Andrea Moore Design
Developing a Range
From the 2002 range
From the 2002 range
Andrea Moore designs four ranges each year. “We used to only produce 2 ranges a year but it was always a huge effort the logistics of 40 styles, different colour ways, different sizes" reflected Andrea. “For a whole month we would be working often till well after 9.00 pm at night with a monster week and weekend at the end. Everyone would be shattered by the end of it. And then, I would still have to sell it around the country".
Not only was the workload massive there were also huge costs financially such as overtime, bulk fabric purchasing. It was a real break through moving to four ranges as the hours have evened out, and so have the expenses.
Each range tends to be developed around a theme. Summer 2002-2003 was “A Girl's Guide to Cocktails".
“It evolved from the fun side to what we do, we have lots of cocktails" laughed Andrea.The theme often goes hand in hand with the fabrics Andrea has seen though sometimes it comes first and the search is on for the right fabrics. Compromises and changes are commonplace.
“A Girl's Guide to Cocktails" was a fun range, and as some of the dresses were soft and drapey they therefore fitted into the theme well. The theme throughout a range is often echoed by emphasising particular design features to a greater or lesser extent through patternmaking techniques for example, particular dart placements, panels, use of tucks, frills, buttons or whatever, so everything ties together.
In contrast the theme for the summer range for 2003-04 is a “World War One story". Andrea started with the fabric which is a creamy white dupion silk with red poppies on it. She felt it needed to be, "edged up a bit, it was too prissy in its natural state". Andrea came up with the idea of World War One and the poppy fields; to screen print onto the fabric big poppies and planes, then a further screen print and have a layer of stripes which mix well with flowers. The result is poppies overlaid with aeroplanes and stripes.
Each range adheres to a template: Spring – lots of separates; Summer – lots of dresses for people going to weddings and events; Autumn – suiting range as well as special occasion styles as the ball season approaches; Winter – a fill in.
Within each range for the specific seasons a 'Basics' range is often produced such as, a basic top to go with a frilly skirt or basic skirt to go with an amazing top, a Suiting range, and a bridal/special occasion range.
Andrea is continually thinking ahead, although each new season's range promotes different ideas, a style detail or technique that worked really well in the last season may be further developed in the next range. There is also innovation in patternmaking techniques – they evolve to produce an effective design feature with a more efficient use of fabric.
