Fashion Merchandising - Precollege

The job of Product Developer within fashion retail is about managing the development of store brand apparel from initial sketches to final sample. Like the Fashion Buyer they must have a keen sense of what's trending and what  their customers want to wear, but they need to act further in advance of a Fashion Buyer because of the time it takes to develop and manufacture a new prodcut. The job also includes communicating exact product specification with factories for apparel production, as well as trims and fabrics. Many Product Developers have a fashion design or fashion trend forecasting backgrounds.

Product Developers turn to trend forecasting services to get insights into emerging consumer tribes and cultural shifts. As creative product developers they need to be pay particular attention to consumer insights, macro trends, and early forecasting reports, If they have the role of product manager, they need to communicate with design, manufacture and retail team and be aware of their needs. 

Take a look at our Trend Forecasting Database Playlist on YouTube for more information