Margot Brouillet represents the image of a modern working woman with defined visions and an obvious drive at work.
She gives us an insight into her work life and an idea of the responsibilities the position of a collection coordinator deals with.
- Lovely to welcome you here today, Margot. May you introduce yourself to our community?
Hi Glam Observer, thank you very much. I am glad to be part of this interview and I love your concept. My name is Margot Brouillet. I am 28-years-old Collection Coordinator working and living in Paris for the past 10 years.
2.Your career path is absolutely impressive and includes a variety of well-known fashion labels for which you have been working as collection coordinator. When did you know you wanted to execute this position?
At first, I did a lot of internships in various departments in fashion companies. It helped me to know exactly what my job goal was. I am passionate about the product especially ready-to-wear so I naturally did two internships in Product Development during my studies (Vanessa Bruno, Joseph). After these experiences, I have been hired as Collection Coordinator Assistant in womenswear at Saint Laurent. I discovered the collection coordination there and I loved it.
3.What does a collection coordinator do?
Basically, the collection coordinator has to be the reference point to several departments all connected to the Collection: design, product development, atelier, manufacturers, merchandising. You have to inform, to be aware of the collection process in general and to behave like a conductor leading an orchestra. The collection coordinator makes sure every aspects of the collection are in compliance with Artistic Direction and Merchandising expectations at the same time; as well as to get everything ready in a timely manner for fashion show, lookbooks, showroom… According the company size, this job can be really different from a fashion house to another but it always creates a link between various professions.
4.You studied Fashion Merchandising and Fashion Business in NYC but moved back to your home country France after. Why did you chose these subjects and why did you decide to leave the big apple afterwards?
I wanted to work in Fashion and Luxury business, not in a creative way but more into management and marketing. That is why I chose this program. I have a master degree from the fashion school Mod’Art based in Paris. I did this exchange in NYC through this training. I also discovered the working life through an internship in the Big Apple. I wish I could stay in NYC, unfortunately my VISA expired so I had to go back home… The working life in NYC is very enlightened, dynamic and optimistic. I wish I could go back!
5. Have you been aware of this niche position right in the beginning of your career?
Definitely not in the beginning. I had never heard about this position before my first job at Saint Laurent. I think that kind of job could be more emphasized in fashion schools.
6. What makes your role exciting? What should a collection coordinator should be capable and aware of?
I like being helpful to everyone, to make easier their daily work by organizing their schedule, informing them, guiding them.
Being a collection coordinator is quite a big responsibility because everyone counts on you, you are like a dictionary or a map to them. You have to know everything. What is also challenging in this position is to manage the way you communicate with your co-worker, with the different people in the company. You are in touch with very different profiles and professions; for instance you don’t use the same vocabulary when you talk to a designer, a product developer or a pattern maker. Moreover, sometimes due to pressure and tiredness, you have to face some inappropriate responses. In these moments, your role is to be diplomatic and to be firm at the same time. As you probably know, fashion has an intense schedule with lots of collections and fashion shows in the year. You have to be aware that this position requires a lot of your time.
7. You need to have an excellent understanding of numbers but also materials and cuts, in order to being able to organise the collections. What is the biggest challenge of your job?
I mostly learnt in the field, I just have a story when I started at Saint Laurent: I had to take notes during the fittings but I had no technical background so it was very challenging to gather and to understand all the information but I am very comfortable with that now!
As I mentioned before, this position changes according the company size. I did collection coordination in a smaller fashion label. The most challenging part was to respect the budget and to satisfy the creative direction. Being creatively ambitious is nice but as collection coordinator you have to ask them to be down-to-earth then you negotiate what can be modified in the budget.
After budget, I would say time is a second challenge, you always run after time.
8.What does a typical day at work look like for you?
It is never the same everyday so it is hard to resume one day but it could be as follow:
I check my emails; I take a coffee and go to morning fittings. You make sure the fitting material and the models are ready then I call the missing people to start the meeting. (fitting includes the atelier, product developers, designers)
If the collection is quite advanced, I take notes of all the fabric attributions decided by the creative director in live. I control each prototype and take photos.
After that meeting I spread the information, for example the cancellations, the new style references and their fabric attributions to everyone.
According to the toiles from the atelier or the prototypes deliveries, I organize the fitting for the following days. You get this information from the Product Development team.
In the afternoon I work on my best tool: the “collection board”. It provides an amazing overview of the collection. I update it every day with the right sketches, the last fabric attributions etc. In parallel, I have to manage several requests from different departments that can includes validations, logistics, trimming needs etc.
9. In how far did the tasks and responsibilities of your position variate between the fashion houses you were working for?
At Saint Laurent I worked in Womenswear, more precisely in the woven department (not “finished product” leather, denim and knitwear). At Céline I worked in Studio Coordination which is more managing logistic and organizing the daily work of the design team. It has nothing to do with the product. At Koché, I was Collection coordinator/Product developer/Fabric developer. It is completely different from the past experiences as it was in a young and smaller company. I handled several positions in one and that was a very formative experience. At Balenciaga, I am Collection Coordinator for Commercial pieces and a part of the finished product (jersey and knitwear) for men and women.
To sum up, each collection coordinator job I did have their own description and functions.
10. What would your advice for young fashion passionates keen on pursuing a career in fashion be?
Be ambitious, be flexible, be open-minded, be determined, be respectful, be a good listener, be strong, never underestimate people or think you are worth more than them: that won’t make you better. You can always learn from your surroundings. Also, this field can be tough so you need to become hardened to success; you will have to be able to not take accusations or moods personally. Be humble.
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Interview by Lilly Meuser
Photo Courtesy of Margot by Yona Romet
