The clothing industry is a saturated one, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be successful if you’re hoping to get your foot in the door. Starting your own clothing line can be incredibly exciting, but can take some careful planning and thought.
If it’s a career you are passionate about, starting an online clothing boutique can be a hugely rewarding line of work, allowing you to bring your vision to life through today’s technology. With that in mind, here is a guide to help you get started in creating your own clothing line.
Step 1: Find Your Niche
Before you start, it’s important that you know exactly what type of clothing boutique you’re going to create. Are you going to specialize in menswear, womenswear or both? Perhaps you’ll create a unique clothing line for children.
Whatever your ideas, make sure you are clear on your positioning within the fashion industry. It’s possible that you have spotted a gap in the market, giving you the perfect opportunity to create a new clothing boutique for your customer base.
Whether you have already got an idea or not, do some market research and understand recent buying behavior. This could point you in the right direction of the type of boutique you should be creating.
Step 2: Organize and Plan
While you might not necessarily need a detailed and lengthy business plan, it’s still a good idea to have even a rough plan. Make sure you have an idea of budgets and costs, and what you are hoping to make from your new venture.
You may want to have an idea of how you are going to start your clothing line and how it may grow over the next few years. For instance, if you are hoping to scale up, you should have a brief overview of how this is going to work.
By being organized and planning accordingly, you can build an outline of your promising business. It can also give you an idea of who you may need to work with in order to achieve your vision; for example, web developers to build your online boutique and even a marketing team to advertise your brand.
Step 3: Branding Your New Boutique
Making sure your boutique stands out amongst the competition is absolutely key for your success. It’s important that the branding of your clothing line is well thought out and has a unique edge to it; something that people will recognize and remember.
Coming up with a brand can be great fun as you experiment with names, colors and logos, but make sure you keep your goals in mind. Ensure your personality and your brand’s purpose shines through your branding materials, as this can form the basis for much of your online advertising.
Step 4: Create Your Collection
This is the part that heavily comes down to your budget and what type of store you are.
For general fashion boutique retailers: You can purchase other wholesalers’ brands at a relatively low cost, hand-selecting the type of styles you want to stock from numerous one.
For a brand boutique: It becomes a little more expensive, but you have a couple of options depending upon your financial investment.
Those with a more limited budget and that will appeal to most, than can’t afford to hold 400+ units of one style, is to find a stockist where you can relabelled their product – also known as white label. Here you can stock lower units per style but still apply your brands logo, albeit with lower input into the design process.
If money isn’t really holding you back, then you want a complete made to order service whereby you can fully customize styles to your exact specification. You will have to commit to a higher number of units per style but what’s a little risk without reward?
Ensure you try to find a wholesale clothing supplier that is willing to work with you to help you design your clothing line and bring them to life. They should be able to advise and inspire you, if you think you need some guidance as to the latest trends and best-selling styles for your new brand.
Step 5: Start the Manufacturing Process
This is the part where everything starts to come together! Find the right manufacturing partner to bring everything to life, whether you outsource this to a reputable supplier or bring it in-house.
The manufacturing process is important as your manufacturing partner can be key in aligning with your new brand. Identify your needs and positioning; do you require fast and reliable manufacturing, or are you more bothered about quality craftsmanship?
A good one-stop wholesaler may be able to take care of the manufacturing and importing for you. This can reduce the risk of ordering from a factory on the other side of the world, instead making sure you receive the final result you were hoping for.
Do your research and choose the right manufacturer that can help you sell your new clothing line to the right people.
Layla Flinn is a Sydney based writer and researcher, a regular contributor at Smooth Decorator blog. She writes about décor, gardening, recycling, ecology, and business. She thinks all of these topics fall under the self-improvement category. She believes in the power of sharing ideas and communicating via the internet to achieve betterment.
