Fabric fairs follow the fashion calendar, like fashion week: they take place twice a year. The fairs I source from are mainly in Germany, Italy and France and they offer the highest quality. Over time, I have also established direct relationships with some mills, which allows for more flexible sourcing throughout the year.
By buying my fabrics & yarns in Europe, I am physically closer to my suppliers: I can have fabrics dyed in any color I want, I can have jacquards knitted specifically for my designs. This level of flexibility wouldn’t be possible if I was sourcing from overseas.
The suppliers I work with don’t just buy fabric, cut it and ship it to me, they will start with the yarn and knit the fabric themselves. If I need to test a fabric, I can order a small quantity to make prototypes. Later on, I place a production order which needs 6-8 weeks until delivery. After that, the actual production starts i.e. cutting, sewing, etc.
