoing a significant transformation. The "see now, buy now" concept, introduced by Burberry and Tom Ford in 2016, was a response to this shift. The idea was to cater to consumers, especially millennials, who are less willing to wait several months to own the latest runway styles.

Fast fashion companies like Forever 21, H&M, Inditex, and Primark were already capitalizing on this trend, producing replicas of fresh-off-the-runway items and selling them in stores in a matter of weeks. The result was a significant increase in revenues, outpacing the overall growth of the apparel retail sector.

However, the question arose: could this model work for high-end apparel? While some designers have since reversed course, citing the misalignment between the timing of Fashion Week and store-shipping schedules, more than 15 leading fashion companies continue to experiment with the "see now, buy now" model. The consensus is that it is a feasible model for the long term, provided fashion companies are willing to embark on a dramatic transformation of their processes and mindsets.

The fashion cycle, broadly speaking, consists of three phases: planning, design, and product development; sell-in; and production and delivery. The length of each phase varies widely by company, but the greatest potential for compressing the calendar lies in the planning, design, and development phase.

To accelerate time-to-market, the first step is to define a viable target length for the full fashion cycle. This involves taking into account the company’s business model, retailer requirements for the assortment and benchmarks from competitors—especially those that have successfully shortened their own calendars. Once the target length for the full cycle has been set, the next step is to eliminate time-wasting activities and accelerate processes in each phase.

In the planning, design, and product development phase, the finance team sets financial targets for the collection while the creative teams determine the creative direction of the season’s collection. At some apparel companies, the finance and creative teams work separately, often resulting in inefficiencies and rework. Leading-edge companies have instead established a central merchandising team composed of staff from both the financial and creative sides of the business. This team collaborates on the creative direction, the financial targets, and the master plan, agreeing on parameters early in the fashion cycle. This collaboration can cut out unnecessary iterations and shave up to five weeks off the initial phase.

The central team typically reviews sales data from the previous year, which can yield valuable consumer insights and form the basis of sensible business constraints. Advanced analytical tools and techniques can help increase the reliability of forecasts by isolating the factors that drove sales, down to the SKU level. The most forward-looking companies analyze additional types of publicly available data such as online searches, social media, competitor websites, and online product ratings. These analyses not only unearth nascent trends but also warn of receding trends.

The company then produces the first prototypes of the new collection. This process can be compressed by up to three weeks if the company opts to create mostly digital prototypes rather than physical ones.

Digital prototypes, which are 3D images on a screen, can also shorten the sell-in phase, by lessening the need for producing and shipping physical samples. With digital prototyping, fashion companies can showcase the collection to smaller retailers remotely; those customers can then place their orders without having to travel to a showroom at all.

The production and delivery phase also offers opportunities for shortening the timeline. One lever is disciplined manufacturer management. Leading fashion companies have so tightly integrated their manufacturing partners into their business that manufacturers take responsibility for a variety of tasks and approvals. In some cases, manufacturers bypass several sign-offs from the head office, thereby cutting as many as ten days from the production process.

In conclusion, traditional fashion companies need to be willing to make more than just cosmetic changes to their calendars. They need to thoroughly examine each of their activities and processes and effect a change in mindsets across the organization. In doing so, they could give the fast-fashion companies a run—maybe even a sprint—for their money.

This shift towards faster (but yet sustainable) fashion is not just a trend, but a necessity in today's fast-paced, consumer-driven market. It's time for the industry to embrace this change and accelerate innovation in order to drive positive sustainable growth.