Sebla Devidas & Ahmet Öcal
For those who realize and appreciate true beauty, there is no easier feeling than falling under the spell of fashion. It’s not called “retail therapy” for no reason; shopping offers people a perfect exit from the “real world” they want to run away from. Beymen Men’s Fashion Purchasing Director Ahmet Öcal and Beymen Women’s Fashion Purchasing Director Sebla Devidas are two of those who help live this pleasure, leading the admirable creative sector one purchase at a time.
In such a rapidly growing consumer sector, how did you train/are you training your eye to pick pieces that are appreciated?
Sebla: The fashion industry really changes very rapidly. In order to keep up with it, you have to be a good observer and a very good listener. It’s not enough to only observe, your ears must always be open to current and changing tendencies in this sector. This way it becomes easier to follow the signals.
Ahmet: There is no end to learning in this business. There is no point where you can say “I know the business very well now.” Apart from fashion, I try to follow the world, changing and developing habits, new lifestyles, and try to adapt this to my job.
Most of the purchases are done from abroad. What kind of cuts get made while buying clothes and accessories for Turkey?
Sebla: In regards to both ready-to- wear clothes and accessories, our customers prefer the products that are popular abroad. They follow fashion closely and are open to innovations.
Ahmet: Actually there are a lot of criteria for this, however the most important one is to prioritize the desires and needs of our customers concerning measurements, cuts and color preferences.
“From what I’ve observed, people who want to do this job generally think that they can choose to their own delight when they do purchasing. But of course this is not the case in the real world.”
Could you tell us about your purchasing process for a new season?
Sebla: Purchasing preparations require 2 months of pre- work until the physical purchase phase. We assess the performances of previous seasons and make detailed budgets. We determine “briefs” of each brand and category. Purchas- ing takes about 4 months of the season. First, pre-collections are completed which is where most of the buying is done. In the same period the team continues their purchasing analysis. When fashion week is over, we move on to purchasing showroom collections. In the meantime we make revisions according to the course of fashion. At the end of these 4 months, purchasing is completed and the process of transferring information to sales teams, marketing and planning departments begins.
Ahmet: I think it’s better to explain with a current example. In these days we are in the course of purchasing 2016/2017 Winter collections. From mid-November to mid-December, we have purchased the pre-collections of many brands. These pre-collections are presented by some brands in between seasons, by some as commercial collections before fashion shows. That is the time when we complete 80% of buying. Then in January, we end the purchasing by going to Pitti Uomo Men’s Fashion Week in Florence, right after that, Milano and Paris Fashion Weeks while visiting nearly 200 showrooms for ready-to-wear clothes, shoes and accessories.
What’s the most difficult part of your job?
Sebla: As Beymen, at the end of every season we analyze our customers’ choices and we take these results into consideration when planning purchases for the following season. One of the most difficult parts of this job is that fashion trends change so rapidly. Therefore prediction is very important for our work.
What are the differences between purchasing as a dream job vs. a real job?
Ahmet: From what I’ve observed, people who want to do this job generally think that they can choose to their own delight when they do purchasing. But of course this is not the case in the real world. When we choose a product, our personal likes and gustos should not lead, yet they should definitely increase the quality of choice.
“If we put aside how Milano makes one feel safe with fashion, how New York keeps up with trends that change instantly, and London’s traditional street style, Paris is the most inspirational city in my work.”
What are the ubiquitous trends that will bore one easily and trends that will make one excited for this Spring/Summer season?
Sebla: This summer, the complex fashion of the 70’s came into our lives through certain collections. Patterned shirts and knitwear in combination with bell-bottomed pants; over- size printed jackets and pleated skirts, pajama suits… I think this trend will be affective this summer and then change very quickly. Besides these, ethnic and bohemian styles will not only mark this summer but the coming seasons as well. Linen dresses and shirts with an open shoulder; embroidered caftans, chiffon dresses with flower prints and maxi skirts, flowy blouses.
Ahmet: At the forefront there will be those pompous bomber jackets which we are seeing from almost all designers, and relaxed silhouettes pointing out to the utmost plain comfort.
Which city inspires you the most during your many business travels? Why?
Sebla: To be honest, it’s not possible to name one city. If we put aside how Milano makes one feel safe with fashion, how New York keeps up with trends that change instantly, and London’s traditional street style, Paris is the most inspirational city in my work.
Ahmet: London and New York… It’s impossible to pick one. Both cities have great energy and offer new discoveries with every visit
Does your work evolve better with creativity or being a good observer?
Sebla: Both are really important. Although creativity is more important for designers and fashion houses, you need it while curating collections along with good observation skills.
Beymen is a store where hand-picked collections of many foreign brands are positioned in Turkey. Who are the newest most exciting designers?
Sebla: New ethnic and bohemian style collections of the Summer season are Talitha, Vilshenko, Ulla Johnson, Misha Nonoo, Johanna Ortiz. Apart from them, Altuzarra did one of the most beautiful fashion shows of the season. I can’t wait to have this brand in the store.
Ahmet: Brands that I’m looking forward to are Off White, Wooyoungmi and Tim Coppens.
A routine Monday…
Sebla: My Mondays usually start at 6 o’clock at Atatürk National Airport. Purchasing kicks off right around lunch time. After consecutive showroom visits and meetings we generally have a nice dinner with the team and then sleep it off. First days of travelling are always the most tiring.
Ahmet: I would probably be travelling but if I’m not, I would be assessing the sales reports of the previous week with our team.