How to Start A Fashion Brand

The great brands of the clothing industry followed a business plan and continued to scale at a sustainable pace. Use this step-by-step guide as a way to help structure your own business model.

Be prepared for highs and lows on your clothing business journey. Starting a new company is never easy, but it is doable. All of today’s iconic brands got their start somewhere.

Identify A Need In The Market. Create a niche in the market that isn’t currently being filled. Figure out what product should exist that isn’t currently being offered by a major clothing company.
Develop A Business Plan. (What Is A Business Plan?) .Decide what is your ultimate goal for this product? Do you want to be a brand name sold in Nordstrom and Macy’s? Do you want to create a private label brand for a company like Target or H&M? Do you want to create a premium brand that’s sold boutiques?
Identify Your Target Audience. This step is almost concurrent with number one. Your objective is not simply to identify a clothing item that should exist, but also the target market of consumers for that product. After all, brilliant design is of little use if it lacks potential customers. Consider the pros and cons of targeting certain demographics. For instance, 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, but they may be less concerned with style and already loyal to an existing brand identity.
Start Designing. Presumably, this is your forte, and so this is your chance to creatively shine. The first collection you release to the market will say a great deal about you as a designer, so make sure you are crafting something that you’d be happy to use as your calling card going forward. At the same time, think practically. Whatever you’re designing will have to be produced in a cost-effective manner. Being a successful fashion designer is always a blend between the ideal and the attainable.
Find A Clothing Manufacturer. We can help you to bring your dream to life
Choose A Brand Name, Logo, and Market Profile. If it looks as though your clothing items can be manufactured with reasonable production costs, you’re ready to start planning your public profile. This means picking a business name, a logo, and a slogan if necessary. It means designing a website with an ecommerce platform like Shopify or Etsy. Customers like brands with a compelling story, so weaving that into your brand name, logo, or website will also help. This work should be completed by the time the manufacturing process runs its course. This way you are ready to sell your goods as soon as they are made.
Choose A Price Point For Your Product. This step ties into identifying and understanding your target audience. Choose a price point that will cover your production cost but that doesn’t alienate the customers you will need to launch your fashion business.
Begin The Marketing Process. At this point, your new business needs brand awareness. Instagram has become a popular platform for this, and many Instagram influencers are happy to promote new fashion brands in exchange for products.
Set Realistic Sales and Distribution Goals. Don’t be afraid to partner with a business professional to embark on this step. Just because you have a fashion vision doesn’t mean that you know about clothing distribution. If you can hit your sales goals, you can continue to grow, as per your business plan.
Start A Soft Launch, and Look for Investment and Partnerships. Once you have a proof of concept—clothing that you can sell in limited quantities—you’re ready to loop in potential business partners and co-investors. 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.