A young designer reached out to me this week to ask some advice on starting a clothing line here in Guyana. Based on the questions I was asked, I understood that the person was lost as to how to begin and a bit overwhelmed by it all. I empathized, because I’m seven months past the launch of my own collection and I still feel overwhelmed by it.
Because of this I thought it necessary to talk about a few things new designers should look at and plan when they decide to launch their own business. It would be wise to note that these are not principles strictly for fashion companies, but can be and have been applied to any business.
According to an article about building a fashion business, you only spend about 10 percent on design. The other 90 percent is taken up with design and development, production and supply chain, marketing and PR and finally, sales and distribution. Even if you are a company of one, to build a sustainable fashion business you have to think