I like to think of fashion design as an art form, which requires a strong dose of talent and plenty of creativity.
But taking that raw talent and creativity and turning it into a successful business isn’t always easy. Even with these traits, it is not a simple task to design a fashion line that’s both fresh and uniquely “you”…. never the less producing that season after season.
And let’s not forget all the planning, figuring out the nuances of your niche market, pricing your products, and differentiating yourself through branding, all while juggling a limited resource pool and seasonal products. Even the most talented fashion designers in the world would find this daunting!
Point is: talent and gut instinct are important, but at the end of the day designing a cohesive fashion line becomes a SKILL!
So what are these secret ingredients and skills that are needed to turn your creativity into a successful fashion business? To find the answers we asked for some help from the highly acclaimed fashion designer Daniel Vosovic and together we put together these TOP 5 Secrets for Designing a fashion line that make sense for your business:
Be realistic about who your ideal customer is, and your actual customer. They may not be the same person and it's imperative to understand the difference.
Take your ego out of the equation! The harsh reality is that regardless of how much money, time and sacrifice you put into your line 99% of the world still won't be swayed to pay attention to your work (outside of possibly your family), which means that your work needs to be able to speak on its own.
Design the process, NOT just the product! Run the entire production process in your mind and think of how to produce hundreds of units rather than a single sample. It’s easy to improvise and make things work with a sample; it’s another thing entirely when you hit the production line!
Design with a cost sheet – If you’re looking to make your line into a successful business you need to integrate the business side with the creative side. Consider the cost of every pattern piece and every stitch to ensure you stay within your market price point. Higher production costs will be added onto the final price tag, which will result in either losing sales or losing money…or both.
Use materials across styles - It will help with reaching the minimum orders of materials for production and will make your production process easier and cheaper.
Loved the tips and want to learn more? Now you can!Join our next full day workshop at the Mood Fabrics store: Where Fashion Design Begins on March 29th, 2014 where both Daniel Vosovic and Boaz David will teach you EVERYTHING you need to know on how to design a cohesive and sellable fashion line, such as: finding inspiration and how to use it, defining your brand identity and designing into it, targeting the needs of your niche market, identifying the proper size of your line and pinpointing costing and timing as well as plenty of inside tips and common rookie mistakes to avoid.
The workshop will be held inside Mood fabrics NYC location. To learn more about the workshop CLICK HERE. SIGN-UP NOW before March 12th and save $50!