A ‘Fit Technician’ or a ‘Fit Analyst’ is a newly created post at the Buying houses and the job/responsibility assigned to them was earlier part of a Pattern Master’s job profile. What was the need to have a Fit specialist in the Buying houses? What are the qualifications required for being a Fit Technician? Are the technically educated or fashion university pass outs willing to join and be called as Fit Technicians? How is the job of a Fit Technician in a Buying house different from that of a Pattern Master?

StitchWorld, StitchWorld, Editor, editor@stitchworld.net

Answered by : ,  ,  ,  shashi250281@gmail.com

Need to have Fit Technician: -
1. Apart from pattern masters, a Fit Technician can understand technical terms, can interpret terms to exports house masters and their understandings to the buyers (i.e. coding & decoding of comments) more obviously.
2. A fit tech. can visualize the pattern / comments and can explain to buyer / exporter in more appropriate way.
3. Generally, Fit Tech. comes from production background. So he can understand the difficulties / complicates features in styles more easily.
4. There are several points where a pattern master overlook while making a pattern, but at the time of sample analysis, a Fit Tech. specifies those points and assist to make the style production feasible.

Qualification required for Fit Technician: -
1. Must be have technical qualification.
2. Must be computer literate & having good communication skill.
3. Have sound knowledge of pattern & grading (preferably CAD system).

Are the technically educated or fashion university pass outs willing to join and be called as Fit Technicians?
* It is advisable for technically educated / university pass outs to work closely with Sampling as well as Production team, so that he / she can understand and explain technical terms to buyer / exporter. Being worked closely with sampling & production teams, he / she can explain production feasibility in styles to the exporter.

Nature of job of Fit Tech. vs. Pattern Master: -
1. A pattern master makes pattern / sample and checks fitting before sending to buyer. A Fit Tech. evaluate a sample in all respects (viz. fitting, buyer's point of view, production feasibility).
2. A pattern master is comparatively more technically sound whereas a Fit tech. has good communication skill to explain the style to exporter / buyer regarding comment / confirmation of comments.
3. Pattern master deals with buying houses Tech. / factory merchants whereas Fit Tech. of buying houses deals directly with buyers.
4. A pattern master has limited no. of style, while a Fit Tech. of buying house a wide range / diversity of styles.

In short, a Fit tech. of buying house and a Pattern master of export house are replica to each other and where understanding in between them is good, perform very well.

Answered by : Manish Bharati,  Vice-President,  Li & Fung Pvt. Ltd., Gurgaon,  

There is definitely a need for a fit technician in the Buying houses as nowadays the customer is becoming very critical regarding the fit of the garment. They are also known as garment technician as they are the ones who interact with the technical team of the buyer regarding all fit related queries. A fit technician should be well trained from technical training institutes and should have a specialization in pattern making and fit assessment.

I know of few colleges which provide specialized courses for professionals who are interested in a broader knowledge of the domain like The LaSalle College International Fashion School in Canada and Textile and Fashion Industry Training Centre Pte. Ltd. in Singapore. They should also have the knowledge of types of fabric and stitching detailing. A pattern master is fit for the job of a fit technician due to the experience and knowledge they have in apparel industry. In actual practice there is no need of another person for the job of fit assessment, as it is the part of pattern master’s job profile to also assess fit.

People who are technically educated or fashion university pass outs are yet not willing to join and be called as fit technician because of the salary and the status related to this post. Also, they think that this would restrict their carrier paths in future in terms of other job opportunities in various other fields.

Answered by : Abha Kalsi,  Jt. Managing Director,  Taffles Exports Pvt. Ltd., Noida,  

Historically a pattern master used to sit at an export house and make patterns as well as address fit related queries. It was a long process of fit sample approval with samples being passed between an export house and Buying office. At the Buying office the merchant was solely responsible for approval and rejection of sample, and due to lack of specialization in that field, there was always miscommunication in terms of accurate technical detailing. Since the pattern masters or Masterji, as it is called in India, were not so well educated since their skills were developed with experience and had poor communication skills.

Nowadays the scenario is changing completely, industries are working towards reducing lead times, increasing efficiency and for that a job of fit technician is becoming crucial day by day. Colleges like NIFT in India produce students who are well suited for the job. They are giving training in developing patterns, quality, stitching aspects and fabrics. A fit technician should be aware of the fit, material, fall and wearability of a product before specifying the required adjustments and corrections.

Fit technician or the technical team is solely responsible for assessment of a product and is the one who deals with the technical team at the buyer’s end, hence speeding up the process of approval. It also enhances the quality in terms of better fit. In some Buying house, the buyer’s technical team visit the Buying house in India and discuss the fit of all the styles of that season with the fit technician team, hence completing the entire process in a week. This also cut shorts the lead time with improved quality and efficiency. About 5-6 years back, technically educated or fashion university pass outs were not willing to join and be called as fit technicians, but now with the changing environment and the awareness which is generated for this, is making students interested in such a profile. Also, Buying house like Taffles gives the liberty of changing their profile from a fit technician to merchandiser or a QA person hence broadening their area of expertise. In terms of exposure, fit technicians job is not limited to the technical aspect only but they also travel abroad to meet the buyer’s team for better understanding of the buyer’s requirement. The job of both pattern master and fit technician are hence important in their respective field with a very thin line distinguishing their work profile.

Answered by : Jayashree Rai,  ,  Triburg, Gurgaon,  

The common notation regarding fit had always been about specifications and pattern, but with changing scenario and increasing demand from a customer, fit assessment had broadened to fabric drapes and aesthetics as well. He not only understands the patterns and specifications of a garment but also can see if the garment drapes the way it is intended to. With the intervention of technology into the apparel sector, need for well educated and good communication skills has become a part of a fit technician’s job profile. Earlier pattern master’s role was confined to a fitting room, but now the fit technician is attending meetings, operating through latest technologies like virtual design and construction for a better and fast procedure.

Answered by : Satish Naik,  Director – Quality Assurance and Product Integrity,  Gap Inc., New Delhi,  

Buying offices have themselves created the need for a fit technician in the Indian apparel industry because now they want faster and better execution of orders. A pattern master is a person who is well versed with pattern making and developing measurement sheet, but the job of a fit technician requires checking wearability, fit and drape of a garment and then giving recommendations for adjusting patterns in order to maximize production value while minimising productionrun
costs. Also, for faster approval it is necessary to have someone who is well educated and updated with latest tools and methods like working with live models for better and faster fit approval. Pattern masters lack communication skills and updated knowledge regarding aesthetic and functional look of a garment. Nowadays, industries are hiring fit technicians to communicate with the buyer’s technical team to have a better understanding of their requirements before they pass
that information to the exporter’s pattern master in local language for faster approvals. There are various colleges which are providing expertise in fit related aspects, but there is still scope for proper course for the aspiring students.


Buying houses like GAP, ask their vendors as well to have fit technicians because then the transfer of information will become more direct and better. Technically educated or fashion university pass outs are yet not willing to join and be called as fit technicians because of the lack of charm and awareness being created for this job profile. In supplier countries, the required amount of importance is not given to a fit technician’s job, whereas in other countries job of a fit technician is always taken very seriously with lot of exposure involved. With the gaining popularity and the need for faster and efficient system, in near future more students will be willing to take the job of a fit technician with more interest and enthusiasm.

Answered by : Albert Rigo,  Head – Quality Control,  Fabindia, New Delhi,  

Most Buying houses work on the principle of receipt of technical details from their foreign buyers and their job is primarily to convert this data into the finished garment. The role of the fit specialist (if they have one) is to support their manufacturers with regard to spec grading/pattern creation and certification/garment evaluation for fit/ structure. The person basically acts as a support structure to ensure that the fit required by the buyers is achieved by the manufacturing unit. Ideally a fit technician should have knowledge of garment structures and fits, measurement creation/verification, pattern creation and exposure to draping, body fittings and fabric behaviour and textures. Also good communication skills and exposure to support software are added requirements of such a job profile. The aspiring candidates would be interested to become a fit technician if the job keeps its creative essence and the candidate is given the freedom to use their creativity, as a matter of fact the ideal candidate will be one with a technical background with some practical fashion exposure.

The fit technician provides the foundation on which or by which the pattern master develops the patterns resulting in the finished garment. Fit technicians often do not have the expertise to create a pattern while they can modify one. It is the pattern master who translates the data provided by the fit technician and creates the pattern based on which the garment gets its form.