Latest / Exploring Fashion Futures With Dr.HB / She makes $50 million worth of intimate apparel that you all wear everyday from all over the world!
Transcript
- speaker-0: Welcome to my podcast, Exploring Fashion Futures with Dr. P. This podcast is about showcasing how amazing this global fashion and textile industry is and offers so many career opportunities and business opportunities, so many roles that we can consider, but unfortunately not many people know about it, especially young people or their parents or anybody who makes a decision about career planning. They really don't know about it. So based on my nine years of industry experience as a sourcing manager and also almost twenty years in higher education as a professor, I decided to host this podcast to let the whole world know about What we do every day, how these clothing and fashion and textile products are being produced and designed and distributed. So that's my goal. So my name is Dr. Changha Brookshire. My students call me Doctor H B. I'm a professor and the department chair of textile and apparel management. the University of Missouri. Today I'm here in New York City meeting one of our proud alumni, Hilary Oliveira. So we'll learn from her about what she does every day and we'll take it from there. So thank you so much for being here. speaker-1: Thank you for having me speaker-0: Thank you. So tell us who you are. speaker-1: I'm Hilary Oliveira and I'm a director of production and for Intimates brand. Uh-huh. and I've lived in New York since 2001, since I graduated. speaker-0: It's already like twenty five years. Wow. speaker-1: Yes. speaker-0: Yeah. So you were also a Mizou grad in your hometown, you're from Kansas City. Yeah. Yeah. So you went to Mizou and you studied tech child and apparel management. How did you get to New York? speaker-1: To be in New York, I knew that I did get recruited to Dillard's. And so I f they flew me down. I felt very fortunate when I was a senior. And when they offered me the job, I burst into tears. And so they were like, What do you not like it? What's wrong? And I was like, I wanna move to New York City. And they're like, You should do that. They helped me a little bit as well. But speaker-0: Is it your first time being in the New York State? Did you always know? speaker-1: I actually wanted to be a doctor originally. And I did pre-med in high school. I did college credits and got biology and chemistry and human physiology and and then I decided a different path. Obviously when you're in high school you really don't know what you're gonna do. And I got a scholarship to the business school at Mizzou and unfortunately I had a little bit too much fun my freshman and sophomore year. I lost my scholarship at the end of my sophomore year. And I was at the business school crying. And trying to figure out what I was gonna do with my advisor. And she was like, Well, what do you like? And I was like, I don't know. And my parents were there too, because it was a big deal. I was upset. Sure. And my mom and dad were like, Well, you read Vogue a lot. And I was like, Okay. And she was like, there's a fashion school here. And I was like, Wait, what? that speaker-0: How you find speaker-1: sounds good. That's how I ended up at Textile and Apparel Management. They literally walked me across campus to the advisor office at Textile and Apparel Management. And then I was like This is amazing. I didn't know I could do this for a living. Like this is exactly what I wanna do. I've always loved fashion. Like you said. And my dad, he gets it now, but to your point earlier, he had no idea what that meant. He's like, What, you're gonna fold sweaters at the gap? And I was like, Yeah, I don't know. But I'm like, let's check it out. speaker-0: Yeah and then that changed the rest of your life. speaker-1: I I was, you know, straight A's, an honor student the last two years. Like I loved it. Like it just it clicked. It all made sense. This is exactly where I should be. speaker-0: And where you s should be up. Yeah. And finding friends. And so at that point where have you ever been in New York or not? Like how do you know you wanted to be in New York? speaker-1: I had never been. speaker-0: So the interview with Diller speaker-1: was you know, sex in the city inspired and it was more just like a feeling, you know, like that's where fashion happens. Like if it's not Paris or Milan, it's New York. So that's where I should go. I didn't speak Italian or French, so speaker-0: Yeah. So but then now you wanted it and so you applied for the job. Yeah. At dealers and you got an offer. speaker-1: Yes. And I declined it. speaker-0: Declined it because you wanted to be in New York. speaker-1: Yes. My senior year at the advisory board I met a woman who was living in New York City and she's part of the Mizzou Advisory Board. And I went up to her after the session and was like, I what do I need to do to move there? I wanna be there, like what can we do? And we kept in touch and she connected me with someone. I got my first job. I moved here. speaker-0: And that was twenty five years ago. Yeah, two thousand. You just came in. Did you come to New York with the job or with speaker-1: It was like a very loose personal assistant, live in helper kind of job. So it wasn't like a fashion industry job per se, but she worked for a magazine and I was doing some things for her on the side. Uhhuh. And it allowed me to like have a rent free place for three months while I figured out what I was gonna do. So amazing Then I got my first job, yeah. speaker-0: And then within that three months What was your first shot? speaker-1: I was a watch designer. speaker-0: What? Were you were you creative and good at design at all? speaker-1: No. How did you I was applying so this was two thousand and one. The internet was still a baby and I was literally like looking at the back of WWD for classifieds to find jobs. Uh-huh. speaker-0: W D is a women's women's wear daily newspaper. Okay, got it. speaker-1: It's online now obviously. Back then it was an actual newspaper that I would get. And I got rejected so many times. Of course. You know, entry level. I had no experience. I didn't know what I was doing. Yeah. And I just clicked with this one woman that I interviewed with and she hired me and designer. speaker-0: Watched. speaker-1: And she'll like, I'll take you under my wing, I'll teach you everything. I'm like, Okay, great. And I absolutely hated it. What I wanted to do. Like it was basically like knocking off, you know, high end watches for watches that they would sell at like Sam's Club. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was like I don't know. Not interesting to me at all. But like made it work. It paid my rent. Got my own apartment then. Did it speaker-0: Right. Did you do that? speaker-1: for about a year. and then I went to a sleepwear company. Again, someone I met while I was at Mizzou, we went to a trade show with Doctor Dickerson, who was head of the department then. And I had a business card from this person and I reached out, like cold called him and he had me in for an interview and I got a job. So speaker-0: And the independent wear company, sleepware company. speaker-1: Harold Hawkman. Yeah. They did a lot of licensing. and it was product development. And that's when I was like, This is where I need to be. Product development production. Like I like problem solving. I like figuring out the whole process from start to finish. speaker-0: Okay, so talk to me like I'm a I'm your daughter who's ten years old. Yes. What do you mean by product development in the fashion industry? speaker-1: So it means a little bit different things at different companies. But in essence is you're taking a design and explaining it to a factory overseas how to make it and then you negotiate the cost, you figure out the materials, you get the color approved, you get it fit approved, and then you get it delivered to your distribution center or your store. So product development is getting the product ready for the customer and for it to be delivered. speaker-0: So you don't design but somebody let somebody else design it and speaker-1: Somebody else. speaker-0: then you're gonna dissect it. Yeah. And say what fabric do I need? What buttons do I need? Right. What coloring do I need? And then you work with the factory who produces the button to produce the fabrics. speaker-1: And you have to break it down to very simple, easy understandable pieces and steps because a lot of the times when you're sending it to a vendor, English is their second language. They're sending it to somebody else who may not even understand English at all. So there's a lot of like you have to simplify it and make it as easy as possible, you know, visuals and a really clear bill of materials that has every little piece of the garment. speaker-0: materials means it's the list of doc it's a document with the list of s things that you need. You need your bread. Yeah. Right. Your ingredients it's a good idea. Right. And then you have the how to cook this like a step by step. Okay. So you basically oversee that. Yeah. That happens to be in Sleepwear Company. Yeah. And you did that. And so are you still doing that job essentially? speaker-1: Essentially yes. yeah. So I went to Victoria's Secret after that. I worked there for a very long time and then I fell in love with intimate apparel. So I kind of found my groove. I did swimwear for a while and intimates and they're very similar. speaker-0: So intimate apparel means like brace and all speaker-1: Underwinder wing, bralette layers, that sort of stuff. speaker-0: tell me like what do you mean by falling in love? Like a swimsuit seems much more fun to do that. Why is that even more special than like, you know, typical fashion students thinking about high fashion and runway and all of that? Yeah. Tell us more about what makes that intimate wear unique for you to like it. speaker-1: It's very specialized and it's very complicated. Bras like they have to look pretty but they also have to function. Like you're doing an actual job for the wearer. Yeah. So they feel supported, they're comfortable, you know, there's science and an art to it. Yeah. To make sure it like works for the customer. And I think it's one of the there's like twenty six components that can go into a bra. So my bill of materials has twenty six ingredients. speaker-0: I'm not gonna cook that. If when I see a menu recipe with twenty six ingredients, right. speaker-1: So it's just it's complicated, it's interesting, there's so many different players. So those twenty six materials may be coming from six different countries and then you have to send it to another country and explain to them how to put it all together. speaker-0: Give us a specific example. Like for example, like certain plastic speaker-1: So you have like you have your bra strap, you have your ring and slide, you have your hook and eye, you have your neckline elastic, you have your underarm elastic, you have your under wire, you have your forta tube that the wire goes in, you have your bottom band. It goes on and on. And then that's not even including like the lace or the you know, make microfiber or anything that goes on top of the cup or on the wing. speaker-0: And those each components can come from six different speaker-1: I mean everyone specializes, so I've been to a place that only makes hook and eyes, you know. speaker-0: Like a hook and I will be what country for speaker-1: There are multiple countries, but you know, mostly Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka speaker-0: Asia, speaker-1: There's very high end beautiful laces in France or Italy. I cannot afford those at my company 'cause we are in malls, not not on the runway. Right. But yeah, I mean lace is it's was specialized in China for a really long time and it is different machinery. It can take a few days to set up one machine just to run one lace to make the material. So it's a very complicated process as well. But yeah, there's lace manufacturers in a lot of different countries now. speaker-0: When I wear a bra next time I'm gonna look at I'm gonna try to find twenty six different ingredients. First of all, I can imagine the challenge will be making sure all the components coming to the final assembly area at the right time. Yes. That logistic speaker-1: It's very long lead time product for sure. speaker-0: lead time. Can you tell us about that process? speaker-1: Yeah, so I at my current company we make apparel athleisure and intimates. And I always drive the calendar with my product because it takes the longest to make and everyone's was like, I don't understand like why are we booking things so early for you? Because speaker-0: Two years, would you say? speaker-1: two years for developing like a brand new product, but from start to finish, it's probably about I mean eighteen at least six months, like a PO to handover to get all the components made, get them dyed, get them shipped, get them to the factory. get the bra produced and then actually ship it out. Wow. so it is lead time is a big part of what I do in production. You do have to think about that. There's a lot of beautiful raw materials that take a very long time that you would have to commit to very, very early in order to make it work for a specific season. speaker-0: Very very early, if it's twenty four months, if it's a brand new. If the material that you h was have once made before, so at least it's not new, but it's a different color or pattern could be about six months. So then once you got all together but the thing is you also like twenty six components have to have the right kind of colors or type. speaker-1: Color approval is really difficult. We have an amazing colorist at my current company that has a process that's amazing and we do a lot of digital color readings. We have some self approvals at the factories for people that we trust that we have long term partnerships with. But yes, getting all of those things to match the same color standard is tricky. speaker-0: Especially when the materials all materials have a different chemical composition and it absorbed color dye in a different way. speaker-1: It's not just one die formula, yeah, for sure. Yeah, yeah. I love speaker-0: Yeah. That's hard. Yeah. And you like it? So speaker-1: I love it though because every day is different. Like I come into, you know, a slew of problems every day, but it's always something new and challenging. And I'm like, how would you fix that? How do I mitigate that risk? How do I, you know, solve that? speaker-0: Give us the one of the most recent problem you fixed. Hey speaker-1: Today. speaker-0: yes today, what what problem did you fix before you come here? speaker-1: We have an embroidery that we'll be launching in that was spring twenty-seventh. Uh-huh. So we've already written our purchase order for that delivery. And now that we're fitting it on our models, we fit on live models, the edge of it has a scallop on it, and when you pull it, it's kind of unraveling. And so this week we were working on this, but I think we finally found a solve of just like the embroidery is on a stretch mesh, but the embroidery thread itself is rigid. So that tension between the stretch and the rigidity is causing it to break. So we're using a different kind of thread. We're doing a little bit of spacing so it has a little bit of ease. So hopefully this will pass our test and speaker-0: Sounds like what you the problems that you're solving, at least this problem, is like a lot of physics. So speaker-1: I it could be speaker-0: design. Yeah. my god, what a complex problem you're solving and you love it. speaker-1: yeah. speaker-0: So in Victoria's Secret, so you you initially you started in the the the first company what were you Kara Hockman. And then when the Victoria's Secret, so you were doing some swimmer and intimate apparel and you fell in love with intimate apparel. Yeah. And then now you're in a current company. What is your director of production is your title? So so most people like I mean obviously it's not an entry level position. Yeah. But let's like what do you mean by director of position? How many what kind of team are you supervising? Like, yeah. Tell us as if I'm twelve years old. speaker-1: Sure. So at my current role we ha we produce bras, bralettes, undies, and base layers. So it's kind of four separate departments that are related and you know, obviously work together and merchandise together, but four different categories. Right. So for that I have a team of about seven people that work under me. So I have one person that's over bralettes and one that's over bras and one that's over, you know, each of the departments. And then I also work on innovation. So those things that do take two, three years to develop the new in bras because they are so complicated. You do have to look at those things in advance. You know, is there a new foam technology out there that we can use? Is there a new wire, new steel, new, you know, titanium wire? Like there's all these different components that you can implement into product, but you have to test it. You have to fit it. You have to see if it works. Does it do what you want it to do? Right. So there's always like something new brewing in that innovation space. So under me are all of those people. speaker-0: Okay. So when you said those seven people under you and you know somebody's focusing on bra and bra and whatever, yeah, wh who do they work with? Like what do they do? speaker-1: So we're constantly working with our merchandising partners. And then we also have designers, obviously, that we work with. We have technical design, we have the colorists and a raw materials team all in New York. And then we also have a Hong Kong office where they are more on the ground. They can help us in real time. They can call, you know, the vendors and suppliers if there's a urgent issue and help us with that sort of thing. But the team is always working on, you know, the current season. Are we getting the samples on time? How are they costing in? What are they looking like? Does the vendor understand what we have in our tech packs? Are they interpreting everything right? Okay. speaker-0: What is tech pack? You you're using lots of jargon. I know what it is. But let's talk to speaker-1: So a tech pack is like the full style. So when you the designer creates a new style for the season, it goes into a tech pack into a PLM system. Yes. speaker-0: Technical packet. speaker-1: And that'll have all the details of what that style is. speaker-0: Th how thick the wire is and how it's being assembled in matches with what? speaker-1: It'll have an image, it'll have a design intent page, it'll have the points of measurement, it'll have the bill of materials. Yes. All of the raw material details, like all of the cost of each of those components, all of those things. Gotcha. So it's Production's job to allocate those tech packs once designers are finished with them. So then we decide which vendor should get that, like who would make that the best. And then you have to balance it. You know, you don't want to give everything to this one vendor because you really like them or they're doing well or they're costing out well. Like you have to balance it between your vendor partners. So you can't overwhelm them. You know, if we're asking for fifty samples to come in for this meeting to make a decision on what we're actually gonna buy, the same vendor can't make those fifty samples in one sample room. So you do have to spread it out. And there's different reasons. You know, we're trying to there's a lot it's a lot it's a big puzzle of figuring out who will make the product the best, who will make it at the best cost, who is performing really well that you can count on for delivery. Yeah. there's a lot of things that go into that decision. And then also where are the components coming from. Like, you know, it's so much easier if you have a raw material made in the same place where it's gonna be sewn in. speaker-0: Same country. Right. S same country right there. So speaker-1: But that doesn't always work out. speaker-0: Right. So you said about all the materials coming from six different countries, but let's say that will be so where w what country are you working with? Just give us an example. speaker-1: I mean we work with I think it's seven countries now. So predominantly Vietnam, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Thailand. speaker-0: So speaker-1: Those are the big ones. speaker-0: they're coming from all over. So let's say a lot of final assembly, the sewing part of it. speaker-1: So sewing's all happening there in those countries. speaker-0: In in there as well. Yeah. Okay. So but sometimes you gotta put together. Let's say I'm gonna sew in Vietnam. Yeah. So that's what you are supervising. Yes. Give us a sense of how big or small your company is, and part of that, like what how on any given day, what's your annual like total production value that you are responsible for? speaker-1: I believe it's around fifty million dollars FOB. So that doesn't account for any three. speaker-0: So FOB means free on board. So the cost at at the at cost from the factory. Everything else we still have to pay. The shipping, the taxes, the distribution, retail markup, and all of that. So okay, that's a lot. That could be potentially 120, 120, 50 million dollar at retail price. absolutely. Yeah. So I mean, do you feel like pressured? You produce a hundred fifty million dollar worth of product. speaker-1: do I pressure? I just I feel responsible. Like I wanna be fair to my vendor partners, make sure they're getting you know, I want them to continue to be my partners and want to work with me. So like trying to be fair with each of them, making sure their business is sustainable, they keep getting enough product to help them stay in business, that sort of thing. Right. And we wanna grow. Like my brand still doesn't have a lot of brand recognition. We are a global company, but Yeah, it's a two billion dollar company. No. speaker-0: What is it about two billion dollar company? speaker-1: So we have a lot of room for growth. Which is exciting. So speaker-0: Yeah. What a job. So as a direction of production. So so after so you how long you've been with your company in this role? Okay. speaker-1: This role four years. speaker-0: Four years. So out of all this your career journey, when like a what was the most exciting part of your you know journey? speaker-1: Probably one of my favorite memories is just my first international travel trip. When I was with Victoria's Secret, I got to travel with my boss to Hong Kong and Sri Lanka. And it was just like so eye opening. Like we traveled very well. We were in business class. You know, I got to go in that business town speaker-0: Right. speaker-1: for the first time, yes, and get all the free food and drinks. And then my mind was a flatbed. speaker-0: behind a slide. Okay, so what, you must have been like late twenties at the time? speaker-1: Probably like twenty five the first trip I took. Yes. speaker-0: Did you did you feel like you made it? speaker-1: Absolutely. I was taking so many pictures and stole the little menu from my in flight service and yeah. And then the hotels we stayed in were beautiful. Like we were treated so well. And then just actually seeing the factories and seeing how it all works. It's like it's mind blowing. Like tell us how this all comes together. speaker-0: Because for those who've never been to that kind of factory, give us some description of it. speaker-1: think it's like I don't know, robots making your things, but it's like humans like sitting on a sewing machine sewing your things. There's obviously advancements and there are robots involved. speaker-0: Sure, sure. Yeah. speaker-1: But it's not all robots. There's a lot of people involved. But the factory floors, I mean, some of them are giant and hundreds and hundreds of people and they build out so they're in lines. Yeah. And so you know, the first piece of the sewing operation will happen at the beginning and then they kind of pass it to the next person. So They sew one little piece of the bra and then pass it to the next person and they do the next piece. And at the end of it, you know, you see the garment. So yeah, I mean it's amazing to see a product come to life, but just understanding like how did all these components come from all these countries, get here in this factory, get cut out in the right pattern pieces, get on this person's sewing table now and like it's actually made. Like it's speaker-0: It was mind blowing. Wow. So I mean I all along said 'cause that's exactly what I did when I was in industry. I was a sourcing manager as well. So you call it director of production. we our company called it you know sourcing professional. And I think everyone should be at the factory at least once. Yes. Just to see how things are being made. speaker-1: always try to bring a merchandising partner with me because they're very demanding as they should be. But you know, they're like, no, we need a quicker delivery. I need this now. Like why can't we chase it faster? But like as soon as they see it, they're like, like this takes a while to speaker-0: Do this. Yeah. Tell us about what do you mean by merchandising partner or what do they do? I I understand what designers do. Yeah. speaker-1: That's the easy one. That's the one everyone gets. So merchandising are the ones that are actually choosing which product to buy and how much, what color, and then distributing it to the store. They have a lot of financial responsibility to make sure what they are buying will fit in the budget. Buying from factory. Yes, from the factory. speaker-0: Yeah. Because you your company has your own retail stores. Yeah. That's speaker-1: We only sell on our retail store. speaker-0: right. So your merchandisers are essentially buyers at retailers. Yes. They represent the each store owner's, I mean managers demand. Right. So like this color, this size do well in store in Florida. Yes. And so this is my forecast. And then in North Dakota speaker-1: It might be a little different. speaker-0: And so you combine together and they give you I need speaker-1: And we do have a whole planning team as well that does a lot of that work specifically, but merchandisers will decide which style we should buy. Like here's the assortment. This is how we want it to look in store. This is how it'll be displayed in the stores. And then the planners will take it back and they'll they're the ones that'll decide like twenty units of this color will go to this store in Florida. I see. Fifty units of this color will go to North Dakota. speaker-0: See, now I'm l learning from you that we have a sourcing, we have a merchandising, we have a planning team, you have a design team. Now we're kinda putting pieces together. So that was amazing. So the first time you go to Hong Kong. Yeah. Did I hear that you even lived in Hong Kong? Yes. Tell us more about it. What was that like for a living? speaker-1: It was amazing. I loved it. I loved my time in Hong Kong. Two years. Two years. speaker-0: How did you get to do that? speaker-1: I saw somebody else in my company, I was with Victoria's Secret at the time and I saw somebody else come back from like a stay in Hong Kong, like a long term stay. And I just mentioned to my boss, I was like, How did that happen? Like that I would love to do this. Like speaker-0: in Asia for two years. speaker-1: So I really just asked for it. And like I think there was an opportunity that came up on my department. Somebody in Hong Kong was had to be out for an extended period of time. And they're like, Do you want to go there and fill in for her while she's gone? I was like, Absolutely. So I think Just by asking, it like reminded them, like, Hillary is open to that. speaker-0: What did you do in Hong Kong then? speaker-1: I was working on Swim then for Victoria's Secret. So I was doing, you know, sourcing production, but on the Hong Kong side. And so to see how that side of the world works, just from a process standpoint, but also culturally, was like so fascinating. And I was in the factory almost once a week. speaker-0: Single at the time. Yes. So what a life you had. Hong Kong place to be and you get to travel other parts of Asia. speaker-1: Yeah, they have a lot of holidays in Hong Kong, which is great. So anytime there's a long weekend I would travel somewhere new in Asia. And I was only supposed to be there for three months. It was supposed to be like a s short stay. So speaker-0: Uh-huh. speaker-1: literally every weekend I was like in a different country 'cause I was like, I only have these three months, so I'm gonna make the most of it. So I'd, you know, go to Thailand this weekend, go to Japan this weekend, go to Cambodia this weekend. What it was so much fun. speaker-0: Experience. So what was the title for that kind of job at the time? I speaker-1: I was a senior coordinator. So you start as an assistant coordinator, senior coordinator, manager. speaker-0: Production. Yes. Okay. So production, correction. Okay. So like that's what I tell students all the time. Like don't judge job by the cover or type. speaker-1: They cause things slightly different things too. Yeah, and I mean for students, like I feel like don't don't envision what you're where you wanna be. Like take every opportunity you're given because you're gonna learn so much no matter what you do. Like I was a watch designer, I did not want to be a watch designer, but it like got me started. You know what I mean? Like it got my foot in the door somewhere, it got me a little experience, so I could build on that and move on. And I think being open at Victoria's Secret, like, you know, they'd be like, Who wants to work on this product? We have a whole and I'd be like, I'll do it. Like speaker-0: Yes to everything. Yeah. speaker-1: Yes, opportunity because you don't know where it's gonna lead. Right. And when are you seen as a team player as well? Now that I'm in more of a management role, like when you're seen as a team player, when you volunteer for projects, when you like offer your services or say you're interested in doing more, like I remember that. Like I know you're a good person and you wanna get far and you're vested in getting to next. So like I'm gonna keep that in mind. speaker-0: For those who might be interested in working overseas in a different culture, what kind of advice do you have? What did you learn so much by working with people living in a totally different culture? What is it like? speaker-1: I think just being open to anything. You know, I was very lucky that like a lot of the girls in the office I already knew when I had moved there and they were very welcoming. You know, they like took me to their homes on the weekends and showed me like, you know, this is what we do during Chinese New Year, like those kind of things. So it like very eye-opening. And they also d discovered that I'm very adventurous in my eating and so then they would like it was like a game, like what can we get Hillary to eat today? Like So they take me to like crazy restaurants or like bring in, you know pigs feet and be like, W well try this. I'm like, okay. speaker-0: like them actually. speaker-1: Yeah, they're good. speaker-0: All right. That's good. That is interesting that, you know, I know people might imagine a life like that, but they d first of all they didn't they may not have even imagined that fashion can do that for you. Yeah. For sure. And second of all, like for for people to do be in a situation like that, what should they study now? You know what I'm saying? speaker-1: Yeah. I mean, I think just being having like a business acumen is really helpful being organized and being open. What worked for me, like I always remember my retail math, which was like seemed silly at the time, but like I use that every day. speaker-0: Right, retail map. Yes. speaker-1: Yeah. Yeah. And then I think just paying attention to macro events as well. That affects my job in more ways than you can imagine. speaker-0: Give us an example. speaker-1: Specific the Strait of Homo's closing has had a huge impact on costing. We use a lot of synthetics that are oil based and so everyone tried to take advantage of that and increase their costs. And like some was legitimate and you know, we partner with those people, but a lot of people were trying to just get more money out of us. So like speaker-0: So synthetic means polyesters and nylons world. So so these are all synthetic chemical petrochemicals. speaker-1: Yes, the base of it is speaker-0: Right. 'Cause all this clothing, I mean in fact this is polyester, this is all oil based chemical. speaker-1: Right. Probably. So yeah, those kind of events really do impact my day to day business. Yeah. The tariffs were a big one last year. Still happening, but you know, wars, weather, even weather can impact. I've had factories flooded, I've had factories catch on fire. You know, like there's different things that happen that you can't predict and yeah, it impacts your business and you have to come up with solves. speaker-0: How do you it must be so sometimes it could be challenging and overwhelming and for sure. How do you how do you get over that? Meditation That's speaker-1: A lot of wine. speaker-0: right. Right. speaker-1: No, I mean I think I roll with the punches. I've been in that industry long enough to know like it'll work itself out. I also like I'm just making bras. Yeah. At the end of the day. I'm speaker-0: That's speaker-1: not solving, you know, right. Wars or curing cancer. Like right. Yeah. Doesn't feel that way sometimes, but that's my perspective. speaker-0: Right. So going back, I mean, you know, actually having to change your major losing your scholarship from business school to moving to TAM essentially changed your course of your career. So looking back, if you were to send one text message to your, you know, college self, what would you say? speaker-1: I would say don't settle. I feel like that was a big lesson I learned through the years. You know. speaker-0: Tell more about what do you mean? speaker-1: I mean, I think the Little Rock incident or Dillards. You know, like don't just settle for something because it's offered to you. But also I think with my career path, like not just staying put, like pushing yourself to do something more. Even dating, you know, like don't settle for the first guy that, you know, whenever seems like it might work. speaker-0: Don't say yes to the first offer or is that what you say? speaker-1: Be open to the opportunities, but don't like don't get into, you know, a complacent place, I guess. Yeah. speaker-0: Seems like the theme of your message is say yes to everything, even if it's the pig feed. speaker-1: Yes, absolutely. Pig trotters are delicious. Right. speaker-0: Okay, that's that's interesting. Okay. So for you know, if anyone who's listening to you today is interested in any jobs like that, working with suppliers, a fabric producer and component producer, sewing factory and there are all six different countries that you all mention. Wow, that sounds amazing. I wanna be part of that. What should I do today? If I'm a college student. speaker-1: think being aware of you know geographical differences, the geopolitical situations, those kind of things, like just paying attention, trade deals, like understanding that a little bit. You can always get trained on the job. But I think yeah, I think I I think I really thrive in this position because I just want everything to be organized and make sense. So it's a bit of a chaotic industry, but like I want to organize it. So I feel like if you have good organizational skills as well, like you might enjoy doing production and sourcing just because it is a lot of like putting the pieces together and helping people stay on track. speaker-0: The tasking, attention to detail, speaker-1: Yeah. speaker-0: yeah organizational skills, yeah. Obviously communication skills okay. speaker-1: Yes, communication's huge. Yeah. Yeah. speaker-0: All right. So I'm gonna go with this rapid fire thing. Okay. So I mean I think you already said it, but one c what one class that everyone sh should take. speaker-1: We don't math class. speaker-0: All right. What is the one thing that everyone should have on their resume? What are you looking for? speaker-1: love to see somebody that has something that they do or participate in that's outside the fashion industry. Like that just like catches my eye. I wanna know more. Like what makes you tick? What makes you unique? really that's always like an easy entry in an interview. It like relaxes people if you start talking about something that they do outside of fashion. Their career. Yeah. speaker-0: Outside of it doesn't even have to be fashion. It could be anything. Like it could be what podcast are you listening to? Or what's your hobby? Or things like that. Is there where you're speaker-1: had someone that had they had started a consignment store for children because they were very passionate about sustainability. So like I guess it's fashion adjacent, but you know, like just they were very passionate about that and they did that with their friend and they had a little store and thought that was the coolest thing. speaker-0: Why is that a important thing for you? speaker-1: I wanna make sure you aren't like just focused or a workaholic. Like you know, I wanna have I and I wanna peek into like who you are. Your personality. Yeah. speaker-0: I see. Yeah. Is there anything that ticks you off when you see something on their regime? I think speaker-1: think anytime there's an exaggeration of like if you're you think you're an expert in everything or you know, excel or supremely proficient in blah blah blah. Like I don't know. I just feel like they're right, right. Telling the truth or not, but yeah. speaker-0: That makes sense. All right. And what else? What is one thing that everybody should yes to? What is the one thing they say no to? speaker-1: Free labor. speaker-0: Okay. All right. So that's a actually important lesson. Tell us a little bit more about that. speaker-1: I don't know how prevalent it is now, but in when I was doing internships it was unpaid and I just feel like that's not speaker-0: So actually currently our students sometimes they have a paid internship, sometimes they have unpaid. Yeah. But it's unpaid some company or some state, I think it's each state has a slightly law. And in this New York City, they have to pay. Yes. Like company has to pay. Yeah. But some other states, if this is educational, yeah. Then students are benefiting from it. Yeah. So but their internship has to be a lot more rigorous. Like it reads to be really educational than the credit so they don't get paid. But but but free labor, like I'm not really learning any, but you're using my labor for free. So speaker-1: Yes, I was consulting for a little bit and during COVID and a lot of people like reached out but like wanted advice and wanted ideas on how to solve certain situations but did not want to pay me. And it just felt very speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: one sided, abusive, I guess. speaker-0: Yeah, okay. So that's interesting. So okay, so next rapid fire is do you prefer coffee or networking events? speaker-1: I prefer one on one connection. Yeah. I don't I don't do well in big group settings. Like I get distracted. I feel like I want to focus on one person and talk to them and really get to know them rather than like bop around. speaker-0: So are you saying that you don't have to be all like extrovert and no no you know talking in front of everybody should be in fashion, no? speaker-1: I mean you do have to be able to present your ideas and be able to, you know, get people to go along on whatever it is you're trying to convince them of or, you know, what process you're trying to implement, that sort of thing. So you do have to be able to speak to groups. But yeah, networking is never like cold calling people. speaker-0: And you don't have to be all extroverted and no you know, rah rock personality. It's a lot of people have misc perception about fashion industry. Like you gotta be all showy and super creative. Like I am not a creative person at all, actually. But but I'm organized. Yes. I'm a good problem solver. And and I like solving fashion and textile and garment related problems than let's say, I don't know, I haven't been in insurance industry. But you know you know what I'm saying. So speaker-1: Yeah, I mean some of my designers are like fabulous personalities and they light up a room and they are so much fun to be around. But I'm more of like, you can rely on me, I'll do what I say, I'll get the job done, I'm speaking in facts, I'm not gonna like mislead you. Like so I feel like, you know, you always need a balance and group work and yeah. speaker-0: Right? Yeah. That's good. So if I were to ask you one thing I mean, other than retail math, right? I'm talking about soft skills. Yeah. one thing that you learn from college time, but it still stick with you and still using, what would that be? speaker-1: I think I just mentioned it, but just like the group work aspect. I feel like that never goes away. Like you're always gonna have to collaborate with different teams and work on projects together. And you may have very different ideas or goals of like what to get out of that. But just being able to collaborate with team members that you may or may not like or may or may not agree with is something that I learned at Mizou. Like, you know, we had a lot of group projects, a lot of things we did together and I wouldn't always know everybody that was working with me, but that that's something that like you'll do the rest of your life. Right. speaker-0: Yeah. So doing more group speaker-1: Whether it's at school or, you know, my daughter's a huge soccer player and I have all these like soccer mom and dad friends now too. And like we have to organize group dinners when we have a tournament and we're out of town and so it's a lot of you know, just getting along with people. speaker-0: So you know, thank you for bringing up your life as a mother, you know, private life as well as professional life and doing it both. Yeah. You know, like, you know, high power new sh New York fashion industry. What is it like to be like can we do it? speaker-1: I mean it's hard. I'm not gonna say it's easy, but yeah, you can absolutely do it. There's so many women that I work with that have children and you you know, you figure it out, you make it work. it helps to have a good supportive partner. speaker-0: Yes. speaker-1: Yes. I don't have any family here, so like that part's hard. My family's still in Missouri. Uhhuh. But yeah, you figure it out and yeah. I mean that's what I live for now. I joke that I'm a full time soccer mom and in addition to having a full time fashion career. Yeah. speaker-0: So have you ever like imagined what if I were in a different industry? Like can you have you ever had a like moment where maybe this is not this is too hard or anything like that? speaker-1: struggle with the sustainability aspect of the fashion industry. just on like a personal level. And like it gets to me frequently more than I would like. Just, you know, what am I leaving for my daughter? What world am I gonna leave for my daughter? Producing all these garments and pumping out more every season, you know, it it does make me question what I'm doing. but on the other hand, like I've always loved fashion. It makes me feel good when I am comfortable and feel good that I can present myself to the world. So it's I it's a conundrum that I struggle with internally. I probably need some therapy for that, but speaker-0: So then is there anything that you do specifically to balance that struggle? speaker-1: Yeah, I mean we try to be try to be wasteful, I guess. Yes. You know, using the materials we position, you know, not leaving anything out there. We don't do destructive things. Yeah. We don't destroy fabrics or liability and that kind of thing. Yeah. Trying to sample less, use more digital tools. You know, not only does it take a long time, but like it's not great to have a sample of every colorway. And you know, we don't do that. That's true. speaker-0: I mean AI is nowadays helping you visualize what that product looks like in a different colors and what speaker-1: Can, yeah. and we've definitely reduced quite a bit, but we do still gamble. speaker-0: Need an actual fuel. speaker-1: Especially for fits to see it on a model and especially in intimates. The digital fittings aren't quite as good as like speaker-0: I mean, especially intimate, I think it'll be all right. So this will be my last question for you. We talked a lot about and I loved hearing about your career trajectory and all of that. What is one thing that we haven't talked about, but you want to talk to today's young professional college students or even parents who might have their children who might be interested in any of this kind of fashion careers at all? speaker-1: Yeah, I mean I could give you my dad's number. It's not folding sweaters at the gap. speaker-0: You're not folding strata. speaker-1: Very proud of me. no, I mean I didn't realize even after I graduated that my career would take me to where I am today. You know, I have friends in so many different countries from all the years I've worked and traveled for this job and been able to support a family and have a child and a beautiful life outside of work. I think, you know, my biggest takeaway, I think I've said it a couple of times, but is just like be open to opportunities 'cause you don't know where it's gonna lead. Always be kind. Never burn bridges. It's a small industry. I run into the same people all the time. Even speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: I'll be in an airport in Sri Lanka and run into somebody randomly that I worked with ten years ago. I it's like it's wild, but we're all, you know, crossing paths and going to the same places and yeah. speaker-0: So the the world is so big but this industry is small. Yes. Especially intimate apparel. Yes. I mean everybody's yeah. I mean not that many companies make bras and bralettes and yoga pants and things like that. Yeah. I mean that's how I got my second job as well. I just met this my future boss at a at a bar at a hotel after my long day of work at the factory. Yeah. And I just stop at the bar for the the dinner and then have a finding. So everybody knows kind of everybody at that point. Yeah. So that's good. All right. I feel like I learned a lot. And I always thought because I mean I'm a little biased because I myself was a sourcing person. production person, I always thought sourcing and global sourcing or global supply chain management is saying you know, more academically we call it supply chain management. Because we manage all the supplies. to manage to produce the product is the like core of the fashion. I mean yes you could design and all of that, but at the end of the day if you don't have product there's nothing to sell. So somebody has to make speaker-1: Exactly. I always say we're like the glue that holds it all together. Okay. Like the designers make up this beautiful product, the merchants have an idea what they want in the store, but like we make it all come together in an actual physical product. speaker-0: And if you don't have a physical product, there's nothing to sell, there's no industry. speaker-1: Customers to make happy. speaker-0: Right? And but it's a such a hidden job. speaker-1: I had no idea it existed. That's why I was a watch designer. speaker-0: Exactly, 'cause either designer and buyer people know what that is. So I feel like either buyer is designer, buyer is designer, right? Yeah. But it's a sourcing the production side of it and working with factories all over the world and actually put pieces together and make them and deliver them. And yeah. You know, when the season's over finally. by the way, how many seasons do you have in the intimate apparel? Spring holidays. speaker-1: We do four, my company. Spring, summer, back to school and holiday. speaker-0: So out of four seasons, like I mean, like a w when the season's over, like a production is done, sales is done, you know, what's your proud moment? speaker-1: my god, it's never done. 'Cause we're already like moved on to the next three seasons. speaker-0: So tell us about that. speaker-1: So one of my we just launched a new bra that I'm very, very excited about. it launched in the beginning of July and it's selling well, so I'm very happy. So I love looking at the reviews, like when they start coming in. you know, I send it to my mom and my couple of my friends and they love it too. So like that always makes me really happy when like new design. It's a new material, a new shape. Yeah, there's one with an underwire and a bra lap version. And yeah, they're super cute. They're so comfortable, so lightweight. Highly recommend. I'll tell you what it is. Yeah, that makes me really happy. speaker-0: Do you like a walk around and look at everybody's underwear and the the brush to make sure that you know your primes are speaker-1: People do not wear the right size, first of all. Or like speaker-0: It's true, isn't it? Most people speaker-1: I notice like when people aren't wearing a bra I'm like, I could really help her out. Like I'm just the right stuff for you. speaker-0: Right, right. So that's good. So what I'm saying is like you might be working on new product development for speaker-1: launched this huge launch that we had worked on for a year and a half to get to this point. But I'm currently working on my spring twenty seven POs are going out. My summer twenty seven is getting finalized. My back to school development just went out. speaker-0: For initial development. speaker-1: Yes. And then holiday twenty six is in production right now and it'll be shipping soon. So it's just like you're always working speaker-0: You're living in life speaker-1: I'm always living in the future. Like thank God I don't have to write a check anymore because I wouldn't know what year to put down. speaker-0: Right? 'Cause what what year are we living, right? speaker-1: Like that's twenty seven or two. speaker-0: Yeah. What's next for you? What should I be looking forward to seeing from you? speaker-1: I don't know. Hopefully everyone will know my brand eventually. That's the that's the plan of my current company. But yeah, I wanna I wanna stay in the intimate apparel space. I love it. And I wanna keep mentoring everyone on my team. Like seeing the people I've hired and seeing them grow and like go do their own thing and that like brings me the biggest joy. Like to see that. So speaker-0: Thank you so much. Yeah, thank you. Yeah, thank you so much for saying that. I look forward to seeing, you know, not only you but your mentees grow and this this intermittent apparel gets better and grow and you know, hopefully you get some bonuses and speaker-1: I love that. speaker-0: and hopefully see your daughter playing in maybe a national championship. speaker-1: I know, I know. She's well on her way. Yeah. She's only ten now, but watch out. speaker-0: Watch out, like some of soccer players from this World Cup I see that they're like sixteen and eighteen. speaker-1: Yeah. speaker-0: They're so young. So yeah. So thank you so much, Hilary. I look forward to catching up with you next time. speaker-1: This was great. Bye. Thank you.