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The fashion world looks glamorous on the runway, but behind every creator of head-turning outfits and accessories is a mix of elbow grease and strategy. We asked professionals in the industry to share their thoughts on the behind-the-scenes work that sets successful fashion brands apart from the pack. Read on to learn more.
Vicki Wallis
Vicki Wallis has been working in the fashion industry for 15 years and founded The Fashion Business Coach to help new brands launch and scale successfully. Her blog provides practical tips for those who are new to fashion business and her course takes members from idea through to launch.
Research, the Key to Progress
The most important tip I can give to new brands is to remember that it’s a business. Many people I come across focus too heavily on aesthetics, and while creating attractive products is important, without strategic design, a business can quickly become an expensive hobby.
Every design I create for myself or another brand starts with a spreadsheet – yes, it’s not the glamourous fashion world that we’ve heard about, but it’s the reality of the fashion business. Perhaps a few at very high-end couture have a different approach, but every brand I’ve worked for – from mass market through to designer – have let data drive all decisions, including design.
As a startup, doing extensive research on your target customer—what they want, what they are willing to pay—and designing to that is essential for success. Without that, you’re designing and producing products in the dark, without knowing if you’re making something that will sell.
Kalina Stoyanova
Kalina Stoyanova is a creative and passionate communicator who gives voice to brands. She loves creating campaigns and content that touches hearts and minds. In her spare time, Kalina loves drinking latte and making fashion sketches. Website: kayadesignbrand
Love Your Style
Learn how to design, draw, and sew. As obvious as it might seem, those skills are essential for starting a brand. If someone tells you that you won’t need to do any work yourself, they don’t know what they’re talking about. You’ll need to take that needle and get some “dirty” work done. You probably can’t afford to hire a team in the beginning, so you had better learn to depend on your own talents. They will come in handy more often than you think.
Define your niche. I did a lot of research before starting my fashion brand. I didn’t want to make clothes similar to what was already available. I wanted to develop something original.
Do not make a showroom. Many fashion brands are online only now. Do not invest a lot of money into creating a luxury showroom. You will benefit more from buying high-quality fabrics, accessories, and professional equipment.
Being a designer or starting a brand is surely not an easy thing to do. You must always be aware of trends, and you have to let the world know why they should love your style. If your customers feel beautiful wearing your collections, your brand will flourish.
Evan Sharma
Evan Sharma is a 16-year-old neo-expressionist artist who is the creative director for RBLB. Web: evansharmaart
Brand with Clear Identity
Because fashion is a crowded space, it is very important for your brand to have a clear identity. It should mean something to your potential customers. When I was creating RBLB, I wanted it to appeal to the modern-day renaissance person: the polymath. RBLB appeals to creative people who are living at the intersection of art and science.
Syed Ali Hasan
Syed Ali Hasan is a Digital Content Writer with expertise in SEO and Social Media Marketing.
Inspiration from competitors
No matter what clothing line you’re willing to initiate, taking ideas from competitors is a great source, and there is no shame in it. Many big brands follow the footsteps of their market rivals. Checking on competitors will help you analyze their pricing, promotions, website design, and layouts.
Once you have analyzed their strategies, you can easily start and set your own product, pricing, and advertisements as per the budget.
Find your Niche
Narrow down your niche, research, and get crystal clear on your target audience before anything. In such a crowded industry, you have to know exactly who you’re catering to so you don’t get lost in the mix.
Here is another article on how to market a startup that you may find useful as you start building your fashion brand.
This is a crowdsourced article. Contributors are not necessarily affiliated with this website, and their statements do not necessarily reflect the opinion of this website, other people, businesses, or other contributors.
