As a designer, you naturally overflow with creative ideas. And you want to show your babies to the world.
However, if you want your fashion brand to be a success, it’s best to start small.
On paper the road from idea to production might seem like a smooth ride, but in real life, there can be a lot of bumps in the road, so it’s important to be prepared.
There are various mistakes and misjudgments you can easily make as a emerging designer. In a series of blogs I share some tips to help you recognize and avoid some common pitfalls.
It’s so easy to get carried away when you’re starting out as a designer. I totally get it – it’s hard to keep yourself in check.
And I’m going to tell you something you might not want to hear. But, since the purpose of this blog series is to make you aware, I’ll do it anyhow.
As a starting designer, keep it simple. Begin by establishing your fashion label. Taking a step back (or, worse, losing all your money) is a lot harder than expanding.
If you search online for how big your first collection should be, you’ll find that the answer is usually between 10 and 12 items. I think that’s a bit too much for a first collection.
taking a step back is a lot harder than expanding
In the blog about the pitfall of not taking enough time for the development and production process I mentioned that it can take over a year to make your first collection – if it’s a modest collection of 4 or 5 designs. Adding more designs means a lengthier process.
Developing one design can cost up to a couple of thousand euros. You don’t have to be a math genius to see that a 10+ collection will quickly become quite expensive.
And also think about storing your stock. If your designs are not made to order, then you have to stock all your designs in different sizes somewhere.
If you must have 10+ items in your collection, try adding variations to a style instead of creating a whole new one. For example, you could add a color variation with fabrics or trims, or add long sleeves to a short-sleeved design. That way, you’ll save on development costs.
I hope you are not fed up with me yet. I just want to make sure you don’t take too many risks when you’re just starting out.
Invest first in getting your label off the ground, then grow later.
I have one other pitfall to consider for you: Not having a clue about costs and prices.
Tell others:
Are you an emerging designer without a clue where to start producing your designs ?
Then I have something for you
