In this episode of Garmology, Nick heads to London to meet Anthony Princi β designer, educator, and founder of Fashion Department. What unfolds is an intense, honest, and deeply practical conversation about how fashion actually works behind the scenes.
Anthony shares his journey from Australia to Paris and London, working across every level of the industryβfrom tailoring at Leviβs to designing for major brandsβand how that experience led him to build Fashion Department: a platform focused on bridging the massive gap
between fashion education and realβworld industry skills.
Together, they dive into what really makes a garment work: construction, process, logistics, and communicationβnot just creativity. From tech packs and manufacturing relationships to deadstock, overproduction, burnout, and the illusion of sustainable fashion, this episode challenges many of the assumptions people have about the industry.
Itβs fastβpaced, brutally honest, and packed with practical insightβan essential listen for anyone serious about clothing, design, or how
things actually get made.
Β 00:00 β IntroΒ
01:20 β Who is Anthony Princi?Β
05:10 β What is Fashion Department?Β
10:40 β Why fashion education doesnβt prepare studentsΒ
18:30 β Creativity vs logistics in designΒ
24:50 β What is a tech pack (and why they fail)Β
33:10 β Working with manufacturers (the reality)Β
45:00 β Why skill matters more than creativityΒ
52:40 β The truth about working in big vs small brandsΒ
01:05:20 β Overproduction, stock, and sustainabilityΒ
01:18:10 β The reality of starting a fashion brandΒ
01:30:00 β Digital tools vs physical makingΒ
01:42:30 β Why designers need to understand materialsΒ