Breaking into the fashion world is by no means an easy endeavor. Not only is it a highly competitive environment from a creative standpoint but the logistics and legality of establishing a fashion brand, let alone making it successful, is a monumental undertaking. We aren’t trying to put you off trying. We just want to make sure you are informed before you start on this journey.

This guide has been designed to help you establish your own fashion brand. We will be covering both the creative and logistical aspects. Giving you a basic overview of all the things you need to consider to ensure your brand has the best chance of success.

Building Your Brand Identity

This is one of the more fun parts of the process. When you get to design your brand’s logo, slogans, and work on all the design aspects that will surround your brand. Colour schemes, website design, business cards. All the little things that will compile together to make your brand feel more alive.

One thing you need to be aware of is copyright infringement. If you don’t know what this is, it is the term given when someone produces something that is too similar to an early existing intellectual property. Most people assume it only applies to entertainment media. But it also applies to branding. For example you can’t simply call your fashion brand ‘Gucci.’ And it is also recommended that you avoid making your logo look too similar to another brand.

Once you have some preliminary designs and names for your brand you should consult a copyright law firm. They will be able to help you file your trademarks while also finding out if there are any other registered brands already using your suggested names or designs. It is also a good idea to make use of legal transcription services both during the design process and during any meetings with your copyright lawyers. This will help cover you legally while also giving you a clear record of everything that has happened during the trademark process.

Brick-And-Motar Or Online?

This is one of the biggest decisions you will have to make in the early days of your brand. Will you operate from a physical store or exclusively online? Now this decision doesn’t have to be permanent. You can start as an online only store and then, if you are doing well, expand to a physical location. You should always have an online store even if you are planning to have a physical store as well. The vast majority of people do their shopping completely online these days. So ensuring you have a robust online store is essential to the success of your business.

But let us look at the pros and cons of having a physical store. One of the biggest advantages is you are less likely to get returns when people shop in person. If people can try on your clothing in store they are less likely to end up returning it. Whereas a lot of online shoppers will buy a lot of items and then send them back once they try them on and realize it isn’t their style.

Another advantage of a physical store is the ability to launch exclusive items that are only available to in person shoppers. This will allow you to charge a slight premium on the items while also generating more hype. Exclusivity is a huge marketing tool in the fashion industry. So you should utilize it whenever possible.

The main disadvantage to having a physical store is the running costs. Rent, staffing costs, utility bills, repairs, insurance. All of this will eat into your profits. This shouldn’t be an issue if your store is in a busy location. But if you can’t guarantee enough foot traffic to cover your costs then you are better off not having a physical store.

Social Media

This is going to be the best marketing tool at your disposal. Maintaining an active social media presence on as many platforms as possible will be key to the success of your brand. And you should start your marketing long before the launch of your brand. We spoke briefly about generating hype earlier. Making posts about your brand and your upcoming launch will get people excited and should boost your initial sales by a considerable amount.

As your company expands you might want to consider hiring a social media manager. You will naturally need to shift your focus to maintaining your company and designing new clothes. But you need to maintain a consistent social media upload schedule. Having a member of staff dedicated to managing this will massively help your business.