5 questions for launching a fashion brand
For several years now, France has been teeming with young fashion designers who have created real success stories. Launching a fashion brand is a dream if you're passionate about it, creative and ambitious. But getting there isn't always easy. You'll need patience and self-sacrifice. In this article, we'll explain 5 essential points, how to launch a successful fashion brand.
Before launch your own fashion brandyou need to ask yourself the right questions.
1. Who are you?
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Identifying your project
Before you throw yourself heart and soul into creating your brand, you need to get to know and listen to yourself, so you can identify what you really want. You need to launch a fashion brand that reflects you.
Like Morgane Sézalory of the Sézane brandUnderstanding what you love, drawing on your travels, your encounters and your personal favorites is an essential basis for identifying and personifying your brand. The more you get involved in things that resemble you, the more your image will be clearly identifiable.. You need to be able to explain your brand concept in one sentence. Your future customers need to be able to understand what you're selling, while identifying with the image you're conveying.
We suggest you get your best notebook, write down a list of questions, and take the time to answer each one. Here are a few examples:
What do you love most about fashion? What's your style? What styles do you like? What are your passions? What identity do you want your brand to have? Why do you want to launch your fashion brand ? How do you see your brand evolving over the long term?
2. Who do you want to touch?
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Identifying the market
Once you've found your brand identity, you need to get down to the nitty-gritty of researching the fashion market. You'll need to identify the customers you want to attract and know your competition inside out.
Your market research must be appropriate to the main target you wish to reach (men, women, children). First, you need to understand the wants and needs of the segment you want to reach. Once you've analyzed the studies and statistics available on the fashion sector, you'll need to get up from your computer and meet the people who make fashion happen.
You can't launch your own fashion brand by throwing yourself into the void. The first step is to put on your best smile and meet your potential future customers. Ask them what they want, what they need, what they like best, what they expect in terms of price... In short, be curious! Taking an interest in the people you want to reach is essential.
The people you think less about, but who can give you valuable information, are the suppliers or resellers of your future products. Often experienced, they're in the best position to tell you what works best, what's the most profitable, the most in-demand or the riskiest. Put yourself in the shoes of an outspoken journalist: all information is good information! And, what's more, these meetings will give you the opportunity to make yourself known.
Finally, it's important to know your future competitors and how they've done things themselves. launched their fashion brand is essential. You'll be able to learn and understand the steps they've taken, while setting yourself apart. This may seem obvious to you, but before you do, read up on the competition, it is very important to know how to identify it. So, if you want to create a men's t-shirt brand, men's t-shirt brands are your direct competitors. You need to look at them first. Find out about their manufacturing processes, the materials they use, their launch and communication strategies, their history and so on. The more general ready-to-wear brands are your indirect competitors, so you need to pay attention to what they're doing too. The best thing is to keep an eye on what's out there, so you know which markets are the most promising, and where to place yourself.
3. Which distribution channel should you use to launch your fashion brand?
Years ago, when you created a fashion brand, there was only one way to sell your products: physically, in clothing, accessories or jewelry boutiques. Today, a large part of the fashion market is also online, via e-commerce sites. You can choose to market your products through both channels. The important thing is to choose a way of promoting your brand that makes sense.. To take the example of the men's T-shirt brand, you're more likely to reach your target online. Your customers are young, trendy urban men who don't necessarily have the time or inclination to scour the stores. So they're more likely to visit your e-shop. Then you can come up with different, one-off concepts to establish direct contact with them, such as ephemeral boutiques or capsule sales at events created by urban collectives.
In both cases, you need to know the commercial and logistical characteristics of your chosen distribution channel. You need to study in advance the precise human and material requirements you'll need. Here's a list of questions we recommend you ask yourself before launching your fashion brand online or in retail outlets:
Where do you buy your clothes? How are clothes distributed in boutiques, or to customers (in e-commerce)? What are the distribution costs? What human and material resources do you need? Do you need storage space?
4. Who do you need to surround yourself with?
At this point :
- You know how to identify your future customers: their age, their fashion behavior, their consumer habits, their needs, their budget.
- You know your direct and indirect competitors.
- You chose how you were going to distribute your products.
This fourth step is undoubtedly the longest if you're taking your first steps in the fashion world. It's all about building a network. We'd like to make it clear that it's important to have the first three steps clearly established so that you can meet the people who will help you in this endeavor. Before going to professionals, sometimes more seasoned than you, you need to be absolutely sure of yourself, know where you're going and be able to explain your brand concept as clearly as possible..
You'll need to meet a number of professionals who can guide you in the creation of your business, or even work with you. It's important that you take an interest in all the professions associated with setting up a company of this type: lawyers, graphic artists, designers, developers, stylists and marketing strategy consultants, buyercommercial, sales, etc. They'll give you the keys to building a solid foundation for launch your own fashion brand. We recommend that you call on the services of associations or an advisor to help you choose the legal form of your business. You can also enlist the help of accountants, who will explain in detail the steps to follow when setting up your business.
5. How do you want your brand to shine?
As you know, knowing how to communicate your brand is essential.. Now that you've got all the tools you need to launch your fashion brand, you need to get the word out. Today, there are many ways to communicate and extend your image. As with the distribution channel, it's important to identify the means of communication that are most consistent with your brand's identity..
Before creating your website or Instagram page, you need to have a real marketing strategy in place.. What story do you want to tell? What image do you want to convey? How close do you want to get to your customers? What tone do you want to adopt? How will you pique the curiosity of your future customers?... These are all questions you need to ask yourself.
Whatever distribution channel you choose, having a website is now almost mandatory. It is your first showcase, where your customers can immediately identify your brand and your products, and understand your world.. Well-constructed, visually pleasing, surprising, interesting, striking, original, uncluttered... Here again, you need to give careful thought to a site that matches your brand identity. It should also contain as much useful information as possible about your brand and your products: addresses of sales outlets, if any, contact details, the composition of the products you sell, where they come from, how they're made, and so on. Being transparent with your customers is a guarantee of quality.
If you decide to sell exclusively on the Internet, it's also important to take care of your image on social networks.. An Instagram page can give you direct access to people who are interested in what you do. They'll give you feedback, tell you what they think of a particular product... It's a great way to build customer loyalty.
Knowing influencers or bloggers will also be a real asset for you. They'll bring your brand to the attention of a large number of potential customers you couldn't reach on your own.
As you'll understand, launching a fashion brand takes time and determination. The key is to be sure of yourself, surround yourself with the right people and make the right choices to create a brand that lasts over time.
Good luck!
Hey, not so fast!
One last point, and a very important one too: once you've defined your brand name and visual identity, register it with the INPI. This will keep you unique: no one will be able to steal your idea!
If you'd like to know all the ins and outs of the fashion world, discover our training courses fashion and luxury.
