Karin Åkesson is Product Quality Manager at Ted Bernhardtz. Her work includes ensuring that what we produce and deliver meets expectations. Here we let Karin talk about how she works to meet both the client’s and the wearer’s wishes.
Behind the fit
Karin Åkesson, Product Quality Manager, takes us behind the scenes.“Being responsive is an important part of our collaborations”
Karin explains that her role is rapidly changing. Ted Bernhardtz’s collections involve a wide variety of garments and, in many cases, require specific adjustment for customers.
– For me, each day is different. I take care of everything from garment samples to the approval of colours, printing and sewing solutions. This also means that I draw up technical specifications, measurement lists and quality requirements, as well as decide which properties are to be tested, and then see to that this can follow through into production, says Karin.
Functionality for every day
With clothes that are worn so often, Karin understands that comfort is an important concern. – Work clothes are worn by the customer’s employees every day. So I approach comfort in the same way as I do for my own clothes – they should fit nicely and make me feel comfortable on every occasion. This includes ensuring that the garments are adapted to the industry, with the right functions and properties. The development of fit depends on where in the process you are. When starting a new collection or working on a new garment, we match the needs of the customer and the wearer, as well as the target group, business and industry. – Based on our own Ted Bernhardtz’s At Work collection, we can continue the discussion regarding both fit and function. Once we’ve developed pattern designs, our factory in Dhaka ensures that the technical specifications in terms of sizes and other additions are meticulously followed, Karin explains.
Clothes that create well-being
What drives Karin is that as many people as possible should enjoy wearing their work clothes and feel comfortable in them every day. – As Product Quality Manager, in addition to the team in Sweden, I work a lot with our production office in Bangladesh. Together, we develop the collections as a whole, where fit is only one element. Even people with the same size have different body shapes and also different wishes, likes and tastes. The company and its employees may have conflicting ideas about what the fit should be like. If unisex garments are used, our task is to ensure that they fit well for everyone wearing them. It’s important to be responsive in order to strike the best possible compromise. We have a variety of smart solutions to cater for multiple requests. With adjustable trouser lengths, elastic materials or snap buttons for adjusting the width of the garment, we can ensure greater flexibility so that the clothes can fit well for more people, concludes Karin.