Lana Hogue
Production Expert and Director of Supply Chain, Qhipas

Lana Hogue has worked in garment manufacturing for over 30 years. With extensive experience in production, quality control, and operations both in the U.S. and off shore including Asia, Mexico & Central America, South America, and Caribbean Basin, Ms. Hogue has worked as an employee or consultant to hundreds of companies from start-ups to $15 billion in sales. Her background includes management of product development and production at Betabrand, Triple Aught Design, Tea Living, Biscotti Inc., and Esprit, as well as business systems analysis at Byer California and Gap Inc. Having worked for 6 years on a compliance project with the Department of Labor, she is well versed in California garment labor law. Lana currently serves as Director of Supply Chain at Qhipas.

We sat down with Lana to talk about garment manufacturing, local production, and fashion business development.  

You have worked in garment manufacturing for over 25 years, is there a factory that impressed you because of the condition of the workers?

This is a challenging question, since factories are not glamorous places full of beaming workers.  However, some factories do stand out for their innovation, cleanliness, and the pride that the workers show in their place of employment.  I have visited many factories throughout Asia and South America. I was most impressed by the innovation I saw in Thailand and Vietnam. In Thailand I worked with a denim factory that recycled all of the water for their wash processes.  The employees were schooled on all of the innovative eco-friendly processes and expressed a lot of pride in that. In Vietnam, I worked with several clean and organized factories that took great pride in their working conditions and the quality of their workmanship.

What is/are the biggest challenges for a designer in production phase? Biggest mistakes designers make on this phase?

Many entrepreneurs believe that their greatest challenges are in finding the right fabric and making a pattern that fits correctly.  Then, when they are ready to start production, they believe that they just need to issue purchase orders and wait for everything to come together.  A good production experience requires constant oversight and involvement. From the fabric delivery and inspection, to assuring quality during the cutting, sewing, pressing, packaging, and shipping - every step has its potential issues that need to be monitored and prevented or resolved.  I teach a very in-depth seminar on this topic: Quality Assurance.

You’re a mentor, consultant, and teacher. Can you share with us a successful story about a designer or entrepreneur you helped to succeed?

I have helped literally hundreds of businesses succeed.  I'm very proud of companies like Timbuk2, and Tea Collection.  But I'm especially proud of my work at Betabrand, where I built a multi-tiered supply chain for speed and agility.  I'm equally proud of smaller companies like State Apparel, DOHP, Gravel & Gold, and Braserie because they took the information I provided and ran with it.  I don't take a one-size-fits-all approach. Every business is unique, and I'm most impressed with the folks on a tight budget that I've been able to propel forward.

In your opinion, when is the best moment to ask for a consultation with you - prototyping stage, before samples, or idea stage?

The earlier the better - I can easily save a designer thousands of dollars on product development, including how to approach sampling and achieving the desired fit.  Often our consultation will help determine the overall direction of the business, because of the focus on scalability and long-term margin strategy. If an entrepreneur has already made samples, then we will start from there.  But patterns and samples are expensive, so the designer needs to get the most out of their investment. My area of expertise spans from concept through development and finished bulk production. I have worked from a very high planning and strategy level, including software implementation, all the way to a very granular technical level.  (I've been a tailor, pattern maker and technical designer in my early years)

Do you promote local production to local designers or do you recommend outsourcing production if there is a better solution for them?

I don't necessarily promote local or offshore production.  Each product and business type has unique needs and appropriate resources.  Some products can only be made with equipment and skill available in certain countries, or are cost-prohibitive to make locally.  But, most start-up brands can't produce the minimum quantity to even consider offshore manufacturing. This is common. So I work to educate the designer about their options, to help them determine the best way to work with local resources for their current needs, and plan product launches that allow utilizing offshore capabilities for future growth.  Some designers only want to produce in the USA, others have a strong connection to their home country or a region of the world they love or visit often. These connections can be constraints or tremendous resources but all should be considered and can be very valuable.

If you could send a message, an advice you can offer to young entrepreneurs wanting to start their own fashion business. What do you wish you had known before starting? 

I have a degree in apparel design - but I don't recommend that route.  The most valuable education I received in that money suck was the ability to make patterns.  You do not need a degree in fashion to create a successful sewn-product brand. You do not even need strong technical skills (but it helps!) . You do need a hunger to learn and a willingness to experiment.  Learn to sew - not to sew your production, but to empower yourself as an informed designer.  Don't use "one-stop-shops" that offer to do everything for you. They will obscure their sources and the process from you to keep you dependent on them, and you won't learn.  Learn as much as possible early on by doing it yourself or working directly with your pattern maker, sample maker, shipping company, graphic artist, photographer, web developer, etc. Then, you'll know what you're paying for down the road when you have employees performing those functions.  

Be experimental but keep your business experiments within your financial ability to absorb any failures. This is a constant learning experience. You'll need to enjoy researching, absorbing new & unconventional information, and experimenting with various approaches before you are even ready to be successful!

Thank you, Lana!