Starting your own brand can be the most exciting thing in the world. Designing your dream range, the prestige of selling your collections in renowned stores, the glamour of seeing your favourite film crush wearing your clothes and the pots of money to be made is surely very enticing. However, the reality of setting up shop will be something entirely different to your initial perceived idea.

Here are a few challenges in fashion business that entrepreneurs tend to overlook when setting up their business.

1. Positioning in Market and Differentiation

Of the many things to consider amongst the many, is whether your idea has a place in the market.

If it does then that’s great but if it is similar to many others out there how does it differentiate itself and appear unique?

It’s actually OK to be similar to something that already exists and is doing well, as that just proves its desirability.

However, to find customers and perhaps, persuade your competitor's customers to buy your prod...

Ever wondered how top fashion designers manage to create multiple collections per year? Season after season, year after year, seemingly never running out of ideas. It can look like designers have pre-agreed on a theme and are just presenting variations of it. Truth is, fashion inspiration is behind it all!

Fashion inspiration comes from various sources. Its influence can transcend time, geographical location and then manifest itself everywhere. It is the outcome of creative research, which in turn is an essential part of the design process. It is the sourcing of and collection of ideas prior to design.

Once you have defined your subject, the research you undertake should be experimental and investigative. It is an essential tool in the creative process and will provide information, inspiration and creative direction, as well as a narrative to your collection.

Gathering information, to nourish your mind and to inspire your next collection, can easily be done by viewing myriad selecti...

If you are a startup, it is always difficult to know where to start with regards to budget planning. Sample development is the foundation that decides the timeline and the cost of your end product.

Let's find out how you can plan your sample development costs.

The idiom ‘How long is a piece of string’ comes to mind when we consider how much money start-up fashion-preneurs will need for sample development.

However sure you are about your design in regards to fabrication, fit and finish; extra costs will always be incurred during the sample developmental stage.

Any design changes and fit amends will incur additional costs than your original quote and any meetings with freelance makers to discuss these changes will also need to be worked into your costings.

It would be a wise move on your part to add a buffer for additional costs which could increase from anywhere between 25 -50%.

If your costs don’t increase then at least you have saved yourself some money. Should they increase...

Launching and running a product-based fashion brand more often than not revolves around the creation of collections. The quality of these collections and the consistency of that quality and presentation, is what sets successful brands from the rest. It is also what businesses are, rightly or wrongly, judged on.

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“You are only as good as your last collection” is something we often hear in the industry. Don't get hung up on this. The fashion industry is famously fickle, biased and often trend-driven, so it is vital to know how to design a commercially strong fashion collection that is cohesive and makes sense to buyers.

In the end, you will find a to-do list to create a strong fashion collection.

You are only as good as your last collection

What does a commercially strong fashion collection mean?

A commercially strong fashion collection is essential regardless of whether you are selling direct to consumers, in person, in your own retai...

QUESTION:

Initially, with how many varieties, style, colours and sizes, shall I launch my business?

Sanghamitra from India

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Before I answer the question, let me tell you something I tell everyone - all - the - time!

Building a fashion brand is like a Black Hole. No matter how much money you pour into it, there is very little chance of any coming back to you - sometimes for a very long time and sometimes - EVER!

So, with this in mind, my advice would be, (especially if you are new to launching your brand if this is your first fashion brand or you’re new to the fashion industry as a whole) to start small and slow.

After you have designed to your heart’s desire and researched into your target customer and defined your target market, show your sketches and ideas to some of your Perfect Customers and get some initial feedback.

Then pick one product that you have identified as a “winner’ and make it.

Try not to make mor...

QUESTION:

I have an idea for a clothing fashion brand but I don’t know where to start. What should be my step 1 that’s the most important to do at the start?

Anna from Madrid

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What a great question!

Your first step needs to be checking if there is a market for your idea? Most businesses fail because the founder/ designer wakes up with an idea that they think is amazing and become focused on bringing it to market, before checking if the market wants it or even needs it.

So your number 1 step to start a fashion brand should be to validate your idea.

Do some research online and by going to shops (if you live in a location where you can easily visit shops) and make a list of your potential competitors.

• Make a note of who they are and why you consider them competitors?
• What products do they have that your potential future product will compete with? Why? How would your product idea be similar or different from theirs?
• A
...

Having an idea is easy, but to start a handbag line and make it happen is another thing altogether. Many brands start and die within months. Knowing what to pay attention to and what to avoid doing is what sets the winners from the losers.

To start a handbag line in such a competitive retail marketplace is a brave endeavour and definitely not for the faint-hearted. All aspects of its development need to work harmoniously in order to create a ‘perfect storm’. Let me guide you with my selection of fundamental Top Tips which combined with a unique product and hard work should set you on your way to realising your dream.

1. Unique Selling Point (USP)

The USP of your brand should be at the forefront of your mind when you start developing your plan. To give yourself a fighting chance you need to stand out from the crowd.

What is your USP?

It doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the design of your product, although that could be what attracts your customer base to your items.

It...

Leftover fabric, deadstock materials, surplus stock…these are words that a decade ago were not part of the fashion vocabulary. If you had included them in a fashion conversation, you would have raised eyebrows. Yet today, they are as much part of the vernacular as any other fashion term.

It is no wonder that fashion is embracing change. With the concern about the climate change stepped up and fashion’s dirty secret out in the open, the fashion industry as a whole has had no choice but to accept its part in the problem and do something about it (or at least be seen to). While the big players talk more and do less, the younger generation of fashion brands, fashion entrepreneurs and activists are the ones who are actively making waves and creating change.

The word “sustainability” has become an inextricable part of every fashion brand’s vision and mission. To stand out from the crowd and really show commitment to the environmental cause, a new wave of fashion brands are going deeper and...