Collaborate to Create

Photo by Adam Jang on Unsplash, Photo by Émile Perron on Unsplash, Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

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Collaboration

noun

the action of working with someone to produce something.

I am writing this post immediately after watching episode 3 of the Amazon series ‘Making the Cut’. If you haven’t heard about it yet, Making the Cut is a competitive TV series where 12 designers face challenges intended to test their design skills and their abilities to run a fashion business. (Needless to say, programmes of this nature fascinate us, as this is basically what we do every single day at The Fashion Consultants!)

The episode in question is entitled ‘Collaborate’. The ten remaining competitors pair up in order to merge their individual aesthetics to create something new together! I immediately notice the fear and concern on some of the competitors’ faces when they were briefed with this task. A few of the interviews feature contestants saying things such as ‘When I work, I like to really have control…but I feel like it’s a collaboration so this is what we have to work with’ and ‘this is my moment to come into the spotlight’.

I just can’t relate to the opinion that working with others is a necessary evil, nor with the drive to push yourself to the front rather than stand side by side as a team.

I’m definitely not claiming that collaboration is easy. Acknowledging this is essential. Quite the opposite can be true sometimes when we’re required to tap in to challenging mindsets such as humility, cooperation & compromise at the same time as navigating new working processes.

On the other hand, isn’t collaboration what we’re born to do? Collaboration is what life is about, isn’t it?

Each and every one of us is quite literally the direct result of a collaborative act.  Our teachers and mentors collaborate with us to develop our skills & passions.  We collaborate with friends and family every single day to create experiences and memories to cherish.

Almost everything we own is the result of a collaborative process. I am quite certain that there is not a single man-made item on the planet that is not born from the work of more than one individual. Natural phenomena are arguably collaborative too. After all; grass can’t grow without water, earth and oxygen.

It’s quite difficult to identify an activity or achievement which hasn’t been impacted by more than one person in some capacity. Can you think of one? I can’t. Without welcoming others into our lives, we are alone with no tools to grow.orative too. After all; grass can’t grow without water, earth and oxygen.

Of course we must be proud of our achievements as individuals. In parallel, each and every one of us must find it in ourselves to thank those who have worked alongside us on the road to achievement.

I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.

Mother Theresa

Here at The Fashion Consultants, we proudly collaborate with our clients and partners every single day. We never claim to be independent of one another and we never fail to appreciate the team around us. 

If you’d like to collaborate with us, we would love to talk to you!

Now more than ever, it’s time to work together to move forward. Get in touch for a free consultation to discuss how we can work together to build your dream fashion brand.

Top 5 things to think about if starting a Fashion Brand is your next adventure

Do you dream of starting a fashion brand?

There is so much to think about if you aspire to launch a Fashion Start-Up, and it’s easy to lose your way at the beginning! Sometimes you won’t realise you’ve missed something until you’re months into your journey. This makes it really difficult to back-track and smooth out the issues you’re facing.

This list of the ‘Top 5 things to think about if starting a Fashion Brand is your next adventure’ will help you head in the right direction from the very beginning…

Your product needs to stand out!

What is your Unique Selling Point?

This is usually the first thing that we ask our clients. The fashion market is massively over saturated with brands that are making the same type of product. Times are changing; consumers are wising up to this and wanting to be more sustainable, so it makes sense to direct our clients to think about this straight away.

If, for example, you are looking to create and launch a 5 piece swimwear collection, you need to think about what makes your collection different from anything else that is currently out there. Ensuring your product is different will encourage consumers to buy it.

Is your USP a specific target audience/customer? Is it the fabrics that we use on the product, such as using sustainable fabrics? Is there a difference in the actual design of the swimsuit, for example hidden pockets or another innovative design detail? These are all good questions to ask, and identifying your USP before embarking on design will drastically impact the end product.

Think about everything which may incur additional cost.

What is your Budget?

We work closely with all our clients on this topic and aim to provide a rough budget as soon as possible. A budget would typically include details of cost of design, development and finally production & manufacture of your product/collection.

You need to be realistic as you will likely be surprised by how much everything costs to create a fashion brand. If you have a smaller budget this will impact how many items you can actually produce, which informs your initial design brief. This is why it’s important to have a realistic budget from the very beginning of the process, to avoid any unnecessary and unforeseen expenditure.

How will your customers purchase your product?

What is your Route to Market?

Your chosen route to market is another pivotal subject that we discuss with our clients in the very first consultation. There are two typical ways to get your product out there.

The Wholesale route which means that you would be working with Buyers to sell your product into stores. The issue with this is that you are slightly more limited in regard to pricing as you need to work to wholesale prices.

Alternatively, most start up brands use E-Commerce – meaning having a store online to sell your product.

You could also use a combination of this mixed with pop-up shops for additional brand visibility. Whichever option or combination works best for your brand, it’s something to clarify as soon as possible. Your decision will dictate and inform your whole schedule & overall profits/margins in the long run.

Your Route to Market will also be impacted by your USP, Budget and Target Market, as all of these factors inform the most suitable selling technique.

There are so many people in the world…who is your customer?

What is your Target Market?

We’ve touched on this a little bit already, but being really specific here will dramatically impact the initial design and development stages. If you have an idea for a product, you probably already have an idea of the person that you imagine buying your product.

It’s now really important to do your market research! You can’t solely rely on your imagination, and assumptions mean that you risk investing alot of money in to a product which may not sell.

This research phase is necessary to make sure that the idea that you have actually attracts a person to buy your product. Does your customer exist? What’s the market potential? What can your customer afford, and why are they buying your product? Will they be brand loyal, or are they likely to be driven by trend and buy elsewhere next time?

While this may appear really obvious, it’s a very important task to carry out…it’s easy to blindly trust in your product and make a risky investment rather than using statistics and making informed choices upfront.

Surround yourself with good people!

Invest in People

One key phrase that we live by is ‘Invest in People’ and most importantly trust in the people that you are working with. If you decide to work with The Fashion Consultants on any step of your journey from design, development and finally all the way through to production, we believe that you are trusting us to do everything that we possibly can to develop the very best product for you.

We also invest in people that work alongside us – from our manufacturers, fabric mills, print houses and agents. All of which we have worked alongside for over 10 years. We have a great team behind us and we are very lucky to know that we all give our commitment to you and to your brand!

Get in touch to arrange a chat about your ideas becoming a reality!

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If you’re struggling to find inspiration to further develop your initial brand or product idea, check out 10 Great Ways to Generate Business Ideas! The article has great tips on how to start thinking outside the box and identify your brand direction.

The (confusing) Language of Fashion

The Fashion Industry speaks a language of its own. It’s easy to forget this when you’re consulting during the fashion design, development & production process…and we’ve realised (often during meetings when clients develop a slightly baffled expression) that sometimes we could do with a translator to help you make sense of it! 

There are a few Fashion phrases in particular which are particularly misleading, and the last thing we want to do is confuse you. That’s why we’ve decided it’s about time we explained the real meaning behind the top 5 most misleading phrases that we use every day…

Fit Model

Some clients have asked what fit the model needs to be like. For example, how muscular? Or, should they be someone who attends the gym regularly? Furthermore, should they be a catwalk model? Well, while these factors may be important to your brand aesthetic, these are definitely not requirements for a fit model! 

The word Fit refers to the clothing being a perfect fit. The word Model refers to an individual who has the ideal body measurements for your clothing. Therefore, your Fit Model doesn’t need to have rippling muscles, nor be Naomi Campbell! For example, if you are developing a women’s inclusive-sizing yoga apparel range, then your fit model will likely be a curvacious female who practices yoga. This is because she is your target customer and enables you to see how the product performs during the fitting (while your model is demonstrating the perfect Crow Pose)!

It does help if your Fit Model has fit modelling experience. The feedback the model gives can drastically impact the changes you make to your product. There are agencies who can help you find one, too!

The fit model should fit in to your clothes ‘perfectly’.

Pattern Piece

This is a particularly tricky fashion term…because two meanings of the word ‘pattern’ are both relevant when designing clothing. The word Pattern in the context of a Pattern Piece is nothing to do with repeated decorative pattern. Instead, a Pattern Piece is basically a template which is laid on top of a length of fabric laid flat.

The fabric is cut out in the shape of the Pattern Piece, resulting in the separate fabric pieces which will be combined to create your product. To avoid any cross-over between a Pattern Piece and a repeated decorative pattern, we refer to the latter as a Graphic or Print. 

Working with pattern pieces.

Strike-Off

I often think this sounds quite menacing; as usually this phrase would have negative connotations. For example, an individual or entity being ‘struck off’ and therefore removed or erased.

In the Fashion world, however, the term Strike-Off means quite the opposite. It actually refers to an example/test version of something which needs to be approved for use. For example, if your design includes a graphic, your factory will provide you with a Strike-Off. It’s an example of the graphic on a separate piece of fabric before applying it on to the actual product. Therefore, the suggested technique can be approved by you prior to bulk production.

Confusing as it is, this means that a Strike-Off in the Fashion world is actually carried out to approve something for use, not get rid of it!

Every print that is developed needs a strike-off.

Dropped

This one is more straight-forward. Just to clarify, nothing is actually physically ‘dropped’. The term dropped means the cancelling of an item from your range. For example, you may discover that your ground-breaking Crow Pose yoga leggings just don’t live up to expectations. You may also have a better product in your range elsewhere. Therefore, you would likely decide to ‘drop’ your crow pose legging from the range…simple!

Sometimes, a product is just not needed.

Tolerance

Another one which sounds a little bit negative. ‘Tolerance’ is usually a word which is usually used to describe the ability to ‘tolerate’ behaviour that one dislikes or disagrees with. Luckily, that’s not what we use it to describe.

Instead, in the process of product development; the word ’Tolerance’ is part of the Quality Assurance process. It specifically refers to how many millimetres bigger/smaller than specified are acceptable per measurement point on the item. For example, if the specification length of your t-shirt is 50cm, the tolerance would mean that a length of 49.5cm or 51.5cm would also be acceptable. This is due to there being a tolerance measurement either side of your ideal 50cm.

It’s almost impossible to sew a product 100% to specification. A tolerance system allows a level of understanding and approval while maintaining consistent quality assurance.

Every sample is measured to analyse tolerance.

There are many more mind-boggling words, phrases and terms that are used throughout the product development process. That’s why we’ve put together a handy Glossary for your reference! Check it out and you’ll be fluent in Fashion in no time! 

Take me to the Glossary

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We’re here to help you make sense of things, so if there are any other phrases or words you’re still unsure of then get in touch. In the meantime…keep practicing your Fashion Phrases! ; )

The Future of Fast Fashion

At The Fashion Consultants we have been reading a very interesting and very important book ‘The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes’ by Dana Thomas and we feel that it’s something very important for us to know and have an understanding of. This book is all about sustainability and what we are doing to our planet by the way we are consuming fast fashion at such a fast pace.

Sustainability is such an important part of how we work with our manufacturers, our fabric mills and also our clients. It’s usually the first thing we discuss with all new clients as they all mention that they want to have a sustainable brand – and the first thing we always ask is what does that mean to you? What is your understanding of having a sustainable fashion brand? We go through the ways that you can contribute to doing this:

– Fair wages for all workers making your/our clothes

– Renting clothes & swapping rather than buying more new clothes

– Rightshoring & Local Production 

– Slow fashion/timeless design

– Organic fabrics and using recycled fibres & fabrics to produce new fabrics

– Custom made clothes

– Repair, redesign and recycle 

– Recyclable packaging 

All of the above we try to incorporate in some way; we spend a lot of time in particular sourcing organic and recycled fabric.  We also work with the right manufacturers who we trust and have worked with for a number of years, so we know treat their employees correctly.

The book highlights all of the above issues and really has an insight into fast fashion and what the future of our planet could look like if we continue to buy and consume clothes at the current rate.

It also gives us an insight into some of the amazing brands such as Stella McCartney, UnMade, Alabama Chanin & Reformation. We also get an insight behind the scenes to organic fibre & fabric producers such as Sally Fox, English Fine Cottons & John Spencer LTD (who is the UK’s last weaver of organic yarns) as well as organic dye houses such as Stony creek colours.

All of these awe-inspiring companies are are working to make a change to the fashion industry & the current model of how we produce clothes. Check them out for some inspiration!

We’re on the panel at the Lone Design Club store in Shoreditch at the LDC Accelerator: How to Create A Sustainable Brand on A Budget, 27/11 @ 6.30pm. We will be alongside sustainable accessory brand From Belo & Fashion Business Consultant Onwards & Up, so if you are a small brand that would like some more information on how to build a brand more sustainably we would love to welcome you and see you at this event. 

…but in the meantime please read this book – it’s really good!