Audience:
Open industry. All apparel and footwear industry professionals, regardless of AAFA membership, are encouraged to participate.
Description:
Everybody feels better in clothes that fit and flatter their body shape. Most fashion brands will attest that creating the right fit for consumers is their primary style goal—and their biggest headache.
With the skyrocketing growth of ecommerce, and free and easy returns, getting the right fit from the start is critical to long-term success. Launching ill-fitting collections can impact:
- brand reputation
- customer loyalty
- profit margins and conversion rates
- and the future of our planet.
However, making fashion fit for business is challenging, especially when the risks both before and during production are not anticipated or mitigated. In this webinar, Gap Inc. and SgT will share technical insights and tips that help brands achieve the right fit in fashion every time.
Attendees of this webinar will learn:
- New challenges impacting fit in fashion.
- Technical overview of what is causing fit-related issues.
- Tips on how to mitigate risks associated with fit.
Speakers:
Alex Thomas
Vice President of Global Quality and Fit Tech
Gap Inc.
Alex Thomas is the Vice President of Global Quality & Fit Tech at Gap Inc. He has spent his professional life between Europe and Asia working with various brands and retailers. In the 1990's, Alex was based in Switzerland, India, Denmark, and London working with various European fashion brands. In 2002, Alex moved to China to work with K-Swiss where he led the company's portfolio of brands in China and SE Asia in many functions from Design and Development through to Operations, Production and Quality over a 10 year period. In 2012, Alex moved to VF Asia in Hong Kong, leading the Global Quality Process, Engineering teams and VF's 3rd Way program. In 2018, Alex joined Gap Inc. in Hong Kong, where he is currently based, leading Global Quality Assurance on Product Quality, Technical Design, Product Integrity, Testing, Safety, Color and Fit CoE.
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Cyrus Naderi
Chief Operating Officer EMEA & LATAM
SgT, a company of Worms Safety
With extensive experience in textile product safety, compliance and quality for a variety of destination markets including North America, Latin America, and Europe, Cyrus Naderi manages SgT offices and operations in the EMEA region, covering Europe, Middle East, Turkey, Africa, Mauritius, Madagascar, and Latin America. Drawing on his Masters in Textile Manufacturing (ITECH, France), Cyrus oversees quality solutions in ready-to-wear, children wear, luxury and high-end, outdoor and sportswear, lingerie, footwear, workwear, and bags. He has managed factories in the PPE domain (airtight chemical protection suits, heat resistance suits, and anti-fall protection) and supervised technical and compliance audits in his previous roles in the fashion, retail and manufacturing industries.
Marie-Annabelle
Chief Executive Officer
SgT, a company of Worms Safety
Marie-Annabelle is the CEO of SgT, among other leading functions within the Worms Safety Alliance. Her prior experience includes operational and management roles at a major French fashion retailer and the world's 2nd largest shipping line. Marie-Annabelle has extensive expertise across different markets and production countries including the US, Asia, and Europe in supply chain management and textiles. In 2005 she relocated to Asia, working across China, India, South East Asia and finally Hong Kong.
Marie-Annabelle perpetuates the uniqueness of SgT's offering - built on 30 years of experience - and takes it to the next level. Today, SgT is the sole textile quality specialists with strong manufacturing expertise stemming from an unparalleled boots-on-the-ground approach. She thrives on bringing global teams of softlines compliance, quality and sustainability experts together to develop tailor-made solutions to help fashion actors prevent and manage risks.
Moderator:
Kristen Kern
Manager of Supply Chain and Sustainability Initiatives
AAFA
As Manager of Supply Chain and Sustainability Initiatives, Kristen leads the AAFA Sustainability portfolio, working with government and industry professionals to further environmental sustainability in the apparel and footwear industry. She also leads the AAFA Product Safety portfolio, collaborating with stakeholders to create best practices and regulations for safe, quality products for consumers. Kristen holds Bachelor’s Degrees in Fashion Merchandising and Design, and French, with a minor in Chemistry from Virginia Tech.