Challenges Involved in Starting a High Fashion Brand And How to Overcome Them
Did you know that Phillip Lim; one of the most successful American fashion designers in the world and co-founder of 3.1 Phillip Lim started his life in the US as an immigrant?
His parents immigrated to the US during the Cambodian genocide when Phillip was still a baby and he grew up watching his mother toil for more than 16 hours a day as a seamstress in a garment factory.
Since then, Phillip Lim had been determined to make it big in the fashion industry and now he is the founder of one of most popular high fashion brands in the world.
Fashion designers are bound to face challenges and hardships on their journey to success. It is important to face those challenges with a smiling face and a determined mind-set in order to be successful.
Here are 3 main challenges that you’re likely to face when starting out and tips to overcome them:
Fabric sourcing
As a high-end designer brand, your focus should be on finding the highest quality fabrics made specifically for haute couture. Look for embellished fabrics and haute couture level of durability, quality and sustainability; not regular fabrics available abundantly with suppliers. Distinguished experts in the fabric industry can help you create the best garments.
Except of sourcing for uniqueness which is very important in order to distinguish your brand from others, make sure to work with suppliers that can accommodate your needs like r-creating designs that are out of stock, offering shipping right to your door as you are going to be very busy, and you don't want the hassle of carrying the fabrics yourself. Remember to establish good business relationship with them as they are a crucial part of your business success.
Inventory
Until you properly establish your brand, it wouldn’t be sensible to produce too many of your designs. The raw materials for one evening gown can be very expensive in the Couture business. Therefore, you can start out by producing a mini collection with one outfit of each design. You can purchase the fabric needed for the same and once you have your first two or three outfits ready, you could even rent them out initially. This will help spread your brand’s name and build reputation, without spending too much on production.
Don't giving in to temptation to buy raw materials in bulks just to get it in discount, it is better for you to pay more at the beginning, but make sure you are not going to spend a lot of money on unsold garments.
Finding the right manufacturer
It is very easy to find just any garment manufacturer in the industry, but as a high fashion brand owner you need to distinguish your outfits from the rest of the brands. Hence, you need to find someone who knows the importance of measurements; someone who knows how to use darts and tucks to create the perfect fit, and most importantly, someone who knows how to take care of and handle expensive haute couture fabrics. When working with delicate fabrics especially, it is better to work with freelancer seamstress and not industrial sewing operation, for the best results.
Stay tuned to know more about the financial aspects of starting your brand.
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