Pre-production, step by step

The Development Process

How your designs become a finished, production-ready garment — every milestone, what it involves, what it costs, and how long it takes.

Development is the work that happens before production: engineering each style, then building it in physical samples until it is right. It begins with the Technical Foundation, ordered on our store. Sampling and production follow, priced per style — whether you bring one design or your whole collection, the same Couture Patternmaker can take it all on at once. This is the full path, start to finish.

  1. Technical Foundation
  2. Sample Development
  3. Grading
  4. Production

The milestones

From design to delivery

  1. Milestone One

    Technical Foundation

    Tech Pack · 7–10 days · €499 Pattern · 1–3 weeks · €1,500 Both together: €1,999 / style

    The engineered base of the garment: a Couture Tech Pack and a Couture Pattern, developed in tandem by one Couture Patternmaker so silhouette, proportion, fit, construction, measurements and finishing are resolved together.

    • Made in Italy Couture Tech Pack — PDF and editable source — €499
    • Made in Italy Couture Pattern — digital file in one base size, €1,500; your original paper draft can be prepared and shipped to you at checkout for €150

    Order them together for €1,999, or either one on its own. The price of the Couture Tech Pack includes one to two revisions. Your Couture Pattern is drafted once, precisely, resolved on the mannequin before it reaches you.

    Your pattern is engineered to your style and your fabric direction — you do not need your final fabric chosen to begin. It is confirmed and dialled in during sampling.

    Ordered per style on our store. You do not need to be a couture brand — "couture" describes the technical level we work at.

    Pattern paper draped and pinned on the dress form, princess seams shaped and balance points markedPattern paper draped at the neckline and shoulder, a pleated section pinned and marked, on the form
    Pattern paper draped, pinned and marked on the form — the Alta Moda moulage method

  2. The next stage, by mutual fit

    Sourcing, sampling and production are priced and booked per style — one design or your entire collection at once, we take on either. Once your Technical Foundation is complete, we send you a short application form to fill out via email, reviewing your planned styles and production quantities to confirm it is the right fit for our schedule.

  3. Milestone Two

    Sample Development

    From €299 per round 100% upfront to book 4–6 weeks, estimated

    Your pattern is cut and sewn in your chosen fabric — the prototype. We fit it, you review, we correct the pattern, and produce the next sample if needed.

    A prototype and a sample are the same thing; the prototype is simply the first. With a couture patternmaker the fit is strong from the start — but seeing your design in your fabric for the first time almost always surfaces small aesthetic refinements: a neckline lowered slightly, an armhole dropped half a centimetre, a waistline eased down. Most collections settle in one or two rounds; you can go further to perfect a piece.

    Sample materials, cut and pinned, ready for construction
    • Prototype → fitting with your fit model → consolidated feedback → corrections → next round
    • We can source your Italian fabrics and trims for this stage — our sourcing time is complimentary
    • Development photos and videos begin at this stage

    The sample you approve becomes the reference every production piece is measured against.

    Each round is a separate booking, from €299. The exact price depends on your design's complexity, the fabrication and the finish requested — reviewed once your Technical Foundation is complete. Fabrics, materials, trims and shipping are billed separately. A first sample is meant to reveal refinements — that is its purpose.

  4. Milestone Three

    Grading

    After sample approval Separate service

    Once your final sample is approved, we grade the pattern across your size range — a separate pre-production step, priced according to your design and pattern pieces, and prepared from the approved base pattern and sample.

    Grading a pattern before it has been proven in a sample would only have to be redone.

  5. Milestone Four

    Production

    Made in Italy ~20 units to several hundred / month 6–8 weeks, estimated Priced after the final sample

    Production of the approved style, in small batches of around twenty units per style through to several hundred a month. Your per-unit price is confirmed once the final sample and construction are set, and steps down as quantity rises. Typically 50% is due upfront to begin and 50% on completion, before shipping; select high-couture projects can be structured differently, case by case.

    Production is by arrangement — we take it on when we can place your order well. Timelines are set per project.

The work

Made in the atelier

A cross-section of finished pieces — tailoring and outerwear, lingerie, corsetry and eveningwear — and the standard your Technical Foundation is built to reach. Much of our work is developed under NDA and cannot be shown, so this is only a small selection of what the atelier produces.

A double-breasted trench in silk satin, on the form in the atelier
A double-breasted trench in silk satin
A pale-blue silk charmeuse bralette and thong set, laid flat
A silk charmeuse bralette and thong set
An embroidered tulle demi bra in dusty mauve, on the form
An embroidered tulle demi bra
A lace and silk catsuit with keyhole cut-outs down the back, on the form
A lace and silk catsuit with back keyhole cut-outs
A lace bodysuit with a strappy open back
A lace bodysuit with a strappy open back
A long tailored womenswear coat, black, on the form in the atelier
A tailored womenswear coat
A high-waisted lace brief with lace trim, on the form
A lace high-waisted brief with lace trim
A scalloped-lace bralette
A scalloped-lace bralette
A silk and lace catsuit with mesh side panels, side view on the form
A silk and lace catsuit with side panels in mesh
An embroidered eveningwear gown, side, on the form
An embroidered eveningwear gown
A lace chemise with back ruching, on the form
A lace chemise with back ruching
A bustier with pleated tulle cups, close
A bustier with pleated tulle cups
A lace bralette, on the form
A lace bralette, on the form
A tailored silk-satin womenswear jacket with self-covered buttons, on the form
A tailored silk-satin womenswear jacket with self-covered buttons
A lace underwired bra and high-waisted brief, on the form
A lace underwired bra and high-waisted brief, on the form
Rose-and-gold lame floral organza basted and draped on the form in the atelier
Rose lamé organza, basted and draped on the form
The back of a silk short with mother-of-pearl button closures and contrast topstitch
The back of a silk short — mother-of-pearl button closures, contrast topstitch
A scalloped elastic trim applied to a lace panty with a zig-zag stitch, close
A scalloped elastic trim on a lace panty, applied with a zig-zag stitch
The tulle skirt of a dress being gathered and sewn at the machine
The tulle skirt of a dress, gathered and sewn
A lace panty just cut, held with a basting stitch before couture finishes are applied
A lace panty, just cut — basted before couture finishes are applied
A couture ruffle trim being applied by hand to a lace high-waisted brief
A couture ruffle trim, applied by hand to a lace high-waisted brief

The question everyone asks

How you move into production

Production is the last step, and it is a mutual decision. Once your final sample is approved and we have both agreed to continue, we schedule Made in Italy production, in small batches of around twenty units per style through to several hundred a month. Your per-unit price is quoted at that point — after the sample and construction are fixed — and reduces as your quantity increases.

A note on timing

Estimates, not fixed dates

Luxury development works to estimated timeframes rather than guaranteed dates. Timing depends on the garment, the fabric, artisan schedules, fittings and your feedback — every revision you request is added to the schedule. We always give our closest realistic estimate and keep you updated as the work progresses.

If you produce elsewhere

Your foundation travels with you

If you already have a manufacturer, your Technical Foundation still stands on its own. The tech pack and pattern are yours entirely — take them to your team and produce anywhere in the world. If you would rather continue with us, sourcing and sampling can follow once your Technical Foundation is complete and we have confirmed the project is the right fit for our schedule.

Begin with the Technical Foundation

Everything after it follows in stages, milestone by milestone. Start on our store — no call required.

Enter the store
Enter the store