Zam Barrett Dialogue/ Zfactorie - Official Affiliate Thread.

[Zamb]

Both the construction and the fit is identical to last years version. last Year the leather was horse, a little thicker, a title stiffer and overdyed with more variation in the color

 

[Zamb]

Raglan Front Low Collar Leather Jacket
Simplest of our leather jackets offering this season, but updated Using a heavier Riri M8 zipper and using sold black at front for constrast

 

[Zamb]

Hello SF
Now that we are into the season with All offerings released for FW18, I have a little more time on my hands away from production
I will be doing a special FW18 Q and A session from 12 - 6 pm today.

* You can ask me any question regarding the FW18 season, its items we have released etc.
* You can ask me about Category M + the Zam Barrett Mainline
* We can discuss how Zfactorie can strengthen its relationship with the SF community and how we can take care of you better
* We can discuss upcoming black Friday sales, New releases to come etc

* For the Q and A we are having 35% off Everything. Just for the Day Today only
*THIS IS EXCLUSIVE TO SF MEMBERS AND SHOULD NOT BE SHARED OUTSIDE THE FORUM
*We will be giving away several deals through the day. Every hour from 1 -6 pm
*Looking Forward to spending the Afternoon here with you all!

 

[Zamb]

The Q and A code will be: SFQA35
It will be valid for all Items on the webshop but ONLY For Today.
I will be available from non until 6pm to discuss the collections, to discuss the Split into two lines
to Discuss upcoming Black Friday into Cyber Monday sales
to discuss upcoming new releases etc.

First two questions to our friends and clients here
1. We would like to be of better service here to the community. we have a lot of customers here who are loyal to our work but we would like to take care of them better along with the new ones. What suggestions you have for us, in order to take better care of you?

2. We have split the collection onto two separate categories, with Category M now offering a full run of items. as it grows we plan to offer more Items under M, with Zam Barrett being a research and design project with more leathers, more tailoring and more experimental projects. What are your thoughts on the new M. LINE. does it meet your needs? Is there aspects of it you would like to see developed to better serve you?

you can answer those for now i will be back at noon.

 

[Zamb]

We begin officially in one hour.

 

[Zamb]

One of the things I'd like to discuss with the SF community is the state of the Artisanal Fashion market.
When we started our brand in 2010, the artisanal Market was a vibrant, booming segment of the men's fashion scene.
there were tons of stores selling mens artisanal fashion, and a large assortment of customers globally, purchasing dark, gothic looking clothing. the market has slowed significantly with a lot of stores closing, a lot of brands either closing completely and several others (cant say who now) on the verge of ******** doors completely. what do you think is the future of this market, especially in the US, where there is almost no designer doing this kind of work anymore.
A lot of stores have completely changed, some reducing the amount of artisanal brands they carry and loving into more streetwear and mainstream brands.

 

[Tsujigiri]

Thanks for doing this Zam, it's great to see designers interfacing with the community like this. I'm a little unclear on what category M is, I assume it's more basics, kind of like Silent is to Damir Doma? I will say that certain basic items are surprisingly hard to find if you're picky about the details, so I can definitely see the use of a line like that. I'm very happy with the modal long sleeve I have from category M; there aren't that many sleek basic tops made from really soft and drapey material available on the market.

As for better serving customers, I've always found that the customer service to be friendly. It's not as fast or polished as you would get with a highly automated retailer, but I don't believe that should be the end goal for an artisanal brand like yours. You have a unique product that's more exclusive and handmade than others; people who appreciate that will be more than willing to be patient to get something like that.

 

[Zamb]

Thanks for doing this Zam, it's great to see designers interfacing with the community like this. I'm a little unclear on what category M is, I assume it's more basics, kind of like Silent is to Damir Doma?.

If you dont know what Category M is, it means we are not doing our Job well enough
Well its more basic but its really not Basics in that sense
1. Our collections are divided into three different Categories
Z- Zam Barrett Mainline Items
A - Accessories and Articles
M- MASS Produced Items
before now all this was done in one collection. because we are not a big company, it piut us on a position where we offered too little of each category in order for it ti make sense. we decided to Spin off Category M as its own (sub) Brand offer a lot more items such as outerwear and accessories. make it non seasonal, where we are always releasing products and then treat the mainline as a research and design project.
So if you go here:
tops
Bottoms
Accessories
Outerwear

All of that is Category M. this is its first season that way and it will be as is going forward

 

[Zamb]

As for better serving customers, I've always found that the customer service to be friendly. It's not as fast or polished as you would get with a highly automated retailer, but I don't believe that should be the end goal for an artisanal brand like yours. You have a unique product that's more exclusive and handmade than others; people who appreciate that will be more than willing to be patient to get something like that.

this is the Achilles heel of our business
whether we like it or not its something that has to be fixed. I dont think customers care about you being a small or big brand. Whether fair or unfair we are measured by what the marked offers and we have to find ways to deliver. I have lost some customers because of slow delivery. This winter season we are trying to be more efficient and to add a few things that help like return labels, like prepackaging some items for more efficient shipment. We are also now working with UPS in addition to USPS in order to provide more efficient shipping and delivery to our customers.

 

[Zamb]

The Code For purchasing today is: SFQA35
Our first giveaway is one Cotton or Wool one piece Beenie or A tank comes with all purchases above $100 US from now until 6pm.
you dont have to do anything but just specify which works for you in checking out

A Tank is Black or Grey
Beenie Wool or Cotton. Black or Grey

 

[Zamb]

NEW HOUR......

 

[catlico]

Hi Zam, I really love your weightless clothes as they make the summer heat a lot more bearable. Will you be making a 'weightless' leather jacket next season? I'd love to have something using ecco's dyneema leather if possible.

 

[HeavenResign]

hey Zam! First off sorry I didn't call you, I ended up driving somewhere and ideally I wanted to be in a spot where I had a bunch of my clothes to potentially take measurements for you

I think the artisanal market dying down, like many trends in fashion, was kind of destined unfortunately. Mainstream fashion is now sort of obsessed with black and goth vibes, and has been for the last year or two. I know you don't define your brand as being inherently associated with those things (i know you've mentioned before you stress the artisanal nature of the design and manufacturing process) - but I think a lot of users who would normally define their style by those things (and who would then have an interest in a lot of the stuff you make that might fall under those sorts of adjectives), have maybe moved on as the Becky's of the world are now wearing black biker jackets with their black zip booties and **** knee skinny jeans (this isn't inherently a negative thing either, just sort of the nature of fashion cycles I guess). I obviously don't have an answer and it's very easy for me to sit here and type it without any skin in the game or any real first hand knowledge of the ~fashion~ world of course.

The utility parka this season looks absolutely insane. I have more than enough heavy coats to justify adding another one to my collection (and in between jobs atm), but i'm surprised there's not more of a description for it - it looks like there's a lot of features and thought that went into it below the surface. Would you mind telling us more about it and some of its features, fabric, etc?

Also, I love that you're playing with dark reds. It's no secret that the bulk of my wardrobe is Julius, and I desperately wish he did more coats (other than some of his earlier leathers) in dark red

 

[Zamb]

Hi Zam, I really love your weightless clothes as they make the summer heat a lot more bearable. Will you be making a 'weightless' leather jacket next season? I'd love to have something using ecco's dyneema leather if possible.

the weightless concept has been very successful for the last several seasons.
I dont know about weightless leather. we'd have to find something really thin and strong to make that work
(Maybe Kangaroo). I am not aware of ecco's dyneema leather, but surely we could research and see whats possible

 

[sti1zkin]

Do you see your brand having to change its marketing with, as you say, a decline in artisanal brands? As there is less demand for the dark/goth clothing will you move further away from that style and if so towards what aesthetic do you see the brand moving to?

Also what's the length on the faulted shoulder tops?