le macchine e foggia - G2 Visit

     Today we are leaving Milan and spending 4 days in Florence, where we will be attending fashion week and visiting PITTI market.  We also have plans to go to the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum, and of course do some shopping and exploring on our free time.
     Before we arrived to our destination, we made a stop in Prato, close to Florence, where we visited a textile manufactures called G2, who creates textiles for designers such as Nanette Lepore, Eli Tahari, Alex and Ani, Theory and Alexander Wang.
      This was my first experience in a factory that produced fabric.  I have only studied about different types of fibers weaves and knits as well as the specific names for them.  Learning about textiles and having a textile swatch book, I was always curious to have a first hand experiences of not just how a textile is made, but the overall garment.  I was thrilled to learn the process and be able to see the machinery weaving fabric for Fall/ Winter 2012 (which is the busiest season for G2).

When we first arrived at G2 we were introduced to Walter( the agent/ sales rep for this company), Samantha( who takes care of all the client relations and answers to Walter), and Marco who is the owner.

    Before they gave us the tour of the factory, we were able to preview the fabrics for Fall/Winter 2012, that were hanging up around the room.  The fabrics were primarily all black of different textures and designs.  the reason they were all black, was because it is the  easiest to sell, especially for Fall and Winter. The fibers that G2 uses to create these fabrics are primarily from Italy, but they also import fibers from Japan, Australia, India, and China.

     After Walter explained the process of creating the fabrics, and answered all of our questions, we went downstairs to the computer room, followed by the room with the actual machinery, where we all got to look closely at the threads blending with each other and creating the final product.    Basically, the designer gives G2 what they want their fabric to look like (it can be a sketch or a graphic design).  After that, G2 designs it in their computer, which they transfer from that computer to the machinery.  The machinery takes the design and creates the final product ( fabric).

 Walter actually has an office in New York, where he meets with his clients such as the ones mentioned above.   Walter shows them the
samples of G2's new collection for the season, and designers can choose what they like and would work best for their collection, or they can design their own fabric.  G2 does not advertise.

To get their name around and keeping their business flowing, they attend fairs such as Premiere in Paris.  For them, this is a face to face business, so getting on a personal level and choosing word of mouth as their way to market themselves, best suits their corporate culture.  I thought that this was a great asset to have for their image, because it keeps their business a little more personal and makes them a more exclusive manufacturer to work with.