JINGMENG EXPRESS

We went east to create the ultralight down jacket

By Inesis

March 17^th, 2021

TUESDAY 7 JANUARY: DESTINATION CHINA

Mid-January, the textile team composed of Sophie - Product Manager, Léa - Garment Designer, Pascal - Product Engineer, Audrey - Pattern Maker and Céline - Retail Supplier went to China to develop the future ultralight down jacket.

This is a special project for us because we decided to develop the product in 6 months, whereas it normally takes almost three times as long. This requires several changes to the usual product development schedule, including going to get the prototypes made directly by the supplier.

Léa, Audrey and Pascal have been working hard in preparation for this trip. The pattern has been sent to the supplier, the technical specifications drawn up, and the materials and accessories selected.

The factory has been supplied with the chosen components and accessories. And so the factory's prototyping department gets the green light to produce an initial down jacket.

WEDNESDAY 8 JANUARY: FIRST PROTOTYPE

Once we get there, we don't waste any time. We try on the down jacket and it needs quite a few corrections. The thing is, it takes about a day to prepare a new prototype, so we need to save time somewhere. Audrey works all night on V2 of the pattern, which can be assembled the very next morning—thank you jet lag.

THURSDAY 9 JANUARY: SECOND PROTOTYPE

The first step in producing a prototype is cutting the pattern by hand. We then assemble all the components and accessories.

FRIDAY 10 JANUARY: FINE-TUNING THE SCHEDULE

Having a prototype that ticks all the boxes is great. But there is still a lot of work to do: supply, merchandising, communication, marketing. Everything needs to be reviewed to guarantee that the product hits stores in August 2020.

Sharon, Production Leader, drawing up the schedule

Sophie, Textile Product Manager - "This trip helped us to save precious time; we achieved in 4 days what would normally take several months. It's incredible!"