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Introduction and Special Announcement

Dom: so like Everything I just said is like completely irrelevant if your garments don't

Jasmine: Welcome to Make Good Fashion, the podcast that's all about starting, launching and growing impactful fashion brands.

I'm your host, Jasmine Rennie.

Before I start today's episode, I have a very special announcement, so listen up.

Launching the Make Good Fashion Shop

And that announcement is that the Make Good Fashion Shop is now live.

so what do we have in the Make Good Fashion Shop? Well, I'm glad you asked, friend, because we have all of the things. We're talking a sourcing directory of over 200 fashion industry manufacturers, vendors, and suppliers that you can access in one click. We also have cost sheets

that will help you calculate the true cost of your garments and tell you exactly how much to price them for. We also have budgets so that you can keep all your finances and orders and so much more. So make sure to head over to makegoodfashion.

com slash shop. I'm also going to include [00:01:00] a link in the show notes along with a promo code that you can use to get 15 percent off of your first purchase. You guys, these templates are essential and things that every fashion business should have. So make sure to head over to the make good fashion shop so that you can tap in and get yours today.

Interview with Dom Gomez: Early Life and Fashion Journey

Jasmine: Hey friends, welcome back to the Make Good Fashion podcast.

So today's episode is really special because I get to interview one of my really good friends of 20 years, Dom Gomez. Now it feels weird to even say that I've known someone for 20 years, but it's true. Me and Dom attended middle school together and somehow are paths the line and and we both found ourselves working in the fashion industry.

Dom is now a product developer at Citizens of Humanity, and he knows a thing or two about what it takes to make a great product. So I wanted to have Dom on the podcast to talk a little bit about the product development process and all the ingredients that go into making a winning product.

So, without further ado, here's my interview with my friend [00:02:00] Dom Gomez

Jasmine: Oh, wow. Wow. Look who we have here. If anybody knew how hard it was to get you on my podcast, they just wouldn't believe all the things that I had to do. Thanks for being on the podcast dom, thanks for finally getting it together and joining

Dom: us.

That's a warm welcome. Thank you for having me. I love it here.

Okay, Dom, so why don't you start by telling me a little bit about your background and how you ended up in the fashion industry and who inspired you to be in the fashion

industry?

So, I ended up in fashion probably, I would say through A little bit throughout high school, junior high. I think I've always been kind of like attracted to apparel to clothing in general.

Yeah, I

grew up. Okay, hold on. I have to stop you right there. A little bit of a backstory for those of you who are listening. Me and Dom met in middle school in seventh grade. We are now an undisclosed age that I will not speak, but we are into our 30s. [00:03:00] But it's funny because I remember you. Because of your fashion as well in middle school, I remember you always had like the freshest shoes Like the new K Swiss like I bought K Swiss because you had K Swiss I don't know if I ever told you that but Like I bought them because you had them and I thought they look so cool in middle school And so yeah, I just had to like cut in right there to just give people a little a little background You're

gonna you're gonna Date both you and I both by the K Swiss.

Yeah, yeah, K Swiss, like, like a lot of people don't

know about the K Swiss. I know, these kids don't know anything about K

Swiss. That, you definitely dated us with that

 

Dom's Experience in Japan and Reconnection with Jasmine

Dom: So fast forward through that era of high school. I, I somehow bring myself to end up in Japan. How I got to Japan is like a story in its own, but I bring myself to, to end up in Japan, living in Japan, just outside of [00:04:00] Tokyo.

And so I, I realized while I'm there, like, I come across and I used to go into Shibuya and into Harajuku and into these various places around Japan, like on a weekly, like a couple of times a night during the weekdays,

running around the streets and kind of like very attracted to like the culture of Tokyo, the culture of people and like the art of like these subgroups in Tokyo, which I, I don't, I wouldn't say they're like, like, almost like these cliques of personalities and, and, and when it kind of sounds like more so these cliques of expression, like these, these groups of expressions of people like who just like express themselves, like, Mostly through apparel.

And the most obvious one is, what's the word? Like, in Harajuku. Yeah, like, it's like

a lot of cosplay, right? I know what you're talking about. I can't think of a word either. So,

I'm forgetting the word, but like, that's the most obvious one when people [00:05:00] think of like, of like, expression through apparel, like through clothing.

But that's, it's very cosplay, it's very much like Like the Harajuku girls. Yeah, yeah, and it's very much like popularized, like like increasing popularity, like over the last So ever however many years right since I lived there, but like what I was drawn to was like more so what brought me back to like childhood and these were like these kids and like adults even that like there was like adults that, like, still dressed how I dressed when I used to skate, like, in eighth grade, but, like, as adults, and they were, like, super cool, and then there were, like, adults that, had, like, crazy shoes on, and, like, cool, cool denim, and, then there was, like, groups of, Like people who were like dressed like as if and they were in like a hip hop video and like but this was like their everyday life like this is how they dress every single day like they weren't dressing this way for anything like this is how they live their life like you would walk into a shop and like you would see one like the [00:06:00] person in the shop like if you were like translate video You know, and I'll use like, he could be listening to like Dr.

Dre or something. Cause like one thing about Japan and one thing that I love, you know, being from California is like, they, a lot of people in Japan, like super love California, and like lifestyle, like surf lifestyle, like hip hop. And they're just very connected to California, which I thought was always cool.

So anyway, while living there, I kind of like fell in love with all of these different, like all of these different like groups of people and how they like express themselves. And not necessarily through, like, times of, like, what was cool at the moment, like, that they just kind of, like, lived that way. So I kind of, like, fell in love with that.

So, along the time that I'm living there... I somehow got connected with you again yeah, yeah, you, so I can't say, I can't say how we got connected.

But somehow we got connected, and somehow you were [00:07:00] in Japan, and I remember you telling me, and correct me if I'm wrong, and this is how, like, when I think about, like, like a turning moment for me, I remember you telling me, like, oh yeah, like, you know, like, we come here for work, or like, you know, like, like, I would come here, like, my co workers, or, and for

Japanese.

Yeah, so at the time I was working at a company that was a Japanese based company and I don't know if you remember but we had an office out in Japan so I was like meeting with some of my co workers that were based in Japan office and stuff like that.

Right and so I, I, when I, when I think about that time and when I tell this, this because I feel like I, I've mentioned this before because it's like, it's like a turning point for me but when I tell this I'm like, yeah, like, The only thing that could cross my mind is like, what do you do or what do you have to do?

And this is like, kind of more, it says more about like, you and then says a little bit [00:08:00] about me and how much I like, loved being in Japan. But I was like, what do you have to do that you can come just like, work out here? And like, like, how do I do it? And how do I get, like, how do I get to just come out here and , be here?

And, and kind of like, experience this and enjoy this, . For work, because that's what it seemed like. It may not have been like your case, right? I could be glamorizing it a little more than what it really was, right? But, like, at the time, I was, like, naive to it, and I didn't know anything about fashion.

It was more so, like, how do I do that? How do I come out here? And... Be here for work. Because I love it here. I love the people and I love the culture and I love the lifestyle. So yeah, that was like, that was like, I guess that was my big moment of when I was like, Oh, okay, like, whatever it is, I'm going to figure out how to do it.

Yeah. Oh, I love that story okay.

Dom's Role as a Product Developer at Citizens of Humanity

Dom: So can you tell me a little bit about your, the company that you work for and your role there as a product developer?

So I work for Citizens of Humanity . I've been [00:09:00] there a couple of years, like going on like four, four years plus or minus a couple of months. So just under five years actually.

And for the people who don't know,

what does Citizens of Humanity produce?

Oh, so. So, Citizens of Humanity has been around for, since early 2000, and primarily as a denim company. So, premium, premium denim brand, sorry. And within Citizens, Citizens of Humanity, there's a couple brands under the Citizens umbrella that So there's a Goldie, there's gold sign, there's citizens of humanity, and then there's citizens of humanity, men's.

So there's a couple of brands under the umbrella of citizens. They're all completely separate brands, which is really cool. And I work on our a Goldie and gold.

Nice. Okay. So what is your day to day as a product developer for a company like this look like like walk me through like what that looks like?

What are [00:10:00] you exactly doing?

You can see I'm like cheesing ear to

ear. Why do you, is it because you love your job so much or are you just like traumatized that the work that you have to go back and do? It's all trauma. No,

no, honestly, it's it's I, I, like, instantly achieved because, like, you said, day to day,

and it's different every single day. So,

my first, yeah, exactly, like, there's no, there's, and that, that is, like, not something that everyone kind of thrives for, or, like, kind of, like, yearns towards, but it's something that I love coming from someone who, like, did do something at a certain point in their life, like, every day, and it was really consistent, and it was kind of, like, the same thing.

Yeah, it was very mundane and like to, to do development and, and I can't say development is the same way everywhere, right? Like, but in my day to day with the [00:11:00] people that I get to work alongside, it's so fun. I always say that, like, it's like one of the funnest things ever because it's not the same and it's like anything else where it's like.

You know, there's, there's, there's, there's a lot of trial and error and problem solving and like, and learning as you go in the sense of like, trying to push the limit and like, do new things on a daily basis, not new things, but like, trying to improve, you know, things, how we do things and, and how we're developing product and how we're making things and improve the product, you know, even in the smallest, the smallest way, and even starting at the improving the product, like not in product form and like, And fabric form, et cetera, et cetera.

So yeah, no day is the same, but a lot of what I do is touching product on a daily basis.

Yeah, so for those that are not super familiar with the role of a product developer, how, how would you describe the process and like their role within a [00:12:00] fashion brand? So we know a lot of people know fashion designers, that's like the primary thing that we think of.

But like, how does a product developer like fit into that scenario? And like, Yeah, like, what, if you could summarize the role and the responsibilities, like, what does that look like?

So I would say, basically, in short, you're, you work alongside your design team, and you take, you take conceptualized ideas and ideas, and you turn them into Product, and it could be product from, from apparel there's, there's home developers.

There's like, there's, there's actual product developers that develop like hard goods and like things like that. And it's basically working alongside someone who's conceptualizing an idea and a product and, and you kind of taking and providing all the ingredients that kind of like bring it to life and bring it to life and pass it on to either a person or a division or someone else who can [00:13:00] take it.

And scale it with as little as error as possible. So, so when I, when I say like, so between development, between design development, and I don't know if you've touched on this yet, or if you will, at some point, you have what is called production and, and the bridge, you know, typically what happens or like the in the interim in the, in the timeline of process.

You know, your design team will design, your developers will develop, and your production team will then produce on whichever scale your business is, what you've designed and produced and sold. So to be able to take A conceptualized idea and develop it and bring it to life with all the raw materials, what, what I like to call all the ingredients, right?

Like all the, all of the, the pieces.

And what does that look like? What could that be for like, you do denim. So what are those raw materials?

So I think denim is like [00:14:00] probably what we, denim is probably one of the more complicated ones, I would say, because there's so many more pieces involved in, in bringing it.

to a production stage and it's, it's also like why, like to me, I feel like denim is so special. It's so important because like so many people touch it truly, truly, truly touch it. Like one, one jean before it's like brought to a store and it's like available for purchase, but it looks like basically. You start with a sketch, right?

A design team from design team. They have, you know, you have a fabric in mind. You have a denim in mind that you want to use from denim from, from that stage. You know, it goes through a pattern maker, a pattern maker from a pattern maker. It goes to a cutter or someone or a machine or someone who's going to operate a machine to cut this sample garment.

And so you can put it on a sewing machine from there. It goes to a sewer. From this sewer and what we call is [00:15:00] raw denim and it's kind of like this is something that's very popular in Japan It's it's a finished jean, but denim as you know, I mean as you don't know I don't know if you if you do or not Like one of the one of the cool things about denim is like it ages over time, right?

like like like vintage denim is that way because Because it's, you know, it's lived a lot of life, is what I like, is what I say. You know, someone had to wear it to like, bring it to that point. And like, it has a lot of, it has a lot of stories to tell. So, denim in stores, brand new, needs to get to that, that, that, that Y stage.

What I would call it. Like, like, to, to living a lot of life, right? So to get to that stage to, you know, and that's usually when people like, like everyone likes different stages of denim, but like vintage denim, it's usually washed down. It looks a little worn, either damaged, et cetera. So to get to that stage, it has to go through a laundry process and sometimes it's automated.

Sometimes it's not, but that's [00:16:00] another set of hands that it goes through. And then finally coming back through a finishing process and all of, I say all of that to say, basically that entire process. From that sketch all the way through to that finishing process all comes back through a developer's hand.

Gotcha. So like every single, every single one of those pieces a developer is involved in. And that's pretty much like a daily basis. So when you take that, and that's why I say denim is a little more complicated to use as an

example. It's more steps,

right? Yeah, there's a lot more steps in the process in which when you have more steps, you have more room for error.

When you have. You know, there's a lot more things that can go wrong in those, in all of those steps. So it takes a lot of hands to kind of like bring it to life and do it and do it efficiently and, and still kind of create beautiful product. Yeah.

So as in your role as a product developer and having your hands involved through this process, are you sourcing the materials?

[00:17:00] Are you working with the production team? Like what does that look like?

Yeah. I, I honestly, I work with everyone. So I source materials alongside my design team. I work with my production team on a daily basis. I work with my development team on a daily basis, like on across the entire company I work with.

Tech team, our technical design team on a daily basis. I'm like this with our pattern team. I bet on a daily basis. Yeah. So I think, and, and not to say no one is more important than the other, but like I'm with our sample sewers on a daily basis and, and I'm fortunate enough to have like all of. People in one building, which is like very rare, especially in today.

And I mean, I'm sure you can talk towards that, but like in today, it's very rare to have all of these and like all of these people in one space. So, but I'm [00:18:00] fortunate enough to kind of be in a position where everyone is. In one space. And so I'm very much I like walk around and like go see someone. So I literally work with every single department on a daily basis.

Yeah, that's super special because you can, you know, see the whole process through and, you know, if you have any questions or you need to get anything fixed or change, you can do that instantly, which is so awesome because a lot of people, you know, are developing and doing stuff overseas, which can elongate the process.

And so having that easy access and connection is. Probably so

helpful. Yeah. And the communication is just like, like part of, also part of like being a developer is being a communicator. Yeah. So like, so like the communication is just like being able to just, just kind of, and I, I wouldn't say like to being able to like speak.

All the different languages, because everything is like, you kind of work, you know, when you work with a pattern maker, you're working with a sewer, like they speak each other's language, right? But [00:19:00] that doesn't mean like the sewer is going to speak or, you know, your production team's language, because, you know, they're working on one piece and your production team's working on however many, you know, you have for an order.

So being a developer and being able to, to work with all of the departments and communicate across all the departments is something that like takes a little bit of time to kind of like. To kind of work through and align with all the different departments, I guess I would say.

Okay, so you spoke about how you have to keep a lot of communication and, you know, with Basically, everyone in this production process and the process of developing the product, I know that, you know, as a product developer, as you said, you're also working with like vendors to source materials and components of the garment and things like that.

Yeah.

The Importance of Relationships and Networking in Fashion

Dom: So, I want to ask you, for someone who's like starting their own company, first, I want you to touch a little bit on how important it is to build relationships with your vendors and keep, you know, that communication. Let's start [00:20:00] there. So,

I think, so that goes back to like, me just kind of like briefly touching on, like the communication.

And speaking the languages and the reason I say that is because that's not just like I'm not talking to strangers every day. Like, these are people that, you know, it takes time to be able to speak the language and translate across the various departments, etc. And I look at that and and if I were doing that.

With vendors and contractors and and people who have 40 different people doing it with them on a daily basis, I think part of the relationship that you're building with these people is a relationship of like, you know, because it's still business, right? Like fashion is a business at the day, and they have a business.

But part of the relationship is like building a trust with these people and allowing them to kind of like, you know, they have to trust you and you have to trust them. And there's a lot of like, Transactional things that happen between and it's the same thing. And and where [00:21:00] I would work with various departments, right?

But there's a lot of, like, transactional things that have to happen. And there's a lot of depending on you to come through at certain with certain things and the same way you depend on them. And I always consider that, like, just. And it's, it's, it's important to be able to trust that, you know, you're, you'll come with your portion and they'll deliver with theirs, but it's definitely one of the most important things.

And I, I, again, I immediately associated it with like trust, like you wouldn't work with someone you don't trust, but you wouldn't work with a vendor who you feel is like going to steal your product. Right. Yeah. Or someone who's going to like, you know, you wouldn't, you wouldn't give product. Just someone who you don't think is going to like pay you for it.

Like a lot of, a lot of like payment and things in fashion. It's not like, it's not always immediate. And so like, you, you know, a part of a relationship is like trusting that, you know, everyone's going to do business accordingly and, and do it properly and kind of respectfully, I guess.

Okay, also staying along the lines [00:22:00] of like, you know new designers who are venturing out starting these new businesses I think it can be so hard to like find the right vendors and like find suppliers to work with Do you have any tips on how to go about doing that how to find?

The right partners to source from materials and all of that for people in the fashion industry I feel like I don't know if you feel like this, but I think as a business owner myself like When I first stepped into the fashion industry, it just felt like, and it still feels like this, it's just you kind of grow and you learn, but it just felt like a lot of things were gatekept and it was very hard to, like, find what you needed.

I definitely felt that when I first came into the industry, like, even when I was in school, like, it feels like it's very much like You know, if you have a contact, like nobody really wants to share it. Yeah. For whatever reason, for whatever reason. Right. Like I never, even to this day, I still really, I still really don't understand.

I think part [00:23:00] of, I think that one of my most important, like. Some advice that it was given to me is like, and it goes back to like, kind of relationships and trust is like, like, good, good partners and good people that you want to start working with are like, usually, and this is also like, not even just like working with contractors and vendors and things like that.

And like, working with various people or like, whether it be fabrics or trends or whatever it is. But like, It's just in general, like when you network with people and people like can come back and say like, yo, Jasmine's like a very solid person, like she's good people, like that goes a long way. And so I think that like early on, I feel like a lot of what like was being gatekept was like the, like lack of like not having that network and not having people to like kind of vouch for you and kind of say like, yo, no, like he's good people or, you know, good person.

Like, you know. And they could be people that never worked with you, but just know that, like, you're an honest [00:24:00] person and like, it's just something that, you know, and you take what you do serious, right? Like, it can be something as simple as that, like, you cannot really have anything to sit on, but I think just being a good person, like, people can kind of feel that, and like, just being a serious person, like, people can kind of, like, serious about what you want to do, and like, what it is that you're, like, going after, I think people can kind of, like, feel that.

Through like just networking with you and like running into you like I one of my first internships I got standing in line at a bathroom At a coffee shop. So like and you know, and it just came from like it was just like Jane it was like pretty genuine conversation and That internship then opened up a couple more doors and you know It was he was like the business over he was the owner of like an apparel line and he was like, hey like You know, and we just had a great conversation and it opened up a couple of doors and it didn't come from me being like, Hey, like, I want to, you know, I'm in the industry.

I want to do this. Like, it was just us to having a conversation and both waiting in line to use the restroom. Yeah, so [00:25:00] I think it's like, again, those are things that you kind of like, and just like, they'll fill people out and like, people are just be genuine and be a good person. And I think like, of course.

Just being a good person is not going to get you your connections you need, right? But I think that's, that's a, that's

a place to start. Yeah, I love that you touch on being a good person, which nobody is a perfect person, but just kindness, right? Just, just leading with kindness. I think a lot of times I see new designers come out and there's a sense of entitlement sometimes where it's just like, you know, they kind of expect things to be done a certain way for them or like, you know, expect people to serve them in a certain way, but I think coming into it with humility and kindness and like, you know, if you don't know a lot, like Just being honest about that and I think you'd be surprised to find that a lot more people are willing to help you because you For sure Move in humility And also touching on what you said about just networking and things like that I remember when I started out I just had the roughest time finding a good production manager and it [00:26:00] was just so stressful I, I'm such a baby and I would just like cry all the time because my production manager would like yell at me because I didn't know what I was doing.

And just by like making friends with other designers in the industry, right? Because like, yeah, sometimes I think designers feel like it's like a competitive thing. It's like, no, everyone has their own little niche. Everyone's doing their own thing. And I think if you find the right friends and the right people, they can help you too.

And so I remember, you know. I had two friends who were also designers and they had found a production person that was super solid and connected me with him. And that person like ended up being not only a production manager for my company, but also a great mentor to me and someone who was very patient with me.

Introduce me to a lot of different vendors a lot of different people within the industry that could help me grow my brand and Honestly, my business would not be where it is today If I had not met him and if I had [00:27:00] not, you know Gone, you have to go through a couple bad So I also think it's important like for new designers and, you know, new business owners that are starting up in the fashion industry, don't get discouraged if you are, you know, just starting out and it feels like people are just like not treating you the best and you're not getting, you know, the best results.

I think you have to just keep trying and trying and keep connecting and networking and meeting the right people. So you can get connected with those vendors and partners that are going to be like lifelong connection. So yeah, yeah. Yeah. And

I also think that like I 100% agree with you in the terms of like, you kind of got to go through that.

And I, I use like my internships, like going through various internships. To like kind of figure out like, yeah, like this isn't the, you know, this one's not good and I'm not really feeling this one. I, this one, I, I like, you know what I was doing there, but like, you know, I want to move forward and like, you kind of like navigate your way through.

It's the same thing. [00:28:00] Like you kind of like navigate your way through what there, it's like your, your, your intro into like. As a new designer, your intro into the industry, I think, I think part of what could kind of like fault people and kind of like halt, halt their, their, their like catapult to like be successful and like not in network and just be a good person is, is like you said, like filling that entitlement and that, and that comes to me, that's, that comes with like today's like, Today's platform of like fashion and where fashion is like shown like, right, like, like fashion is all over social and you can, and like things go viral and sell out so fast and being able to see like that instant success kind of like, you know, brings that entitlement, which I don't, I don't, I don't agree with it, but like, you know, it's part of, it's the fashion world we live in today and I think that, that like, you know, new designers see that.

And if you are able to be successful, like I think this [00:29:00] kind of like still it comes back to just being a good person because successful or not, like you can be successful and still be a terrible person. So, like, like, there's plenty of people there that are like, very, very well off, super successful.

They're just not good people. There's nothing wrong with them. And like, that's just who they are. But yeah, they're just not good people. So I think that being successful, being a good person and just navigating the climate of like, where fashion is at now. I think it's, it's, I don't know, I feel like it'll take you further and longer, you know, and in the marathon of like, just being a successful designer, or if you're a developer, being a developer with like some longevity and keeping your legs under you, or if you work in production, like, I think you really have to see like, You have to see a long end goal if you work in production because there's like production is like, you know, it's, it's, it's a constant like trial and error battle and like, there's, there's, I mean, it's with, it's with everything, not just production, but yeah.

Yeah, I just, I just think it's the [00:30:00] platform we have today in terms of. Like, where fashion is at, that entitlement, it definitely can get the best of people.

Absolutely, but like you said, kindness is something that's timeless, and I think that That's a bar! Don't steal that from me. yEah, I just find that, like, you, you, you reap what you sow, right?

So you, you put good out, you get good in, and like I said, I think, you know, just from my experience of Treating people with respect and kindness and like being patient, right? Yeah, because you have to be patient in this industry. A lot of things can go wrong And so like if one thing goes wrong don't like, you know Go off on your vendors or your suppliers or your manufacturing partners Like, things happen, so you have to be really patient with people and very merciful with people.

But they will be like that with you back. And I think, you know, building those relationships, they're gonna have your back, even if you're a new designer. And I [00:31:00] think, again, that's been one of the biggest things, is like, being new at this and like, just feeling like you don't have that support or feeling like you can't figure things out.

And a lot of times you

really like, can't figure it out. And like, you're a good person and you still can't figure it out. Yeah. And like, there's no one to help. And there's no one to help you. Right. Yeah. And figure it out like and then you just kind of go through the motions of like trial and error and I think that's also super important like you can be like you could be a good person to go through the trial

and error like you're going to go through the trial and error regardless but I think like you know again being intentional about being good also making relationships all of that like because eventually You're going to make enough connections and relationships where you can ask questions and you can, you know, get referrals and you can, but the trial and error never stopped.

So I mean, I just wish every day

like, yeah, like, I literally this is and that's again, like when I think we had asked like, you know, a day in the life, like, part of the excitement that no day is the [00:32:00] same is that like, I am learning things Every single day like that. I didn't know yesterday, like not because like something new crazy happens that puts me in a position to learn something new.

It's just like, like, just through conversation of like working through something or trying to trying to figure something out or working through a new fabrication or like trying to trying to blend things that like It's again, nothing new under the sun, but like, it's new for me. So, so, and that's where, that's where I'm like, like, I'm not, you know, we're not inventing, reinventing, you know, we're not making a new car and I've been something crazy, but you know, we're, we're making apparel make fashion.

We're in the fashion industry, but like, it's new for me and. The one thing that I like tell everyone that I work with and that I'm like a firm believer on, and this is why I learned things is like, there's no one way to do things, like do anything in this industry. And I'm like, I'm like, super, I like super preach that every day, there's efficient [00:33:00] ways to do things.

And there's like ways that are like proven to work and that have track records and that like, you know, you can like lean back on and like. There's formulas that work, but there's no one way to get to the end with everything like in this industry and that's how I continuously learn from the people around me and like how I, you know.

We're just kind of like working through ideas and then traveling there. So yeah, you know, it's interesting learning. I learned every day. I'm asking questions every

day. I love that because it's such a good takeaway. Like we should be constant learners, like always learning every day. Always be curious. I think that's a lesson for me because Again back to like when I started I think there's this like pridefulness of like wanting to know Like seem like you know what you're doing, you know I wanted to know seem like I knew what I was doing so bad because i'm like, yeah I've been working in the industry.

I went to school for this like [00:34:00] I know You don't know like Like you said, you're constantly learning every day, I'm still learning every day, and there's new things that come up, and that's how you grow though, is by learning, and like, learning from failures, learning from mistakes, learning from experience, and so, yeah, I think it's so important to always be learning.

100%, I would agree. There's no, I, like, I think the moment, it kind of goes back to what we were talking about earlier, the moment that I stopped learning would be the moment that I feel like it's a little mundane. Yeah. It's a little, it's a little predictable and it's a little repetitive and I, and I, I kind of enjoy the like aspect of, of like learning something and like keeping, you know, keeping fresh and being, you know, staying on my toes in terms of like, you know, figuring out new ways to do things.

Even if it's not learning, then I'm like working through, you know, new ways to do something, you know, and through that way, you know, what's the outcome, what's the difference and how we built the product and how. And how we're going to take it from product to like [00:35:00] production, and how can we improve the process, how can we improve the communication, like, there's just so many things that you can constantly, you know, and it's not always product related, and that's part of also, like, part of the excitement, it's like, it could be like, whether it's communications related, or whether it's like, whether it's like, yeah, like, Whether you're working with a pattern team or with a sewer, again, like all of those things, like, just kind of like bridging the gap between and working with all these departments, it doesn't always have to be necessarily directly product related.

And that's part of, that's part of the fun thing. A lot of times it is

though. Yeah. Yeah.

The Key Components of a Great Product

Dom: Okay, so swinging it back over to product, tell me the key components to what makes a great product.

I, I mean, I think this is my opinion because I don't think there's one answer to this question. I'm going to answer it in the way that I feel like it's like very not specified to like one, one type [00:36:00] of product.

And I feel like great product for me is product that has longevity. Like that's always, that's always what I'm going to say, like something just, and that longevity is not reflective of the price. So like, like a lot of times the price is inclusive of the longevity. But it's not necessarily the higher the price, the longer it's going to last, right?

Like, that's not the correlation between it. So like when I say longevity, it doesn't, that doesn't mean that I'm not thinking about like a price tag or like what the garment costs or what apparel costs or what the product costs. Right. But I think I, that's what I instantly associated with. And second, I. I associated it back towards the ingredients that, and I, again, I use this word ingredients quite a bit, but like the ingredients that came together to make it and those were brought because like, not, you don't just create a product, right?

Like if you're baking a cake, like, you know, where were the, like, you know, where were [00:37:00] the eggs? You know, where they farm or the cage free or like, are they organic? Like where'd the eggs come from? You know, like it's the flower. Is it like, like do you use bleach flour or is it like unbleached flour? Like, you know, like all of these little things that like you put into your cake to make the mix and like kind of bring it together, like make the end product.

Either, you know, in your eyes, it could be different, or in someone else's eyes, it could make the difference in, like, the taste, right? And, like, the quality of the product. Absolutely. It's the same way with, like, to me, what makes a product great is, like, all of those little things that go into it.

The materials, the trims.

Yeah,

exactly. Yeah, and that's, like, to me, that's what makes it great. Like, you know, like, the inside of it. Like, I look at the inside, like, I love the inside of, like, Things, which is like super nerdish of me

like, yeah, like,

like, it's like, I look at the inside and I'm like, did you, did like, whoever like worked on this, you know, cause like, again, like when you [00:38:00] work in product development, you understand, like you touch product.

So, like, and especially when you work in denim, a lot of people touch that product before it gets to the store before it gets to someone's, you know, a consumer thing. So, like, I look at the inside, like. Who, like what person I'd like to see, like, Oh, like what person, like looked at the inside when they were making this, like only 2% of people are probably going to look at the inside when they buy it.

Yeah, like I want, I'm very curious about the person who opened it up to look at the inside of when they made it and like thought about the inside as much as they thought about the outside. So that's like, again, and that's to me, those are the things to me that make a product great. And it's kind of like, just kind of treating everything like from the ingredients to the actual product.

To the life and how long, how much life that product has after. It's been produced. I think those are the things that make something amazing for me.

Yeah [00:39:00] When the first thing that I that came to mind when I asked the question about what makes a great product All I could think about was fit. Can you touch a little bit on fit and like the importance of fit?

for a fashion product because I think sometimes people can like Skip this step and I think it's so important especially when you're working with retailers and you are You know, especially in the denim world. I know fit is a big thing. So yeah if you could touch on that

so like Everything I just said is like completely irrelevant if you don't have a decent fit or you like don't fit or like You don't have something that Yeah, if you don't, if your garments don't fit, and this could be t shirts, jackets, jeans, denim, like active wear, like, if it doesn't fit the person, the end consumer, or it's uncomfortable to fit, then it doesn't matter if you made it, and the person who flipped it inside out did every [00:40:00] single stitch by hand, like, it's all irrelevant because it's not important, like, it.

Bye. Apparel, not all apparel, most fashion is functional. So like to truly be, again, not all fashion, but most fashion is functional. And to truly be functional, it needs to fit. And it needs to fit multiple Sizes, body shapes, et cetera, it's multiple, like, men and women, and, and now we're in a, in a, like, a place where, like, you know, there's less, there's more gender neutral apparel, which is cool, but, like, there's still fit to that.

There's still a fit to be gendered.

It seems like it would bring a lot of challenges, too,

to hit both. Right, right, right. And there's still, like, there's still... There's still an aspect of like how something should fit on a human body. And, and I think it's one of the most important things and, and like to, to kind of like [00:41:00] talk about it without having to talk about it because it's, it's one of those things that is like, it's, it's, it's, it's part of your brand DNA.

And I think it's always like, it's something that you carry with your brand in every brand. Like you, when you buy a pair of Nike leggings, you expect those Nike leggings. You know, to fit how your favorite pair fits every time you buy a new color when you buy and it's the same thing for shoes like when you buy a pair of shoes you expect to be a size nine and a half or a 10 if you're a 10, you know, especially if you're buying the same shoe, or if you're buying from the same brand, at least you expect it to be relatively in the same world of sizing.

So I think like, People look at apparel and they kind of like, think that that's not the case. But you would never walk into a Nike store and like, and then ask for a size 6 when you're a size 9 1 2 because like, you think that you're a size 6 in that, in this specific shoe. No, like you go in there [00:42:00] with an idea and the consistency that your foot didn't just magically change overnight and you're still 9 1 2.

And you can walk into an Adidas store next door and still be a nine and a half. So it's something that's like fairly consistent, like shoes are shoes, right? But across like, across like apparel and fashion and denim specifically, like, and you would know, like, it's very much your brand DNA, you know, when you're...

As you grow season over season, like, it's something that, you know, customers get used to as they buy things from you. But I think that, like, to just to go back and say everything that I said prior, whether it's the ingredients and the end result and the longevity, it's... It means absolutely nothing if you have inconsistent product that your, your customers or your consumers or whoever is like, is, is, is supporting your product and purchasing your product and is like, is, is loyal to your product, can't have, can't come back to you and continue [00:43:00] to be a part of your brand DNA.

Season after season. Yeah, season after season because of your inconsistency. And I think that like you just, you build that over time. Like, that's not something that happens right away. And a lot of brands, I feel like, kind of get in trouble very early on in that, in that space. But yeah, I think, I think it's just something that, it's never gonna happen overnight.

Okay Dom, thank you so much for your perspective.

Closing Remarks and Resources

Dom: It's been so good talking to you and just hearing more about what you do in product development and just getting your insights on the importance of all these components of a brand and so thank you so much for being on.

Thank you for having me. Thank you for, none of this would be, like, I don't think either of us would be here if it weren't 85% for you doing what you did.

Honestly, and then the other, what's the other percent?[00:44:00]

The other 15% wouldn't have been possible if you never wore your K Swisses to class. So thank you for your inspiration. So if people want to get their hands on some of your work and buy some like Citizens of Humanity jeans or A. Goldie, where can they find you guys?

They can find. That's a, that's a great question.

Citizens of humanity.com, A goldie.com and yeah, and through Citizens of Humanity, you can find us at a number of retailers around the globe in Europe, north America, Canada, all over Canada, and yeah, no, all around the world you can find citizens of Humanity, a gold eagle sign. Yeah, go check it out. It's cool.

I mean, more than the product, the people there are amazing. So I have nothing, nothing ever, they're like kind of like, yeah, I have nothing more to say than the product is amazing. The people are amazing. And, and, and you will have that. [00:45:00] Longevity that I talked about through the product, of course, because, you know, a lot of hands touched it.

Yeah

So you can feel good about knowing that you're gonna buy a product that has an amazing team behind it That's gonna last really long and you guys make sure to turn the jeans inside out when you get a pair so we can see Exactly what Dom is talking about.

Please don't please do not add me if you see something.

That's a little

Overlock, okay Can you

imagine If you guys see the overlock wrong, please send me your info.

You can send any complaints directly to Dom, he's a little mysterious so we don't know where to find him on the internet, but Dom, thanks so much for being here. I'm

out there, thank you for having me, this was cool, this was very fun.

Jasmine: Hey friends,

Before we end today's episode, I want to give you a free resource that's going to help you create that winning product that we spoke about today. And that resource is our fit checklist. And this is going to help guide you as you do [00:46:00] your fit session so that you can ensure that your product has the best fit you can get this free guide at makegoodfashion.

com slash fit check or check the show notes for the link i promise you this is going to come in handy so make sure to get your copy today