You are thinking of creating your own clothing brand. Very good idea. You only need common sense, good taste and avoid excesses, both optimism and pessimism.
- Study the market. And spend a lot of time on this. Analyze who your target market will be and who your competitors will be. Read and absorb all the information you can. Thanks to the Internet, today it is at your fingertips at no cost. And do not worry if you are not able to retain so much information, if only 25% of what there is reaches you, you already have 25% more than what you had before.
- If you are not a designer but have ideas, find a freelance designer. A good professional designer should be able to capture your ideas and materialize them in sketches and designs. In addition to looking at their work or what it costs you, take into account their ability to communicate with you, to capture your ideas.
- The longevity of a brand is based on the loyalty of its customers. Not everything is getting a good design, but in linking the brand Lil peep Merch to a style and staying with it a best option.
- If you are outsourcing production, when looking for a manufacturer or screen printer, be honest and realistic with them. Make sure you have an idea and know what to do with it before contacting them.
- Many startups release only a couple of designs to get started, usually to limit risk. Put yourself in the shoes of your clients and you will quickly realize that this is too little, it does not generate enthusiasm or confidence. With the new digital printing techniques (t-shirt printers, sublimation, …), you can present many designs with a minimal investment.
- Reinvest. Both in designs and stocks. The time to harvest will come, for now you have to sow.
- Be very patient. Consolidating a brand requires it, and in large doses. If you can, get busy with other projects while that happens.
- Make a marketing plan. Do not think that with having good designs customers will look for you. It is exactly the other way around: it is you who has to put the means to reach the consumer. Put the brand in front of their noses over and over again, and be patient.
- Don’t be obsessed with making money. It is the ultimate goal, nobody disputes it, but not the means. Concentrate on promoting the brand, on doing your homework well.
- Try to enjoy your work as much as possible. For that, you must be able to identify with your brand, otherwise it will be very difficult to make it credible. And it will be difficult for you to play the role that corresponds to you. It should be something you would wear, and with pride.
- Don’t copy. Okay, okay, we are all “influenced” by other designers … also, it is assumed that almost nothing is 100% original (whether it is intended or not) … but don’t go overboard with the use of those licenses.
- Don’t be overwhelmed. For example, if you can’t include printed suspenders that you like in the initial collection… if you don’t arrive in time to launch a personalized packaging… well, DON’T do it! 2 good reasons? If you want to compete with the work capacity of large companies, you are going to break. In addition, you must reserve, dose yourself: in building a brand, constancy is worth more than abundance.
- Attend trade shows for clothing and fabrics. Visit both the big brands such as xxxtentacion merch and the small independent ones. You will see the new trends; you will take inspiration.
- The hardest part of creating a clothing line is achieving the recognition of the largest clothing chains, if you want to achieve this avenue of sale. Buyers only think about finding things that sell well. Therefore, do not forget that those who have the last word on whether your products should reach the stores are the buyers.
- Be realistic about the sales channel that suits you best. Or for which you are really qualified. For example, have you thought about what would happen if a buyer from a large chain asked you for 1000 units per store?
- Protect yourself. Register and patent what you can. It is impossible for everything, but be selective and do it. To sell you have to teach. And that implies that some are going to copy you. It is not fair, but assume it as inevitable from now on.
- Growing up too fast may not be as great luck as it sounds. You can die of success if you are not able to adjust the demand to what we are capable of serving, within the agreed deadlines. Learn to give up orders, it’s better than accepting them and not fulfilling them.
- Go ahead as much as you can: do not design for this season, that is already on the racks. Always think 6 months ahead, that is what is planned now. Visit buyers now with those collections.
If you have ideas that you want me to add, feel free to suggest it in the comments or in a message. Anyway, keep in mind that some things can be explained, but others can only be experienced.
