Brainstorming Your Concept
If you watched last weeks video, I gave a quick introduction to this new series, called From Concept to Launched.
If you missed it, you can watch it here ↓
I help brands every week take their fashion brand idea and guide you from concept to final product. We are following the manufacturers production schedule of SS and AW.
So if you are in the Northern Hemisphere we will be working on AW 24/25 (Autumn Winter 2024/2025) collections for the end of this year and beginning of next year. Southern Hemisphere will be working on SS24/25 (Spring Summer 2024/2025).
As a way to make the process of developing a fashion brand feel less like a mountain to climb and more like a hill, we are going to break our year into quarters, or 90 days, or 3 month milestones.
Quarter 1: Design
January - March
This is the pre-production phase that includes,
Brainstorming
Moodboards
Colour
Print
Fabric selections
Sketches
and finally, tech packs
Already that sounds like a lot doesn’t it? The aim is to take your ideas and have them in a tech pack by the end of these three months, so you are pitching your tech pack for manufacturer quotes by March.
My name is Karen, I run a fashion production agency in Porto helping brands from all over the world manufacture their products in Portugal. But, you don’t have to be manufacturing in Portugal or even Europe for that matter to follow along this series.
Let’s get in to this week’s topic, read on or watch week 1 here ↓
BRAINSTORMING
This is where you will visualise your fashion concept and write it down. Carve out time to yourself, either in a quiet space or a busy space, depending on how you best operate, of uninterrupted time to brainstorm and connect with your ideas and inspiration. Really conceptualize your brand. As much as you can. Visualise the details. Without holding back.
WHAT YOU ARE WRITING OUT
Get a pen and paper so you can write this out, you will create either a flow chart, bullet point list, mind mapping. Post it notes on a wall. But don’t do this on your device. You gain a lot by doing this process off technology. Away from the apps, tabs and other distractions.
1 NUMBER OF ITEMS
How many pieces are you starting with?
This is not Project Runway you do not need a 13 piece collection to start! Seriously, choose 1-3 styles. You can have multiple colours, for example 1 dress in 3 prints. But if you are starting with more than 3 styles, then you are going to need a big budget and more time than a year.
This is number of styles if plenty for a startup. Even, honestly even 1 style to start. Production is a lot to manage. So a word of caution, pull back and then once you have this initial product up and running, meaning no new tech packs are needed, or there are only slight changes to the current style, they are selling great, no need for new patterns or samples other than colours or fabrics, then slowly and modestly add to your collection.
2 SEASONS
Ask yourself are your products a seasonal or season-less collection?
Meaning are you following the SS AW fashion seasons or are you one season like resort wear/holiday wear/vacation wear, or are you seasonless, where your collection will work all year round.
3 CUSTOMER AVATAR // CUSTOMER PROFILE
Who is this for?
Your customer avatar, or your customer profile. Basically, who is this for? This was so popular and I really believe it holds true today. Not in all industries, but fashion yes and of course, be open to surprises. You never know how or where your designs will take off. And you can adjust the profile or avatar as you go. As your pieces sell, you gain more data, more information and more analytics. And you understand better who your pieces are for.
But to start, having a customer profile will help keep you grounded. Because designers have a tendency to go off the rails with ideas and all the amazing options that come up it can be overwhelming and exciting, or possibly you will freeze and do nothing, or design too much and lose your vision and focus. And another year will pass and you still haven’t launched. When it comes to fashion, you can take it as far as your mind will allow. Learn when to pull back and focus.
Who is wearing your collection?
Who is buying your pieces?
Can you see inside their closet?
Their home?
What does it look like?
Where they live?
Where does your brand fit in to their lifestyle?
Maybe you see yourself. And you are solving your own problems. Perhaps you are long waisted with short legs, and finding jeans and trousers that fit so frustrating. The store bought trouser fits you perfectly in the waist but swim around your ankles and the cut of the knee is too low on your leg making alterations complicated.
Or you are male and are tired of looking for jeans that don’t fit saggy in the bum and tight on the ankle.
These are common problems and complaints that fashion brands could solve and have customers for. What do you see? Write it out.
4 FABRIC
The best part in my opinion. What is the fabric? Maybe you want to understand sustainable fabric and what that actually means so you can bring that into your marketing?
Perhaps you love silk for that gorgeous dress you want to design, but you are vegan now and want to search for alternatives. There are other options like peace silk and Tencel. How do you want the products to feel? Write it out. And if you need to educate yourself a bit more on fabric, block out an hour on the calendar specifically to research the topic.
When I go to trade shows, manufacturer showrooms and factories, I share everything on my instagram stories, so be sure to follow me there!
@frankydune
5 MESSAGING/BRANDING
Ethical manufacturing, quality fabric, traceable supply chains, brand transparency, these are subjects that my agency, my brand, holds important.
Is your brand standing for something? Are you wanting to be a traceable, transparent brand? Are a portion of your proceeds going to something important to you? Think deeper and beyond what’s in it for you? Sure, it’s nice to have people praising your designs, and getting all the likes and comments on your social media posts. Imagine that for a minute and now let’s take it further. You don’t have to be claiming world peace, but I do believe it is important to have a purpose that feels connected to you so it is sincere and something that is beyond dopamine hits on social media.
If you don’t know what that is, then pin it to contemplate as you go through this process. Don’t start with the claims of sustainability when it comes across as a disingenuous greenwashing statement on such deeply troubled topic.
6 LABELLING AND PACKAGING
Labels and packaging is so overlooked, but also requires a manufacturer, design and tech pack, sampling, quality control and arranging the shipping to the garment manufacturer. How are your labels and packaging going to look? Can you see it or not yet? Will you have hang tags? What information will be there? What is the material? Is there any labels on the sleeves or hems? Just on the back centre neck? What is it going to say?
Running a fashion brand means you are wearing a thousand different hats, and if you are running it alone, burnout is real. It is so hard to be creative when you are exhausted. That’s why agencies like mine exist, to look after the project and oversee all the aspects of production so you can focus on where you shine,
So this brings me to my last brainstorming piece:
7 WHERE DO YOU WANT TO PUT YOUR ENERGY IN?
If we went over every piece of production and running a brand, where do you want to be putting your energy into because that is what you do best? It is what makes you feel the most energetic. There are going to be parts of your brand that will just need you no matter if you like it or not, and there will be other aspects that absolutely fill your soul.