Every famous fashion brand was started by a lone, passionate artist with a vision. If you want to translate your love for fashion into a thriving business, you may wonder how to start a fashion brand. The fashion business is competitive but incredibly rewarding; a lot of hard work and dedication goes into turning an idea into a tangible business, from conceptual development and product design to marketing and launch.

But is clothing business profitable? Any business that caters to the fundamental needs of people is profitable, and the clothing business is no exception. With a little legwork and knowledge of the latest trends, fashion brands can easily rake up about 30-50% in profits, depending on the market and niche. You are much more likely to succeed in this field with a formal degree, such as a Diploma in Fashion Business Management.

The apparel business is about equipping people with the perfect medium for self-expression. Not only are you changing how people look, but also the way people feel. If you want to know how to start a fashion brand in India, you’ve come to the right place. This blog will walk you through a checklist for starting a clothing line– from ideation to launch. So bring your sewing guides and notepad, and let’s dive in!

Starting  a Fashion Brand: A Step-by-Step Guide

Starting a clothing brand is as complex and intricate a process as it is exciting. These concepts are covered in detail by premier fashion institutes, but  don’t worry! We’ll briefly guide you through each step of building a successful fashion brand right here Whether you want to start an online clothing business or a large-scale fashion franchise, we’ve got you covered!Source: Unsplash

Step 1: Conceptualise Your Brand

Conceptualising your brand and business vision is essential to establish the guiding principles of your company. Know what your brand stands for, what sets it apart, and your target audience. Here are some key checklist points for brand conceptualisation:

• Identify your niche: The key to succeeding in competitive markets is to identify and fill a gap in the market that your brand can fill and develop as your niche. This can be a product, an aesthetic, or brand values.
• Define your brand values: One of the latest trends in fashion is a movement towards ethical manufacturing, sustainability, diversity, and inclusivity. Understanding what your brand stands for, what values you represent, and how is essential to developing a strong brand identity.
• Research your target audience: Conducting market research to learn about your target audience is essential to building a brand that resonates with them.

Step 2: Design Your Brand Identity

Your brand identity defines how your target audience and the industry perceive you. The key aspects of creating a brand identity are:

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• Brand name and logo: The most important visual elements of a fashion brand are the brand name and logo. These become the key marketing, designing and identity inspiration for a brand and are the attributes a brand is known for globally. A brand name and logo should be unique, memorable and legally trademarked as yours.
• Brand story: Every brand has a unique narrative that defines its values, mission, and vision. This story makes your brand authentic and relatable and connects you with your audience.
• Brand aesthetic: Your brand aesthetic includes the colours, typography, photography, design and style aspects of your product. These should be consistent, visible and descriptive of your brand story.

Step 3: Design Your Fashion Products

Starting fashion design is the most exciting part of the business. You could design the clothes yourself after getting a degree or diploma from top-ranking institutes, or you could outsource designers and companies. This step involves conducting extensive market research into current trends and building appealing designs:

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• The design concept: A design concept should marry your brand’s aesthetic with your audience’s preferences and needs. Consult a fashion design business to sketch your designs to bring your vision to life.
• Refine construction details: This involves the creation of technical drawings and pattern-making. Technical drawings are detailed sketches to describe the construction of a garment, where patterns serve as templates to cut fabric. These can be sketched digitally or on paper and shown to a manufacturer.

Step 4: Planning Production

Planning the production process ensures that the highest quality standards are maintained while cycling through timely deliveries. Two things to be considered are:

• Find a manufacturing partner: Look for a manufacturer that maintains the highest ethical labour standards and has a proven record of creating products similar to your niche in the best quality and fast turnaround times. Be sure to negotiate pricing and terms that best fit your budget and schedule.
• Create a production schedule: Have a production schedule handy that ensures that material sourcing, production, and delivery timelines are well-defined to help you stay organised.

Step 5: Launch Your Brand

Then comes the most exciting and nerve-wracking part of building a business: The Launch! A PG Diploma in Fashion Communication could greatly help you out here. To ensure that you kick your business off in the right way, be sure to cross these items off your list:Source: Unsplash

• Sales strategy: Have a strategy for how you will be selling your product to your audience. This can include e-commerce websites, retail shops, trade shows and more.
• Marketing plan: Creating brand awareness and putting your brand out there is key to boosting sales. This can be done through social media, fashion shows, influencer or email marketing and other advertising.
• Soft launch, evaluate and evolve: Launch your brand website, e-commerce or retail store, ensuring customer-friendly and quality-controlled service. Be sure to continue evaluating and evolving your brand to stay up to date with the latest trends.

Final Words

We hope that this guide answered your question, how to start a fashion brand. Be it Vera Wang or your local boutique, every fashion brand begins with a dream and a determined artist. If you’ve googled ‘how to start my own clothing label’ before, this guide has probably answered several of your doubts. With some hard work, determination and strategy, you can build a thriving apparel empire.

Starting a clothing brand requires business and management skills beyond fashion design. If you’d like an innovative and sustainability-focused course to hone your business skills, explore the JD Institute of Fashion Design’s Diploma in Fashion Business Management!