DESTINATION X SHOES & DRAMA
Contrary to what we’ve been told, labelling oneself “fashion designer” in his or her Instagram bio, doesn’t make for one. So here are eight steps to help you tap into the $2.4 trillion industry and make you go from shady, online wannabe, to Ashi-dressing-CardiB-and-Beyoncé status!
1. Know Your Skills
Good taste and innate flair for fashion aren’t necessarily prerequisites for Fashion Design Success 101, yet recognizing one’s strengths and weaknesses definitely is.
2. Build A Team
With fashion design encompassing both the creative and the technical, it is integral to build a team with the skill set that compliments your own. Find the Robert Duffy to your Marc Jacobs. The Pierre Berge to your Saint Laurent.
3. Find A Mentor
Fashion is certainly a tough profession to break through, and even harder to stay on top. Heidi Klum agrees; “one day you’re in, the next day you’re out.” So having some guidance from someone who’s been there and done that, never hurts.
4. Know Your Market
This is what separates the fashion designer from the fashion enthusiast; because when it comes down to it: fashion is a business! Our advice is make sure you know your consumer and base your target market off a proper feasibility study… not your favorite TV “IT” girl!
5. Brand Identity
Whether high fashion or high street, it is essential for a designer to know his/her brand identity and make sure it’s DNA is imprinted into everything, from the logo and packaging, to the product and product placement!
6. Register Your Brand
With the Ministry of Commerce & Investment’s new electronic service, you can easily complete your commercial registration in 180 seconds flat! So become legit by visiting: ecr.mci.gov.sa
7. Budget
The decision to budget your start-up cost may come across as a no-brainer, yet many people don’t know how to budget correctly. A designer must consider all costs, ranging from organizational, operational, production, sales & marketing! Gifting a blogger a free Abaya is a cost regardless if you have to pay her to post! The product itself carries operational and production costs! One should always know his or her targeted price point (thanks to your feasibility study) before he or she even thinks about sourcing material!
8. Market
If you design the most fabulous dress but no ones ever wears it… is it still fabulous? The key and probably most important aspect of creating a fashion empire is marketing! Just ask Chiara Ferragni— her brand is kitschy at best, tacky at worst, yet her 15.7 million following still buys into it- literally. Just ask any Kardashian or Jenner peddling an item- the key is to get your brand seen and make it become coveted. So whether it’s product placement on a Kuwaiti blogger’s feed, celebrity dressing & gifting, or hiring a marketing consultancy firm, like Niche Arabia #SubtleProductPlacement , you need to market your brand in order to make people want to wear it!
