This is the first article as a part of an on going blog series dedicated to all the fashion entrepreneurs. My goal is to share stories of success and lessons in the journey of a fashion business owner in a collaborative environment.
Before starting my own design consultancy, I was a high level fashion design executive working for a fortune 500 company, leading a $600M brand with a timeless following from loving customers. A brand is a powerful entity that people develop a special relationship with. I have seen the incredible affect a great product has on real people. They become loyal fans and can form a cult like following that can go viral with just a word of mouth.
So what is the industry secret to creating a brand that sticks? First, is delivering a great product that speaks to the customer's needs. No one really needs another tee shirt or a new something that they already have something similar in their closest. A brand must have a clear position in what void they are filling that is not already out there. Fashion is an extremely crowded space. Before you decide to jump into create another brand, an in-depth research is critical to identify the problem you are trying to solve, who are the people needing this product and why your brand experience will be different than the competition. Once you can clearly identify these factors then you can start the process of developing the brand.
In my consulting work, I come across many different types of business models. Lot's of people want to create something that they feel is the next big based on copying other business success or have a personal single point of view on their brand. The business's that stick and succeed really have done their homework and clearly have a value propostion and branding strategy in place.
In the news recently we saw major funding raised for winning brands such as Away, TheFluid Project, Allbirds, and Cuyana are just to name a few that has taken the fashion world by storm with a very clear brand story, position and experience.
So for the people out there looking to dip their toe into this dynamic business, ask yourself some of these questions and take a study in these winning brands.
1. What is the problem I want to solve through my brand?
2. Who is my customer?
3. How will I stand out against the competitive landscape?
For an in-depth conversation on tips on how to approach these questions with industry best practices, feel free to email me at judy@hadadesign.co