17 In cases where customers were too small to have their own designs, they usually chose from range already made up by a garment manufacturer's design department, or from the larger buying offices.
18 Fashion manufacturers produce on a much smaller scale. Most of their production is of their own design and bearing their own label. According to recent press reports, Hong Kong fashion design has in the past been largely imitative, but local young designers are now becoming increasingly well-known for their original ideas. Many of the design firms exhibit their entire range at fashion shows such as the Igedo Fair at Dusseldorf; customers can then order selected garments. Garments may be sold to chains, stores and boutiques in the customer countries.
19 In addition to their own-label clothes, fashion garment manufacturers also make up to customers' designs. As already mentioned, for example, Hong Kong factories produce fashion clothes for the British designers Laura Ashley and Marisa Martin. The same ordering methods apply here as to the mass production manufacturers, except that in such cases the designers seem to do more interpreting of their customers' ideas.
Factors influencing the purchase of fabrics
20 In the mass production trade, price was invariably the starting point for considering an order, although not necessarily the overriding factor. For medium and higher quality cloths, the quality and especially design were very important. Availability and delivery were also important: one firm interviewed stated that even if a fabric were 20 per cent more costly than its competitors, it might still be acceptable provided it could be supplied in better time.
21 In the context of the Far East, it was also necessary to enter a long-term relationship with the garment manufacturers: one agent stated that this too was worth something in price terms, and that, although such an entree was difficult to secure, once achieved further orders could be almost automatic.
22 A related factor was confidence in a British supplier's ability and intention to maintain supply over a long period. One basic point, of course, was that garment manufacturers needed to know the capability of a country's textile industry and the quality of its production.
23
Most of the above applies also to the fashion trade. The major difference was that design, innovation and quality were vital and cost comparatively unimportant. An illustration of this was the use of Italian printed silks. Although these might be three or four times more expensive than Chinese silk, they were much in demand because of the high quality of their prints and colours, and the rapid adoption of new designs: this is very necessary in a field where designers say colours have to be changed at least every two seasons. However, Italian deliveries were said to be poor with the result that more designers were turning to Japanese printed silks, which were also of good quality.
24 Buying seasons for the mass producers and fashion designers are again rather different. The former were less affected by the need to produce in time for the spring and autumn seasons. In particular, the large firms which bought fabrics such as greycloth said they were not really affected by the seasons. They stated that any time would be a good time for fabric manufacturers or agents to approach them.
25
A rough consensus of those who are affected by the seasons would be as follows. Manufacturers started looking for textile materials about a year in advance of the scheduled delivery of the finished garments. Agents visited garment manufacturers at this period to display their principals' products. Garment buyers visited Hong Kong twice a year, coming in May/June for the following spring season and October/November for the following autumn. (Some buyers however visited more often and conversely the manufacturers visited the buyers once or twice a
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