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How to Translate Inspiration Into Designs

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How to Translate Inspiration Into Designs

Inspiration - the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.

As creative people we are constantly stimulated by various (and sometimes random) things around us: visuals, sounds, text, smells, memories, feelings etc. Translating all of that into unique and wearable designs is where the magic/creative part happens!

When beginning to design a collection it’s natural to start fantasizing about your favorite designs, spilling sketch after sketch over each page. But good design is not born in a vacuum. The key to creating a memorable collection is to build a story from which you can then draw inspiration from to enhance your designs.

Simply picking and choosing elements that you like will leave the customer confused and will not 

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What's Your Story?

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What's Your Story?

This post is written by our branding consultant Maria Pesin from Vibe Consulting.

I was at a trade show one day shopping for product to sell in my shoe and accessory store.  Passing by a booth I saw belts that looked interesting.  The salesperson gave me the information about the belts and I was ready to leave.  Then the owner of the company came over and told me the story of the company and the belts.  The story was so compelling that I sat right down and wrote an order.

Stories have the power to inform and educate, entice and engage a customer. Stories can 

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3 Reasons Why You Need A Tech Pack

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3 Reasons Why You Need A Tech Pack

When developing a product or collection from scratch it’s easy to start designing and planning without first considering the importance of how you’ll communicate your designs to the team that will help bring your vision to life.  A tech pack is the fashion industry’s universal form that explains all the details and specs for each garment. Before getting too far into the design process, consider these three important reasons how a tech pack will help your business:

  1. Personal organization: Having a tech pack is almost like having a visual checklist for each style. In one compact place you can fill in all details relating to a garment until it is ready for

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The Importance of Using a Professional Fit Model!

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The Importance of Using a Professional Fit Model!

“How much does a fit model cost? Is that for one hour only? I really can’t afford that. Can we just fit on me? I can use my friend, he/she is the right size…”

This is a common response from emerging designers when discussing the fittings.

The main misconception about fit models is due to the fact that they are called models. Therefore, it’s important to understand the differences between a runway model (which is what we normally associate models with) and a fit model.

Here is a brief explanation to better understand the difference between a fit model and runway model’s job descriptions:

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WHY?

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WHY?

Starting your fashion brand means starting a business! Hold on, don’t laugh, it might sound obvious to you but many designers out there are not fully aware of that aspect.

Many people (especially those who have never owned a business)  tend to glamorize the idea of being your own boss, setting your own hours, your own rates, your own rules, choosing who to work with, not to mention receiving all the credit and rewards for your talent with hopes of being famous and other unrealistic ideas. These alluring benefits are often the drive for many designers to make the leap to start their own business without closely examining the other logistics.

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Always Follow Your Heart

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Always Follow Your Heart

“Be hard on yourself. Ask ‘Do I make sense? Am I crazy?' You can listen to everybody [else], but follow your heart. The worst mistake is to do something and then realize, I didn't really want to do it but so-and-so told me to” Diane Von Furstenberg

Reading this quote probably brings up memories of decisions you've made at some point in your life as well as in your business. One relatable experience that stuck with me happened when I was in fashion school: 

As a young designer I had a very distinctive design perspective and didn't want anyone telling me what they thought about my ideas as I had no intention to compromise my artistic views 

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How to Choose Your Product’s Size Range. Numeric Sizes vs Letter Sizes

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How to Choose Your Product’s Size Range. Numeric Sizes vs Letter Sizes

Choosing an appropriate size range for your apparel products will usually have more impact on your branding than what you might think, especially if FIT is high on your list of priorities for brand identity. The available sizes you decide to offer can send a message to whom you see as your target customer and what market you are going after. 

When it comes to apparel there are two standard size ranges:

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The Most Important Step to Get the Best Results From Your Production

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The Most Important Step to Get the Best Results From Your Production

This week I read a very informative article on manufacturing and production and it made me think: “What is the single most important step to get the best results from your production? “

I once had a teacher who said that if we simply do our homework and study, the test will be a breeze! And he was right, it worked for me. The same concept easily translates to fashion production.

DESIGN WITH PRODUCTION IN MIND! I know how boring and limiting this part sounds for a creative person like you, but following this motto is the single, most important step to turn your creativity and talent into a BUSINESS! If you plan your production process while you design your product and think ahead about each step, re: the logistics, the cost, the timeline, etc. your production will be easy and will have no tricky questions or surprises.

To help you with that, here are 3 tips you should follow when designing your next season: 

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Top Five Points to Consider When Sourcing Fabrics

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Top Five Points to Consider When Sourcing Fabrics

On July 22-23 the PREMIERE VISION NY & INDIGO fabric shows will take place here in New York. If you are planning to attend the show, here below are 5 fabric sourcing tips you should consider.

Choosing fabrics for your designs will have an impact not only on your garments but on your business in general. Things like minimums, freight, continuity and availability of fabrics, prices (off course), etc. can affect your cash flow, cost, prices and more and should all be seriously considered before committing to fabrics.

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Why Making Samples is So Expensive?

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Why Making Samples is So Expensive?

One of most asked question by young designers is: “Is this the price for only 1 sample? Why is sewing one sample so expensive?”

Lets go through the details together and i'll explain why is sample making expensive:

Making only one at a time – let’s think about baking for a second, If you’d make 1 cookie or 20 of the same type of cookies, the time and cost for either will be about the same, agree?

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How Feasible is Your Vision?

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How Feasible is Your Vision?

Let's take a second to talk about the feasibility of your fashion business.

Before you jump all in to execute your vision it is really important for you to do your homework and find out how feasible your idea is.
Yes lots of times you will need the help of industry professionals which is where we can help, but even before that there is market research that you can probably can and should do on your own that will answer that question.

I thought the best way for me to address this subject will be to share an example of a general conversation that i often have with a designer on a feasibility consultation session.

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5 Top Secrets for Designing a Fashion Line

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5 Top Secrets for Designing a Fashion Line

 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!

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Start A Fashion Brand Workshop at Mood 11/16/2013

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Start A Fashion Brand Workshop at Mood 11/16/2013

Start A fashion Brand - One day seminar at Mood Fabrics. 

 

 

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From Concept to Sales, 6 Things to Know about Starting and Running a Successful Fashion Brand

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From Concept to Sales, 6 Things to Know about Starting and Running a Successful Fashion Brand

So much more goes into starting and running a successful fashion brand than good designs and branding. Often incredibly talented designers and very marketable labels fold for reasons that have very little to do with the actual concept behind the clothes.  So what is the secret recipe behind success in the fashion industry? What do the successful brands do that others don’t?

This Saturday we are hosting, together with Mood Fabrics at their NYC store a full day workshop.  We asked the three industry experts who will teach that day and whom each handle a piece of the fashion puzzle, from concept and creation to sales and marketing, for their two best tips on running a successful fashion brand and here is what they had to say:

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$200K sales in first season yet almost out of business! A true story

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$200K sales in first season yet almost out of business! A true story

When starting a business, the unknown is bigger than the known. Where do I find….? How do I…? What is the best….? Are normal questions to have and having the right answers, answered by the right people for your business, will make the process smoother, more effective and much less expensive.

Congratulations on starting your own brand, what now?

About 10 years ago I was hired by a designer, for the sake of this story I will call him Mark, who by then had a very successful career as a creative director for big brands (RL, Nautica), to join and help him as he was starting his own brand. He had a very clear vision as to what the product should look like and the concept of his brand (since he’s done that successfully for these other brands for nearly 20 years).

But when it came to starting his own business there were many aspects that he wasn't familiar with. While working at these bigger brands, things such as sourcing, costing, developing, producing and selling the product where not an issue, or at least not issues that he had to deal with. This time he was starting as a small business with a limited budget 

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How To Get The Best Production Quality From Your Sewing Contractor?

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How To Get The Best Production Quality From Your Sewing Contractor?

I was invited to answer a reader's question on Jane Hamill's blog who is my co. founder of Indie Design Association on working with a contractor and getting the best possible results from them, so i thought I'll share the answer with you all since it has a LOT of great tips for you to use especially if you are new to the process and don't have any help!

“I’m drowning in QC! What can I do?” -Bobbi, Canada

Today we answer a question from a reader who is fed up with Quality Control problems. I feel your pain, Bobbi. I’ve been there! I solicited my friend, colleague, and NYC product development guru, Boaz David, to answer Bobbi’s question. GREAT info today, check it out…