Starting a fashion brand and creating a fashion line may sound like a dream come true — but first, the key to accomplishing this dream is creating a strategic, forward-thinking fashion business plan. Investing time and energy into understanding the nuances of the fashion industry, all while honing your creative skills and design approaches, will allow you to learn how to start a fashion business.
Laying the Foundation for Your Fashion Brand
Perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of fashion brand management is that there are not always strict rules or guidelines. As a creative, you have the power to begin building a fashion brand that aligns with your own interests, passions and strengths. While there is plenty of flexibility to create a brand that looks and feels like your personality, it’s still important to lay a solid foundation by developing an industry-specific fashion brand business plan.
Defining Your Brand Identity
Defined by the American Marketing Association (AMA) as the cornerstone of marketing, branding is essential to your career as a fashion designer and fashion entrepreneur. Your fashion brand will likely be both a personal brand as well as a corporate brand, which means that you should develop a brand identity that reflects your personal values, expertise in fashion and knowledge of your target audience. The goal and purpose of branding is to create a consistent identity that can be reflected throughout every aspect of your business, from the clothing items you create to the policies and procedures you develop for your company.
Creating a Business Plan
A business plan is a strategic document that outlines the goals for your fashion brand and includes the steps to take to reach those goals. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, a business plan acts as the foundation for any entrepreneurial venture and is thus a core component of your fashion brand. A well-rounded business plan should include:
- A description of your fashion brand.
- A targeted list of milestones that you hope to reach and deadlines for reaching those milestones.
- A market analysis.
- In-depth information about the fashion products you intend to offer.
- A fashion marketing plan.
- A financial plan for building your fashion brand.
- Funding needs and requests.
Developing Your Fashion Line
After you have established a brand identity and created a fashion business plan you can rely on in the months and years ahead, you can start the process of developing your first fashion line. This is an exciting part of the process for aspiring fashion entrepreneurs, as it’s the moment when you can allow your creativity and passion for fashion to shine through.
Designing Your Collection
A fashion collection is a defined collection of garments and accessories that typically align with a particular season. Fashion designers tend to release between two and four collections per year.
As you begin designing your collection, be mindful of current trends and production needs to ensure it appeals to your target audience and can be easily manufactured and sold. Your first collection will ideally include several different clothing items that are also available in different versions. For example, you may have a dress within your collection that is available in three different colors or materials.
The initial collection should embody your brand vision and values, making it one of your new fashion brand’s defining collections.
Sourcing Materials and Manufacturers
Sourcing materials and manufacturers is a critical part of developing your collection. If launching a sustainable fashion brand, you would want to focus your efforts on locally sourced materials or eco-friendly materials that are sustainably manufactured. Ultimately, the materials you select will have a significant impact on your product pricing strategy.
Pricing Your Products
Take a delicate and strategic approach when pricing the products in your first collection. Naturally, you will need to consider the cost of materials and managing the fashion supply chain but also consider the buying power of your target audience. The fashion industry is notoriously exclusive, so in some cases, you may want to price your products higher in order to appeal to luxury consumers who value bespoke products. Or, if you are developing a fashion brand aimed at the masses, you would want to price your products in such a way that many people from all backgrounds can afford them.
Building and Promoting Your Brand
Creating a fashion brand requires you to be more than just a fashion designer; you have to become a fashion marketing expert, too. Before you can effectively launch your first collection and announce your brand to the world, it’s best to begin building brand identity among your target audience. You can begin creating a fashion brand by:
Creating a Strong Brand Presence
Brand positioning is defined by the AMA as establishing your position in the market in relation to competitors, with the goals of attracting the attention of your target audience and earning loyalty among your consumers. You can begin developing a strong brand presence by identifying your unique selling position that helps set you apart from other fashion designers in the industry.
Marketing Your Fashion Brand
Fashion brand marketing plays a pivotal part in your success as an emerging fashion designer. The world of fashion is notoriously fast-paced and cutthroat, requiring entrepreneurs to develop an innovative marketing plan that generates buzz, attracts attention and showcases what makes their brand different. In all likelihood, your fashion brand marketing strategy will involve both traditional and digital marketing elements.
Establishing an Online Presence
Successful digital marketing for fashion brands requires designers and fashion entrepreneurs to focus heavily on developing an online presence. Brand visibility is essential, particularly on social media, where you can rely on influencers and followers to showcase your collection and spread the word about your fashion brand.
Managing the Business Operations
As an emerging fashion entrepreneur, you are in charge of not only designing the garments and launching your collection but also managing the business side of your fashion company. The business operations of your fashion brand play a critical role in your success, as efficient, streamlined and sustainable operations will ensure that your collection is in the hands of consumers without any issues or delays.
Inventory and Supply Chain Management
Handling inventory and the supply chain process can be tricky, especially in the fashion industry. The key to managing your inventory and streamlining the supply chain is to thoughtfully design a collection with these two components in mind. As you are choosing materials for your garments, be sure to verify that there is adequate inventory available to successfully create those products for your consumers.
Financial Management for Fashion Brands
In order for your fashion brand to continue to grow and prosper — and for you to be able to stretch your creative limits as a designer — you must create a cohesive financial management plan that allows you to be profitable. Business operators in the clothing, apparel and fashion industries should prioritize:
- Managing the expenses associated with developing, designing and manufacturing collections.
- Controlling the operational costs of the business.
- Accurately accounting for payroll costs.
- Conducting regular financial analyses to increase operational efficiency.
Hiring and Building a Team
To bring your fashion design inspiration to life, you want to hire and build a team that you can trust. If your strength lies in the fashion design process, for example, you would ideally hire brand and marketing experts along with business professionals who can help you with comprehensive business growth and development.
Scaling and Growing Your Fashion Brand
Once you have launched your fashion brand, you want to position it for success for years to come. Effectively scaling your brand can allow you to reach new customers, expand into different regions and evolve as a brand over time.
Expanding Your Product Line
As you begin to establish yourself as a well-known fashion brand, you can start to expand your product line to include more offerings. For instance, if you began as a sustainable fashion brand primarily focused on creating products for children, you could begin to expand your offerings to include infant clothing items plus products for older children and teens, giving you a chance to broaden your reach in the industry while simultaneously increasing profits.
Entering New Markets
Another way to grow your fashion brand is to tap into new and emerging markets around the world. From geographic markets to diverse demographics, you can target markets that align with your brand values and identity. As you enter into these markets, you can also begin to design new fashion products that appeal to these consumers, giving you a chance to continue to stretch your creativity and develop innovative items for a wide range of people.
Building Long-Term Brand Loyalty
Regardless of how you scale your fashion brand, it’s wise to look at the bigger picture and prioritize brand loyalty. Creating a consistent and reliable brand image — and executing excellent customer service at every step of the process — can help you earn devoted brand followers who are always willing to try your products and show them off to their friends and family members. In fashion, loyalty reigns supreme, and it takes both time and hard work to earn the devotion of customers who have established a positive relationship with your brand and products.
Learn How to Start a Fashion Brand at Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design
Starting a fashion brand requires creativity and strategic foresight. At Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, we offer an on-campus Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design degree as well as an online Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design degree, both of which equip students with the technical, creative and business skills necessary to build a fashion brand identity. Request more information about our online and on-campus degree programs today to get started on your educational (and entrepreneurial) journey.
