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
...

QUESTION:

I am most interested to know how to connect to brand buyers in boutiques and keep them interested in intro emails when pitching my products. I make and design handcrafted women's outerwear in the slow fashion sector.

Arianna, Paris

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Hi Arianna,

The best way to connect with retail buyers and fashion boutique owners is to send them an initial intro email and introduce yourself and your brand. As buyers get so many of these daily (they can get up to 10 speculative pitches a week and sometimes more; via phone, email, and post and sometimes in person), it is important to keep in mind the following points:

• Give them a reason to want to read your email. Think about the subject line of your email and how it will be relevant to them, their speciality, interest...etc
• Keep the introduction letter or  Press Release brief - the maximum ideally is one page long. Break the text into relevant paragraphs to ma
...

QUESTION:

I want to start my own clothing brand and I’d like to start working on the designs but I can’t sketch. I know exactly what I want to create but not sure how I’ll communicate my ideas on paper to the people I will work with. I can trace but I’m scared that’ll lead to copyright issues. Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Alice, Belgium

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHuUnzyxGMU&t=36s[/embed]

Hi Alice,

Firstly - you should know that many famous designers can’t draw either. A great example is Paul Smith who openly has spoken about not being able to draw.

But learning how to communicate your designs and draw is just a skill that, with practice, can be acquired and improved on.

Drawings and sketches do not have to be perfect.

What is more important is that they communicate the elements and ideas that are important to you and the design.

Another useful and practical way to communicate your designs is to use reference images that contain the elements you...

QUESTION:

Hi Fashion Insiders team, I am based in the UK. Where do you recommend I get my first proto sample made?

~ Isaak - Manchester, UK

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0SeENMqhCI[/embed]

If you are new to the fashion industry and this would be the first proto sample to make from your idea, then the best place would be to keep the initial development close to home – i.e. within the UK. In this way, you can be more involved and learn the basics while making your first proto sample.

Try to find a sampling studio that would be open to helping you learn while also developing your idea. Learning the development process from idea to finished product will help you long term if you are thinking of launching your own brand or developing another idea in the future.

Be sure to speak to a few different studios and learn how they work, what they specialise in, what they require from you before you start and how they charge prior to deciding who to go forward with.

Related readin...

QUESTION:

Hi team Fashion Insiders, should I have a garment pattern ready before I contact a factory?

~ Kelly, London, UK

Hey Kelly, ideally YES!

The garment pattern for your product is one of the most important elements in the process of translating your idea to finished product. Getting it right in terms of design and fit is essential for the success of your business.

With that in mind - some factories provide pattern making services, and some don’t.

If you are just starting out, it is best that you find a pattern cutter and work with them to get the pattern perfect.

Related reading: How to Find a Pattern Cutter for Your Needs

Then contact a factory. This will allow you to:

• have a bigger choice of factories to select from
• reduce your sample development process
• get the 1^st sample as close to right as possible.

It will also show a factory that you are serious about wanting to work with them.

Another important reason to have the pattern in advance is that you woul...

QUESTION:

Hi Dessy, help! Do I need to be fabric sourcing my materials and hardware, before contacting a factory or can a factory support me in sourcing this?

~ Magda, Poland

YES! Fabric sourcing raw materials in advance of manufacturing is an essential part of the development process. Only you - the designer - know what is the end product that you would like to create, what your target market is, at what price you would sell it at and if your materials are part of your unique selling point. A factory cannot know all this information and as such cannot do fabric sourcing the correct components for you.

The raw materials are what makes or breaks a product. You can have the most brilliant idea but if your materials are too cheap or too costly – then your product will not sell.

Fabric sourcing, while being aware of your business plans, is also an important activity for your brand. This cannot be delegated. Not only would you have to be mindful of the prices of the raw materials, but ...

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...