Behind the Scenes of an Anna Quan Sample Sale: AN EXCLUSIVE National Fashion College Student Experience
WORDS BY NFC STUDENT CHARLOTTE YANKO
I love sample sales. When TikTok lets me know there’s a sale on, I’m there. So, when Anna Quan offered the National Fashion College Melbourne students an opportunity to participate in work experience at their sample sale, I jumped.
I have always wanted to know the behind-the-scenes of these types of sales; the amount of stock, the great prices and the rush. And believe me, I learned exactly what it takes to set up a sample sale!
We arrived at the infamous Clifton Street Warehouse in Prahran on a cold Melbourne winter morning. I have been to this warehouse more times than I can count — but when it’s empty, it looks so different and is absolutely freezing.
The bump-in started by us ordering boxes 1-85 across the warehouse floor. We then cut all the boxes open, put up racks and hung the clothes. The Anna Quan Sydney team had simplified our work by putting the clothing into ordered boxes already hung. After lifting the boxes and hanging the clothes onto the racks — I had definitely warmed up.
My favourite part about all of this, of course, was the clothes. Each slide of the box-cutter revealed a new style of clothing. Hundreds of dresses laid out in front of us — a fashion student’s dream.
Our next task was to merchandise the clothes. Although I have worked in retail in the past, I had no idea how much work went into Visual Merchandising. Just because it’s a sample sale doesn’t mean it can’t look pretty. I mean, come on, it’s fashion.
We spent hours working with the Anna Quan team to organise the clothes by colour and style. Zipped to the top, buttoned to the bottom and tags tucked away — each item needed to sit nicely on the hanger. I learnt that the customer experience, even in a sample sale, is important. A luxury brand like Anna Quan should also provide a luxury experience.
By the end of the day, we were exhausted but feeling accomplished. The entire warehouse had been transformed; we even created a dressing room! It was nice to be a part of that process, and to understand and appreciate the hard work that goes in.
Although the sale was ready for shoppers, there was just one thing that was still on my mind from the start of the day: a little white dress. It was the only one of its style sitting at the end of the rack. I knew I had to have it, and with the swipe of a card, it was mine.
That’s the exciting thing about sample sales: you never know what you’re going to find!