Careers in Fashion and Textiles, Laurence King Publishing UK - Interview with Fiona Jenvey

What is the concept behind Mudpie?
We have three brands; Consultancy, Trendbooks and Mpdclick. Mudpie is focused on providing the industry with good quality design in the best format for the user. Mudpie is able to provide consultancy clients, such as Marks & Spencer’s, New Look and Primark, with specific design solutions that perfectly suit their current design and trend needs. Such needs can range from colour development right through to seasonal concepts and final production ready artwork. Our trendbooks are sold in over fifty countries and provide designers with readymade ideas for complete garment ranges on a seasonal basis. We publish five books covering Women’s, Men’s and Kid’s fashions. These products are colour, garment, print and graphic driven which makes them a complete solution. Budgets are very tight in the clothing business today, Mudpie trendbooks save designers time resulting, ultimately, in saving costs. This enables the finished product to remain competitive in the market place. Mpdclick is our newest concept and is the online trend solution for the designer or retailer that wants up to date information on a daily basis. We cover retail, popular shops in various major cities, street fashion, trade fairs and fashion shows. Our online service, Mpdclick, like all our products, provides relevant information at the right time for the market.
  
What is the key to the success of Mudpie?
I would say that the heart of a successful trend service is the research. It is important to realize that the client is investing large sums in realizing collections based on our information. Additionally, our biggest factor in success has been the complete understanding of the needs of the designer and buyer. This knowledge is unique to us because Mudpie has worked successfully with the smallest importer, multiple retailers and major brands. Because of our consultancy we have worked within the product development process at every level, right through to mass production, which makes our trend products very relevant to the end user.

You are a designer, a forecaster and analytical thinker, in your opinion what makes a successful fashion forecaster?
There are several important factors here. The first is that a successful forecaster needs to have a wide range of cultural interests. I find contemporary art to be extremely important as a starting point. For example Artists Mark Wallinger and Gilbert & George have been partially responsible for the trend towards subverted slogan graphics perfectly capturing public disquiet. This was further taken on by designers Viktor & Rolf.  Politics can be very influential too. Look how opinion in the United States is changing; the American public have embraced the first ever African American Presidential candidate, and the possibility of the USA having their first ever female President became close to reality in early 2008 as well. It is important to consider what effect these possibilities may have on the future of fashion.

 Where do you promote Mudpie trend books?
We promote our trend books via our international partners who sell them in over fifty countries. Our key markets are the USA and Europe but we are currently seeing huge growth within the Asian and South American countries, and expect to see a further increase over the coming seasons. We sell our books at key industry events such as Premiere Vision in Paris where we have our own exhibition stand. Fiona Jenvey does seminars in various locations around the globe, including New York, Los Angeles, Sao Paulo, Bangkok, Montreal, Munich, Amsterdam, Paris and London. These seminars promote our trend books and online service www.mpdclick.com .

Who works within a typical forecasting team at Mudpie?
Fiona Jenvey heads up a research team which is made up of designers and trend analysts. We then have a team of fashion designers, graphic designers and fashion writers who create commercial interpretations of the trends for our trendbooks and online service www.mpdclick.com .

 Are most positions within forecasting companies - freelance or permanent?
We are unusual as most of our creative jobs are permanent, although we do have freelance opportunities. The quality of research is very important to us so we prefer to have an in house team. Every season the trend ‘develops’; if you have the same core team working on the information it allows the trends to flow. Also, because we have a trend and design consultancy at Mudpie, it means that our in-house information is also very commercial for the fashion and lifestyle brand.

 What do you look for when employing or commissioning a designer to work in a design team at Mudpie?
The most important thing is that they fit in with the rest of our team. After that they need to be able to balance creativity with commerciality. We like them to be able to use programmes such as Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw. Good drawing skills are useful to us particularly for illustration and a keen sense of colour is also very important

 You are a regular speaker at many global events giving trend presentations and seminars, which events do you attend?
Speaking is very much part of our business and is something that we get invited to do at most major shows as well as trend seminars. Fiona Jenvey does seminars in New York (Fashion Institute of Technology), Los Angeles, Sao Paulo, Bangkok, Montreal, Munich, Amsterdam, Paris and London. These promote our trend books and online service www.mpdclick.com .

 As Chief Executive Officer of Mudpie, what is the key to your career success?
Expertise has to be the most important as our clients are able to trust and rely on our information season after season. To build a trend business you have to be able to build a good, committed and well trained creative team around you. A good network of contacts is important; Mudpie has contacts all over the world which I have built up during my travels. Finally hard work is a big factor, the travel sounds glamorous but it can be very tiring; when I do a seminar I always speak without notes and do an open Q and A at the end which can be hard. I have to be able to perform regardless of an overnight flight and a different time zone. Once in Las Vegas at the Magic trade show I was so jet lagged that I almost forgot my own name, but soon recovered delivering a good presentation without the need for notes.

 What is your greatest career challenge to-date?
I would have to say having two young children, travelling and managing a business employing thirty people and over fifty partners around the world.

 What advice would you give to someone who is interested in a career in fashion forecasting?
Of course you need to have talent, but to really make it you have to consider your career to be a way of life rather than just a job. This is a compromise even for me from time to time, but I know it’s a fact and I structure the rest of my life around the business most of the time.

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