By Donald Pang

Dreamed of working with couture? Starting up your own fashion line might have crossed your mind. The huge task of maintaining your own business might stop you from pursuing the thought. But nothing is impossible if you keep searching for answers.

With the rise of the internet, creating your own fashion brand does not have to cost much. You will need to research a lot. And also do many things out of your comfort zone. But earning an income from your own fashion line is just so rewarding!

Here is how you can start up your own fashion brand in four steps:

Step 1: Research

Search engines are your best friend. You can search for a variety of subjects on starting up your own fashion line.

The first thing you need to do is draft a business plan. This document will include:

– Type of people you want to target. Eg. Teenagers, Professional Women, or Men aged 18-25.

– How clothes will be obtained (sourced from factories, or designed and produced).

– Financial issues like budget.

– Promotion. Details on how you would sell your clothes to the public.

– Branding. Achieve a suitable public image and style for your brand. Eg. Modern, Vintage, Affordable, Luxurious, or Sporty.

There are both pros and cons on whether you want to start out with high-end fashion, indie or mainstream. Though if you are just starting out, it is best to start humble and work your way up. If you really want to break into the luxury market on your first try, it is best to work with a few fashion-related companies first to gain experience. You can also learn the ropes by studying fashion in a top design school.

After your business plan sounds good, go right ahead with the start up!

High-end fashion start-ups are not doomed for failure if you know your stuff! Kate Spade was a fashion editor before she started designing handbags.

Step 2: Source for Clothes

This is the fun part of the business. Your shopping skills will be tested when you hunt for the best fashionable bargains. Or if you are designing and producing your own clothes, your creativity is tested. Here are common ways on how retailers get their clothes:

a) Shop for clothes in manufacturing countries. Consider studying fashion in countries like China and Thailand for a head start in your career.

b) Source through flea markets, bargain stores or factory outlets.

c) Collaborate with fashion designers.

d) Design and manufacture fashion collections.

Before you shop for anything, make sure that you have strong ideas on your branding. And also make sure that you do a trend forecast. This reduces the risk of your brand appearing unfashionable. With proper trend forecasting and branding you will not get massive negative feedback that can cripple your business.

Step 3: Start your Website!

Web presence is very important in this era. People search for clothes online too! To start off simple, you can sign up for a free blog, upload pictures of your clothes and take orders from there!

Create a Facebook fan page, and gather as many likes as possible so that your brand shows up on the feeds of other people’s walls. This raises awareness for your brand.

Web presence gives potential customers a place where they can look for you online. It is also a lot cheaper than having a physical store.

Step 4: Turn up the glam factor with collaborations!

It is important to work with other people in the fashion industry. Starting up alone is daunting, but not impossible. On the other hand, if you have great social skills, your work would be so much easier! Working with other people can build your brand faster. And you can do this cheaply by looking for semi-professionals who are building their portfolios.

These are the skills you will need in order to raise maximum popularity for your brand:

Fashion Design

This skill will help you:

Create beautiful fashion collections that your target audience wants to wear. Understanding the production of clothes will increase the quality of your products. And you can design fashion according to the physical needs of your target market. This makes your brand unique and helps you gain recognition and sales faster.

Fashion Marketing

This skill will help you:

Understand the business aspects of fashion. You will need this skill to promote your own fashion line on minimal budget but gain maximum sales. As a fashion marketer, you will keep close contacts with many people in the industry. And you will know exactly how to give your clothes a desirable image to make your brand look good.

Fashion Journalism

This skill will help you:

Spread positive news about your brand and do it in style. You can give clothes a good image by styling them according to celebrity or runway looks. Editorial skills and knowledge in fashion photography can develop strong advertising messages. These are popular art forms that will keep awareness for your brand high.

About the Author: Want to find out more about

studying fashion

in Asia Pacific? To ensure quality education every semester, there are limited seats in

Raffles Design Institute

. And they are filling up fast! Need more information? Let us help you! Everyone’s case is unique and we want to give the best advice that works for you. Fill up an enquiry form and an experienced Education Consultant will provide you with a free consultation.

Source:

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