04 February 2019
Meet the buyer… Zun-Hui Tan, Next Brands
Every season, Jacket Required attracts buyers and visitors from some of the most sought-after retailers in the industry. We sat down with a few of the experts to get their point of view on this season’s trends, their take on the AW19 Jacket Required edition and have a glimpse into the life of a fashion buyer.
Run us through a standard day in the office for you
First thing to note – there’s no standard day in a buying office. Mondays are always a trade day so it’s really crucial that we know what’s going on with all our brands. We can be really creative with how we’re presenting this back to the directors and then we start looking at our trading actions for the week – what are we going to do to drive more sales. Then from there it can be anything between appointments and internal meetings, but every day is different!
When you’re buying for Label Online, what sort of things do you look for?
We currently have 120 brands online and we are growing massively. For me, it’s really about looking for what the latest trends are, what could be our next big brand and looking out for anything that could complement our current brand mix.
Are there any trends that you’re excited to see for the season ahead?
What’s been quite exciting, and something that I’m seeing at Jacket Required, is animal print coming through in menswear. I think where we’ve had camo in the past, it’s really exciting to see the step change. Colour-blocking is still so key and I know that this will continue to be a key trend for AW19. From a womenswear point of view, I’m still living and breathing animal prints. I guess the other trend coming through, are more earthy tones, which contrasts nicely with key fashion colours such as green and purple.
How would you sum up the vibe at Jacket Required?
It’s kind of that underground, urban cool. I think that this is where all the cool kids hang out. I feel like when I come here I need to be wearing all the latest trends and brands.
Our talks at Jacket Required were on sustainable fashion – what does that mean to you?
As a buyer, it’s really important that I’m sourcing for new brands that are sustainable. This season, I’ve taken on about two or three new brands that are sustainable in my department and there’s generally a feeling of more awareness. Even in the office, we are very aware of the environment and have different bins for recycling.
This season at Jacket Required, are you on the lookout for new brands or are connecting with brands that you know?
For me Jacket Required is really about making sure I’m up to date with all the latest menswear trends and finding new brands to work with.