What if the real competitive edge in fashion isn’t design… but in materials?
On this episode of The Robin Report’s Retail Unwrapped podcast, Liza joins Shelley E. Kohan to unpack why the traditional concept-to-market model is backwards and how flipping it can unlock faster speed-to-market, stronger margins, and real sustainability progress.
When materials lead the process:
✔ Overdevelopment is eliminated
✔ Rework drops
✔ Margins increase
✔ Innovation becomes intentional. Not a nice-to-have.
Brands like lululemon, Vuori, and UNIQLO understand the value of fabric as the foundation of the assortment. Many others are still running design-led processes that create costly inefficiencies upstream.
“Process innovation is the most underrated opportunity in the fashion supply chain.”
Product creation, sourcing, merchandising, and designers, this conversation is for you.
How product is created is the hidden unlock in creating value.
Listen to the full episode by clicking here.
