If you are an aspiring designer, or simply a fashion enthusiast who wants to show the world your creativity and your fashion sense through a fashion brand, then this article is for you.
Whether you’re an aspiring designer or a seasoned clothing designer, it never hurts to brush up on the basics.
Here are the important steps that lead fashion professionals to success.
How to define, create, produce and sell a successful fashion brand from start to finish.
But first, what is a fashion brand?
It is a brand with symbolic meaning and style that deeply incorporates the experiential and interactional dimensions. It requires great product differentiation and supply chain coordination.
Out of a fashion brand, we can produce a fashion collection which is a series of clothes and accessories that customers can wear together. It can also consist of traditional pieces, such as tops, bottoms, and outerwear, or it can focus on a single product that is available in several colors.
These are the steps required to launch a successful fashion collection.
Step 1: Identify a need in the market.
Think about a niche in the market that isn’t currently being filled. Find out what product should exist that isn’t currently being offered by other clothing companies.
Step 2: Identify your target audience.
After the market, comes the target of this market. The objective is to identify the potential customers of your product. Consider the pros and cons of targeting certain demographics, certain ethnic groups, or range of age.
For example, young people tend to be style-conscious and may be more receptive to online marketing and word of mouth, but they also may have limited funds. Middle-aged customers may be able to afford a higher price point.
Step 3: Write a business plan.
A business plan is a written document that describes your business. It covers objectives, strategies, sales, marketing, and financial forecasts. It will guide your entire journey as a fashion designer and clothing manufacturer.
Identify your goal and keep it foremost in your mind as you build your brand.
This document will serve you in your early stages, especially in the search for investors and sponsors.
Step 4: Choose a brand name, logo, slogan, and market profile.
This step completes the previous one, to properly finalize your business plan, you will need these important components of your brand’s public profile which are:
A brand name, a logo, and a slogan.
Don’t forget the legal aspect of this process. Legally register your company in your country’s business administration. This can be a tedious and sometimes even frustrating step, but keep in mind that it will give structure and more credibility to your work. It is worth the effort.
Step 5: Start designing.
This step is about unleashing your creativity and expressing your talent and for this, you need to establish a collection plan. Source your fabric very well.
Your collection should be relevant to your target market and fit perfectly with the market where you want to position your products.
But be sure that your designs are produced at effective costs. Being a successful fashion designer is always a blend between the ideal and the attainable.
Step 6: Find a clothing manufacturer or helper.
Unless you plan to source, cut, and sew all your materials by yourself, you will need a manufacturing partner:
- Some colleagues to help you make clothing in your studio
- A fabric supplier
- A factory that can produce a limited supply of your boutique goods alongside mass-produced items from an established brand.
Step 7: Prepare your digital platforms
It means designing a website or subscribing to an eCommerce platform like Shopify or Etsy where you will display your products. Consumers are more receptive to brands that tell a story, so adding it into your brand name, logo, or website will make your strategy relevant.
This phase should be completed in the same period as the manufacturing of your clothes in order to get them ready for the launch as soon as possible.
Step 8: Choose a price point for your items.
This step is about identifying and understanding your target audience. You need to choose a price that will cover your production costs and still allow you to make substantial profits.
The price you choose should not be too high, or it will drive away your potential customers, nor should it be too low, as you have standards to maintain. The price should simply be right. You are starting, you are new in the industry, so chill.
Step 9: Begin the marketing process.
A very important steps.
In this phase, your new business needs brand awareness.
For this, you will need to create visual content ( lookbook, campaign, or both ) that will be used on all your platforms. Both physical (shop, pop-up store, billboards…) and digital (website, social media, and e-commerce platforms ). Of course, you will need to surround yourself with a good creative team, including a creative director who is at least specialized in fashion, in order to get the best visuals.
Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest are important platforms for digital marketing, where you can display your product and use influencers to promote your collection in exchange for a product or a correct amount of money.
Just because you have a fashion vision doesn’t mean that you know about clothing distribution. So set realistic sales and distribution goals. Don’t hesitate to look for advice from professionals in this field.
Step 10: Set a soft launch, and look for investors and partnerships.
Once your first collection is ready, your business plan, your marketing strategy ready, and your contents, so you’re ready to look for potential business partners and co-investors for your brand.
Yes, it would be nice to own your business outright and keep all of your future profits. But as most business owners start to scale up, they need access to capital. Taking on a business partner who can provide that capital in exchange for a cut of future proceeds is the most traditional way to do this.
To launch your fashion brand, you can opt for a physical event (a fashion show, an exhibition, or a fancy party…) or an online event, which by the way will be more economical for you and from a health point of view more responsible.
