Kate Foster

Cost Manager / Product Development / Sustainability / Trim Research and Development / Colorist / Project Management

New York, New York, United States

About

Experienced Costing Manager, handling woven blouses and soft piece dresses for mainline and special markets. Review and negotiate FOB, DDP from global factories. Work with sales teams for initial buys, determine target price, negotiate delivery. Liaison with design and fabric teams to review styles and fabrics each season to determine factory allocation. Finalize each style in factories, confirming units, price and delivery. Hand off info to production team to follow.

Experience

  • The Kasper Group (12 yrs)
    • Costing and Allocation Manager
      May 2021 - Present · 5 yrs 3 mos

    • Trim Research and Development
      Aug 2014 - Apr 2021 · 6 yrs 9 mos

      Source and develop trim for nine divisions, including Nine West Dress, Nine West Suit Separates, INC Dress, Macy's Private label BARIII, and Childrenswear dresses Communicate daily with factories manufacturing garments in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and China relative to trim, labels, lining quality, construction, and delivery Work with local and overseas vendors to purchase and develop trims, instructing vendors on all product specifics, providing color standards, testing requirements, and negotiating tight delivery schedules Liaison with designers in researching and sourcing trim for each season, each division Attend seasonal line reviews with design and sales, troubleshooting trim issues in advance of production Prepare final trim sheets for factories purchasing, including care instructions for all garments Create trim reference library for new trim developments Approve production trim submits for both novelty trims and factory sourced trims- commenting on quality and DTM color

  • Manager of Trim Development at Elie Tahari
    Mar 2013 - Sep 2013 · 7 mos

    Developed innovative trim for all divisions RTW Woman's Collection, Men's Collection, Handbags, T Tahari, and Knitwear, collaborating with all designers and assistant designers to source new seasonal trims Created and maintained trim library, sending out newly developed trims for strength and cleaning tests. Conducted vendor meetings, researching new trim suppliers with innovative materials, negotiating price, delivery, and availability Attended LIP meetings troubleshooting and finalizing trim prior to passing off to production

  • Trim Manager at Nanette Lepore
    Jun 2004 - Mar 2013 · 8 yrs 10 mos

    Launched and restructured trim department, overseeing two employees Liaison between design and production. Evaluated all trims and linings working directly with pattern maker and designer to finalize best trim and lining quality for fit and design of garment Analyzed garment selling alongside fabric buys to determine quantity of trim to order, to use all available fabric Prioritized trim and lining orders, putting custom made items into production first to ensure garments met production schedule Managed independent contractors who created speciality trims Negotiated best prices for trims and linings