Featured Post:
"What exactly does a Fashion Buyer do ? "
A fashion buyer is responsible for turning trends, data, and customer insight into commercially successful product ranges.
They research the market, plan and develop collections, manage suppliers and budgets, and make strategic decisions that directly impact sales, margin, and profitability—balancing creativity with commercial discipline at every stage of the buying cycle
Fashion Tech Packs: What to Include and Why It Matters
A fashion tech pack is the specification document a factory
How to Build a Fashion Range in Ten Steps
Building a fashion range runs from an initial concept to
The Mistake Most Fashion Buyers Make
The most consistent fashion buying mistake I see is a
Fashion Buyer Performance Reviews: What Managers Look For
A buyer performance review assesses considerably more than just the
Why Hitting Your Targets Is Not Enough
Hitting sales targets is why you keep the role you
How AI Is Changing the Fashion Buyer’s Role
AI in fashion buying is genuinely useful in five specific
Fashion Buyer CV: How to Write One That Gets Read
A strong fashion buyer CV demonstrates what you achieved rather
The Margin Conversation: Speaking Finance’s Language
Gross margin comes up in every range review, every supplier
Private Label Product Development: A Buyer’s Process
Private label product development takes a product from an idea
Stakeholder Communication for Junior Fashion Buyers
Stakeholder communication is one of the most important skills a
Sell-Through Rate: Formula, Benchmarks and What It Tells You
Sell-through rate is the metric buyers quote most often and
Why Fashion School Does Not Prepare You to Be a Buyer
Fashion school gives you a creative foundation and very little
The Critical Path in Fashion Buying, Explained
The fashion critical path is the part of the buying
Supplier Negotiation for Fashion Buyers
Effective supplier negotiation in fashion buying has very little to
Demand Forecasting in Fashion Buying: A Practical Guide
Demand forecasting is the discipline of turning what you already
How to Analyse Retail Sales Performance as a Buyer
Proper retail sales analysis is what separates a buying plan
What Being Commercial Really Means in Fashion Buying
Commercial awareness in fashion buying means connecting every product decision
Fashion Range Planning: How to Maximise Sales and Margin
Fashion range planning decides what you will buy, in what
What Is Open to Buy (OTB) in Fashion Buying?
Open to Buy is the amount you have available to
How to Price a Fashion Product: A Buyer’s Guide
A sound retail pricing strategy starts long before you set
Markup vs Margin in Fashion Buying, Explained
Understanding markup vs margin is the difference between a range
The Fashion Buyer Career Path
The fashion buyer career path typically progresses from administrator or
What Does a Fashion Buyer Do?
A fashion buyer is responsible for turning trends, data, and
Fashion Buyer Job Requirements
Discover the fashion buyer job requirements and skills you need
How Buyers Can Build Confidence in Fashion Buying
If you’ve ever walked into Monday morning trade meeting clutching
Fashion Buyers Gone Too Far: Supplier Crisis
What Happens When Fashion Buyers Go Too Far: How Supplier
How to Become a Fashion Buyer: An Insider Guide
Becoming a fashion buyer requires commercial skills, understanding business fundamentals,
What They Don’t Teach You in Fashion Buying School
Life in a buying office is a world away from
How to Accelerate Your Career Growth in Fashion Buying and Merchandising
Getting your foot in the door of a retail buying
Essential Fashion Buyer Metrics for Smarter Decisions
When I started my career in Fashion Buying I quickly
meet elisabeth
Hello ! I’m Elisabeth Mac Hale founder of The Design Directive, a fashion business consultancy based in the UAE.
As a fashion buying consultant and trainer, with over 25 years of experience in the fashion industry, I work with both individual buyers and retail organisations to improve buying capability, commercial decision-making, and team performance.
I am also the host of the ‘Thrive in Fashion Buying’ podcast and the creator of fashion buying online courses and team training.
HOW TO MASTER FASHION BUYING: YOUR ULTIMATE ANSWER GUIDE
DOWNLOAD this free guide with answers to the most frequently asked questions about fashion buying. As a buyer you need to know how to manage each step of the buying cycle. Get the answers you need to go from good to GREAT !
