Cutting a dashing figure
Melanie Cutfield's background as a pattern maker has given her an exacting approach to design; but she also knows a thing or two about business, as Belinda Smart reports
Like any up-and-coming fashion designer, Sydney womenswear designer Melanie Cutfield is no stranger to hardship. She is able to recite a litany of hurdles in the journey from life long dream to commercially viable fashion label, including sleepless nights, limited cash flow and unreliable client payments, to name but three.
"If I had a sugar daddy it would be so easy to throw money at every problem I've encountered, but the truth is that this [label] is every thing we [Cutfield and her husband] have. We've delayed starting a family, we don't own a house and we've definitely made sacrifices," she says.
Cutfield has endured 100-hour working weeks and has been known to jump in the car when most people are settling in for the night in order to make last minute deliveries.
"When it's your own money invested in the business, you don't send last-minute things like care-labels for the manufacturers by courier. You get in the car and drive them over," she explains.
She has also learned not to be over trusting of creditors.
"Early on I had a very bad experience with bad debt where a creditor went into liquidation. I had $9000 worth of stock in the store and another $18,000 worth of stock on order and I had to try to resell the stock. It was a very painful experience."
Yet despite these growing pains, Cutfield's self-named label -- now in its fourth season - has blossomed into a sought-after brand and the business as a whole has experienced 100 per cent growth year on year.
Before launching the label Cutfield had garnered a broad range of industry experience, working -- among other things -- as a patternmaker, designer and fabric buyer and qualifying at prestigious institutions including the Fashion Design School in Wellington, New Zealand and at the London College of Fashion.
Her label - which she describes as "structured but quirky" epitomizes its creator and namesake's passion for tailoring.
"It has a strong suiting element, and a high level of detailing in the use of stitching, zips, panels or seams. It also includes a silk component, including dresses and blouses, finished using traditional couture processes such as pleating or ruching, with a contemporary twist," she explains.
While the label is high end, Cutfield has positioned it in a relatively affordable bracket, with suit jackets ty"I decided not to price the collection too high as it's important to allow retailers and consumers to give you a chance when you're starting out. However, one thing I won't compromise on is quality. If you're going to make a boutique garment it has to be sufficiently well put together and well finished that people are prepared to pay for it."
This approach has paid dividends for Cutfield, who describes the rapid rise of the label -- now wholesaling to around 60 accounts across Australia and New Zealand -- as "a dream run."
Having achieved exposure through renowned boutiques including Orson & Blake in Sydney and Cactus Jam in Melbourne, Cutfield has reached a stage where she can focus on promoting her brand further.
She signed up with the Sydney-based Paul Maloney Fashion Agency in May this year, and will exhibit for the first time at Mercedes Australian Fashion Week (MAFW) in 2006, with the purpose of raising the brand's profile among consumers.
Unlike many fledgling designers, she initially avoided MAFW.
"You hear about young designers getting great press coverage at MAFW, but they're still living at home and not breaking even," she says, adding that instead, she focussed on targeting key boutiques ahead of MAFW with a well-honed first collection.
"I didn't even offer the stores stock on consignment, and every one of them signed an order," she claims.
Clearly, Cutfield has learned that a strategic approach is essential to growing her business.
"I've always been good at maths, which helps, but it's still a steep learning curve gaining an understanding of profit and loss, cash flow and balance sheets. I used to be more interested in finding the right binding in the right colour to finish off a garment, then I realised that if I didn't change my ways there wouldn't be any binding because there wouldn't be any money," she explains.
She also knew that building reliable relationships with manufacturers was crucial.
"When I started out] I was driving out to [factories in the Sydney suburb of] Fairfield two or three times a week - so I really got to understand how the manufacturers' businesses worked. I built up a relationship with them and in many cases this has evolved to the level of personal friendship, which means that they are often prepared to stretch a point for me, where other suppliers would see it as a purely business transaction."
Gaining sufficient amounts of fabric on an exclusive basis is also a fine-tuned process, and while Cutfield concedes that in the past she has "over-punted" on fabrics, generally, her approach has been cautious and pragmatic.
Her initial collection comprised runs of as little as seven units of one style and "played it safe" with a muted colour palette of black, white and one or two colours. Even now she only works with one printed fabric per season and prefers to embellish her garments with an unusual trim or a unique cut.
Eventually Cutfield plans to take her brand overseas and does not rule out owning her own retail outlet in the long term, but for now she has put such plans -- including an export opportunity in the UK -- on hold.
"I really feel there's a lot more to do in Australia in terms of servicing retailers and customers better and increasing turnover," she says
Despite the multitude of challenges she has faced, Cutfield's passion for her craft and her business is evident.
"I've wanted to do this since I was a little girl," she states simply, and while this echoes the sentiment of many a hopeful talent, Cutfield is strongly aware that design talent makes up only a small amount of her success.
It is hard work and a shrewd approach to the business of fashion that has seen her dream realised.
"One of the best moments I've had is walking down the street and seeing someone wearing one of my dresses. I just felt like running up to them and saying, "Hey! I made that"."
SUGGESTED PULL QUOTES:
"If I had a sugar daddy it would be so easy to throw money at every problem I've encountered, but the truth is that this [label] is every thing we [Cutfield and her husband] have."
"When it's your own money invested in the business, you don't send last-minute things like care-labels for the manufacturers by courier. You get in the car and drive them over"
"I built up a relationship with them [manufacturers] and in many cases this has evolved to the level of personal friendship, which means that they are often prepared to stretch a point for me, where other suppliers would see it as a purely business transaction."