End-to-end fashion design:
A guide for the fashion entrepreneur
With the growth of e-commerce through
platforms like Amazon, Flipkart and Jabong, many would-be fashion entrepreneurs
found an opportunity to fulfill their aspirations. While fashion holds the
potential to create a successful business, it is not as easy as it seems.
Fuelled by 24/7 social media, celebrity and
fickle media hype, consumers' fashion interests are changing more quickly than
ever, meaning that product lifecycles are continuously accelerating – making it
difficult for fashion retailers to keep pace with the demand.
What to look for in a solution for your
fashion business:
·
Research on the right collection:-
A depth
research on the right collection as per the market is a key for a successful
beginning for any entrepreneur.
·
Fashion forecast :- Forecasting the
future demand for particular styles, fabrics and colors is an important aspect
of the fashion industry. There are many portal which can
guide you for the right kind of styling for the upcoming seasons.
Various
methods of promoting the products:-
·
Weekend markets, beach
side shops :- Beach
side shops and weekend markets offers a vast variety of shopping opportunities.
·
Sell at Art Fairs or Craft Fairs :- Selling
your clothing line at a street fair will give you instant gratification. The
customers pay retail prices and you get the money right away. You also get the
interaction with your customer which is deadly important.
·
Sell Online:- You
can set up your own online store, of course, or sell on Etsy or a similar
site. But beware! Just putting your product up online will not make it sell.
There is a lot of marketing involved to get traffic to your site and get your
product off the shelf.
·
Sell at trade shows:- Trade
shows require a hard-sell approach. When attendees show interest in your booth,
approach them immediately and invite them to learn more about your products or
services.
·
Sell through Trunk Shows :- Trunk shows for New Designers as
a way to sell your line. The advantage of a trunk show to
designers is that you get access to all the customers without having to do ALL
the marketing. And even better? You get to meet the customers and get feedback
from them re: fit, style, colors etc.
·
Sell to Boutiques :- The
great thing about selling
to boutiques is that you can really build a relationship
with the buyer because she is often the owner. This type of continuity can make
you and a retail shop “partners” in this business which can really help in a
few ways; if you deliver late one season, for instance, and getting valuable
feedback from the buyer about your line.
·
Hire a Sales agent :- Hire a sales rep to distribute your products to different
stores.
·
Sell to Department Stores :-
Definitely not recommended for new lines. The water is
shark-filled and this sales avenue should be avoided until you get your
sea legs – after a few seasons
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