Behind the Scenes with Amber, Trend Forecaster and Designer.
Amber Grant, our inhouse trend forecaster and designer, has been with Equator – the Belt Factory™ for just over four years. Trend forecasting is an integral part of designing and manufacturing fashion accessories, in that this is where conception of ideas begins.
“Trend forecasting is the starting point,” says Amber, “It’s about looking to the future (up to 2 years ahead) and determining the key trends, colours, silhouettes and styles that will inform the market and the design of our products. I look at what is happening internationally and how we can make it relevant for our market locally.”
Amber’s work is also about ensuring trends and styles can be contextualised to client specific needs. “There is a degree of consistency in that we are working with everyday-wear. But when presenting to our customers, we are sure to consider their customer target market, value equation and pricing. Not to mention making sure we always deliver an element of freshness, fashionability, sizzle and newness.”
Importantly newness is not just about styling, it’s also about materials innovation and sustainability.
Amber’s favourite part of the job is being able to flex her creative muscles: “There is so much inspiration internationally with retailers, designers and catwalk collections. I have so much space to be creative within my job and I am constantly inspired,” says Amber. “I also love that generally I get to travel and work with suppliers throughout our design process.”
When asked about her greatest challenge at work, Amber speaks of the fact that there are always so many projects on the go, and that is sometimes a challenge to stay on top of everything. “But that’s not a bad thing!” She says. “I certainly never get bored.”
In addition to Amber’s work in trend forecasting and design, she champions sustainability messaging in the company. An important aspect of how we are moving forward as a factory on our sustainability journey.
Thank you Amber, for all your hard work and contributions to making Equator – the Belt Factory™ a success.