Is your dream to create your own trendy clothing line? To be successful you will need to learn how to run the business, how to market a product, and satisfy customers. Here are some ideas to get you started.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Organizing the Idea
Step 1. Draw up a solid and clear business plan outlining how you intend to manage your line
Be realistic. It is always better to underestimate profits and be pleasantly surprised, than to overestimate your skills and be disappointed. Think about the following aspects:
- Executive summary. It is a description of your company's mission and plans for the future, as well as a way to convince potential investors. It is indispensable for any type of business, but especially for clothing lines that often need funds from the outside.
- Company description. Let people understand what your clothing line will look like, what differentiates you from the competition and what market you want to enter.
Step 2. Prioritize your company's financial projects
Funds are the lifeblood of your company, especially at the beginning. Even if you don't have investors yet, it's important to know how to find and manage them. Here's what you'll need to get started:
- How much money will you need to launch your clothing line? Do you have enough savings or will you need a bank loan? Consider requesting a subsidized loan from the region / province in which you live or a non-repayable loan from the European Community (inquire at the Chamber of Commerce of your city). Or contact the banks, aware however that you will have to have some specific requirements and perhaps you will be asked for a guarantor.
- What are the costs? Read the rest of the article and make a list of all the costs you need to anticipate (materials, labor, equipment, supplies, advertising, marketing, operating expenses, and so on); it also calculates the costs to continue your business for one year. Are you able to support them?
Step 3. Find out how long you can live without a salary
Do you want to work on your line full time? If so, how many years can you afford to wait before the company starts to be profitable and then make a salary out of it? Or would you like your project to be a second job? If it were profitable, so much the better, but that way your freedom of expression would be more important than money. Try to gauge how involved you can be. At the same time, rest assured that you will not be able to make a profit for at least the first year, unless you are extremely lucky.
In the first four seasons, you will spend more than you earn. But once you get some stability you can expand your fund search from angel investors to celebrities and request down payments on orders
Step 4. Research the rest of the market
What is your current competitor and what will be the future one? What is your target audience? How much do you plan to sell in retail and wholesale? Get informed. Try to get feedback on your questions. Talk to shop owners and potential buyers.
- It would be a good idea to work part time in a retail store that satisfies the type of clientele you would like to offer. See what the shopkeeper buys and what the customers buy.
- Find examples of clothing items similar to the ones you'd like to design and learn where and how they are best-selling. This will help you get started when you decide to build your business.
Step 5. Organize yourself according to the law
First of all, decide what the structure of your company is (joint-stock, limited liability, cooperative, limited partnership, and so on). You will need to have a VAT number, a license and a company checking account to be able to issue and accept payments. You will need to hire a lawyer and accountant to rely on.
Part 2 of 4: Attach the Bases
Step 1. Assess if you need employees
Will you need to hire someone to work on your clothing line? Analyze what kind of assistance you need, how many hours per week and how much you can afford to pay.
- If your production is store-level, you will need to be able to sew, cut, and hemming yourself. If you plan to go big, you will need help with production.
- Do you want your clothes to be zero kilometer? Organic? Or do you prefer that they are produced overseas at a low price (and lower quality)? These decisions will affect your decisions about hiring staff.
- Do you want to have a store? If so, you will need to hire someone to help you.
Step 2. Start building your brand
Now is the time to make some fun aesthetic decisions! Your brand and logo are what people associate with your clothing line, so make a wise choice.
- Choose a name. Which best represents your line? You can use your own name (as Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Marc Jacobs did), a word you can coin yourself (like Rodarte or Marchesa), a word of another language (for example, Escada means scale in Portuguese) or you can choose a word you like for its aesthetic or sound (like Iceberg, Mulberry or Imitation of Christ did). Whatever you choose, make sure it is unique and recognizable.
- Your company name and your brand name can and should be different. The company could be called with the initials of your name or a variation of it, while the clothing collection should have a more creative and representative brand of the style you want to create.
Step 3. Design a logo
Sketch several, but narrow your choice down to just one to be sure of your decision. People will recognize you for your logo and you will confuse them if you change it. Make sure your chosen name and logo are free from copyright and register them as your trademark (most jurisdictions encourage this step).
Part 3 of 4: Creating the Clothes
Step 1. Draw the clothes
This is the funnest part for most people, but it only accounts for 10-15% of the work! Make sketches, get comments and critiques, and decide which outfits will make up the first collection. Choose fabrics and materials that are affordable and trendy.
- Ask the company that makes your clothes if there are any restrictions, such as the inability to print some colors. If you are designing a t-shirt line you will need to provide some production guidelines: the size of the design (specifications), the type of t-shirt you want to use and the weight / quality of the fabric (for example, if it is a line summer you can choose a thinner and less expensive material).
- Take care of every detail. When sketching, create an outline that clearly shows all the details and is expressed with the correct terminology. If you don't know her, find a photo to show the manufacturer and ask her what her name is. Learn the lingo and be prepared to recognize the fabric you want to use for weight (yarn), weft and warp.
Step 2. Create your collection based on the season
Most of the purchasing departments of the big stores buy the collections two seasons in advance, while the small stores get one or more seasons at a time. You will need time to create, produce and deliver according to the required time frame.
Step 3. Put your ideas into production
Take your sketches to a tailor, manufacturer, or screen print. Usually, a prototype is made in order to make sure that the production conforms to your project. Ask a lot of questions; don't worry about sounding picky and make sure you've agreed on all the details.
Step 4. Find the manufacturers
Search online for "clothing manufacturers". Many stylists go abroad because the cost of labor is lower; however, remember that these companies only work in large quantities, so ask what is the minimum production they can make before proceeding with the negotiations. Look around, ask what is the time to change your mind, how long it takes to have the samples (they should provide you with them before your drawings are finished for production).
- Be careful with the manufacturer you are targeting; consumers are now much more attentive and aware of "the exploitation of labor" and tend to penalize designers who turn to manufacturers of dubious reputation.
- If you know how to sew, you could make the patterns and prototypes yourself. Talk to an experienced tailor for their opinion.
Part 4 of 4: Marketing and Selling the Collection
Step 1. Create a website to promote your clothing line
Make sure it looks very professional and that the clothes are presented at their best. Enter your contact information in case the shops or other merchants in the sector want to interact with you. If you want to give people the ability to buy directly online, you will need a "shopping cart" and a bank account that allows you to receive payments from credit cards.
Step 2. Build relationships with other websites and blogs that can draw attention to the brand and site
This means seeing clothes on auction sites, craft sites and so on. Collaborations lead to sales both by word of mouth and by a fair "exchange of favors". Do not forget!
Step 3. Promote your line
The costs for this activity are very high even for just one year. Here are some suggestions to make your brand known:
- Write a press release and send it to local newspapers and magazines.
- Buy advertising spaces in newspapers and on websites that are read by your target customers.
- Sponsor events that appeal to your potential clientele.
- Find a famous testimonial to give your clothes to and wear them.
- Use social media, like Twitter, Facebook and build your own blog to make yourself known around the world. Make sure you have a good LinkedIn profile.
Step 4. Become a living "showcase" yourself
Put on your clothes and ask people what they think, take note of their comments. This way you will understand what people like and what they don't like. Take every suggestion, it's like having an absolutely free marketing and design team. You won't have a lot of money at first, so take advantage of all the opportunities.
Step 5. Take orders
Go to festivals, markets and propose yourself to everyone you know. Make appointments with the shopkeepers in your area and convince them to propose your line. Offer the clothes online, print a catalog and send it to potential customers and shopkeepers.
Step 6. If you can afford it, go to the fashion shows
It can be very expensive, but it's worth it, in terms of sales and visibility.
Advice
- Creating your own line with a friend or colleague could be easier; first, however, make sure you are compatible from a business point of view; the fact that you are friends does not mean that you can run a business together.
- Your line will need to reflect your principles. If you care about workers' conditions, opt for healthy and sustainable production environments. Doing so will also be respectful towards consumers.
- Try to find a catchy name! It really helps to get a business off the ground!
- Make sure everything you do and everything you produce is useful in expanding the brand.
- Look for investors, especially so-called angel investors, interested in your project. You will need to find a way to show off your line and at the same time find someone to finance it.
Warnings
- Make sure you can meet deadlines. Your reputation will turn bad if you don't deliver on time.
- When you make it to the world of fashion and start dating celebrities, don't think you've "arrived", keep striving to improve. Change your line and make progress. Don't rest on your laurels, or you'll lose customers.
