Meet The Designer: Madalena Antao of The Digital Weaver Studio

What inspired you to start your own textile design business, and what sets your designs apart from others in the market? 

The Digital Weaver Studio began as a tiny idea! My career of over 25 years in the fashion industry and my proven track record for innovation, trend & colour forecasting helped to make that idea a reality!! After years of working within an iconic Aussie swimwear brand, translating catwalk cues into best selling textile designs for the global market, it was time for a major change! 

Little did I know that those years spent focusing on collaborative-creative thinking, user-experience, market research and macro-trend insights, would lead me an overwhelming  desire to share my vast accumulated knowledge. So that’s why The Digital Weaver Studio was created, to give more brands the opportunity to learn, thrive and find their own unique look!

What sets The Digital Weaver Studio apart from other design studios is our up-to-date industry knowledge & constant trend research across a wide range of products from swimwear to apparel & accessories. This means we create trends and prints, using a holistic approach that blends forecasting power with colour & design layout. We have a trusted industry reputation for quality artwork and on-point trend forecasting. Our vision is to create unique exclusive textile print designs, that help communicate and strengthening each brands own story. 

How do you approach the process of selecting materials and fabrics for your samples and collection?

The fabric base we use is a vital part of the design process. We look for fabric flow, fabric handle (drape & feel) and fabric composition. We have found the best approach is to research by visiting actual fabric agents such as Prodigy Group (Apparel) or Stretchtex Fabrics (Swim & Active) they are our two main suppliers. There is nothing better than feeling the fabric personally, it truly is the best way to choose your fabric. When choosing a fabric to print-on keep in mind your preferred printing process. For Sublitech Digital Sublimation printing you will need the composition to be polyester or a poly-blend. There are so many interesting options to choose from, think about how you would like your garment to look ie: the weight of the fabric, the texture of the surface and how it drapes on the body. Once you’ve found something you love, we highly recommend that you buy a few metres to sample and print test. 

As a result, the combination of trend forecasting and product knowledge is what lead us to expand into creative consulting and strategic growth mentoring. Our clients get more than just prints & trends, they get strategic guidance towards measured growth and a clear vision for their brands future. Our clients range from start-ups to well known local and international brands and we love them all!!

Could you walk us through the journey of designing a new collection, from concept to final product? What challenges do you typically encounter during this process?

If you are starting up a new brand this is a multifaceted journey you are entering, and you should be ready for challenges and set-backs along the way, the key is to be resilient and persistent! Resilience will help you get back up when you are knocked off course and persistence will keep you going when things get tough. Everyone’s journey is different so we tailor our design process to the individual. Most of our clients come to us with a ‘vision’, our job is to strategically guide them and make that ‘vision’ come to life! 

1. Generally we start with a ‘theme’ for the collection, it could be an idea or an image or a colour, any type of ‘muse’ is great. 

2. Then we collect additional references images, to help build up the idea. This means looking at many different areas for inspiration. Pinterest is great for this part of the process! Start a secret board and collect all of your favourite images. Be sure to use more than one source of reference to avoid any copyright infringement, our goal is to create  something new and unique!!

3. Then we create our mood boards; it can be a mood board for each print or one for the whole collection.

4. Then we pick our key colours and highlight colours. The challenge here is to be aware that printing digital colour has variances, colour matching can shift, this is part of the process, we must be commercially minded.

5. Now we are ready to think about the prints, fabrics and trims. As a textile print studio at our core, print design is our favourite part of this process! We have a wide selection to choose from in our online studio or we can create custom prints to suit each theme. Meanwhile we recommend testing your fabric to ensure it prints and samples-up as expected.

6. Then we start putting together the styling ideas; this is where we consider what we can do with our styles to make then unique. The challenge here is to consider what the production team and time-line will accommodate. 

7. Then we draw & fill CADs with our prints and colours to help visualise the collection as a whole and how it might merchandise. Clients love seeing it all come together on a page!

8. Now the ‘product’ work starts; working with the pattern-maker, the cutter, the printer & the makers. This is when samples are made and fitted to ensure they are perfect for production. Important note; you will need to book these in advance to be sure they are available when you need them. 

9. Next plan out bulk production units based on sales figures; if there are no sales figures available try to make safer decisions on units based on market research. You will need to consider the size break-up and units per size. The challenge here is know your target market well!

10. The final stage is marketing & launch!! You will need to think about the photo shoot, the website, the social media plan and launch plan. Remember that it is important to reach a wider audience when you get started, research shows that advertising is a great way to get more sales. Once you have an audience you can consider influencers and events etc.

The best part of this whole process is seeing your finished garment come to life! 

 In the world of fashion, trends are constantly evolving. How do you stay ahead of the curve and ensure your designs remain relevant to your target audience?

Simple! We eat, live and breathe fashion! So trends are just a natural part of the process. The Impression & Vogue  Runway & BOF are three great online subscriptions that allow us to see all the catwalk shows, industry shifts and major fashion events as they happen. We love the behind-the-scenes and close-up shots they provide. In addition we look to social media, in-store visits, music videos and live events to ensure we are picking-up on emerging street-cues as well. On the flip side of this, we also work with brands that prefer to set their own trends, which is loads of fun and can be very liberating!!

 Digital sublimation offers unique possibilities for customisation and intricate designs. How do you leverage this technology to create distinctive pieces, and what advantages does it offer your brand?

Our print collection features a wide variety of vibrant colours in high resolution detail. We find sublimation printing on polyester bases keeps the vibrant look of all our ‘on-screen’ colours and all of the intricate detail. Another excellent reason for sublimation printing is low print-run minimums, we have hundreds of exclusive print designs but only need very short print runs of each, which make sublimation printing ideal. We also love the fact that it is the most eco-friendly type of commercially viable digital printing available! The inks are water-based and steamed on to our fabric, while the waste paper is easily recycled. Having good reliable suppliers, that care about your product, makes running a business that little bit easier, the Sublitech team has become a vital part our business!

To learn more about Madalena, you can visit her website https://www.thedigitalweaver.com/ or join her on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thedigitalweaverstudio/