Thinking about finally starting that clothing label that’s been on your mind? Whether you’re young or old, still in high school or in your forties with absolutely zero experience in the fashion industry, you can still make your dream a reality. I started my journey just two years ago after having debated starting a brand for some time. At the end of the day, if you have the passion, commitment, and patience, I believe anyone can find success.
The hardest part about starting a clothing label is literally just starting. I genuinely believe that you can be successful with no prior knowledge of designing, finding manufacturers, sampling, etc. I would say one of the most important things about starting out is having a bit of a plan in the back of your head, but also to just start doing. Start learning on Youtube how to use various programs like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. If you can’t/don’t have access to those programs find alternatives. Are you a good drawer/artist? Start churning out ideas on paper and see what works and what doesn’t. Don’t just try and hop on the latest trend or design, but try and push yourself creatively and find your own lane. When I first started out, ninety-five percent of my designs were absolutely awful and had no business being produced. However, I learned little by little and developed new skills to help fine tune my designs. Once you finally have some designs that you think are worth looking into, it’s time to start looking further ahead.
Sampling
One of the most important steps in the production process is sampling. This is the time to see your design come to life and see what needs work. Early on it is important to figure out if you want to focus more on the graphic design aspect, the technical aspect of the garment (cut, fabric, additional features), or a good mixture of both. Some people thrive with wild graphic tees, others create minimalist hoodies with interesting cuts, but it’s up to you to decide how you want your pieces to look. If you’re looking to get a graphic on a basic t-shirt, it might be your best bet to work with a local screen printer to get your sample made. If you’re looking for something a bit more complex, it might be necessary to look overseas. While a lot of people don’t like to admit it, Alibaba is actually one of the best sources for finding overseas manufacturers. From my personal experience, many people were unwilling to help with the simple steps to finding manufacturers. I believe a lot of this has to do with fear of competition or “gatekeeping.” On Alibaba, you can type in “custom hoodie” and then message five manufacturers that might look promising to produce your custom hoodie. If you have a bit of a bigger budget, you can always look at domestic production for custom pieces, but they will oftentimes be more expensive and difficult if you’re just starting out.
Social Media / Website
When starting a label, it’s important to realize that everything you do comes back to your brand image. It’s important to think about early on how you want to portray your brand and how you want people to perceive it. I would say at a minimum you’ll want to start an Instagram page although you can also do Facebook, TikTok, and other mediums. Regarding a website, there are several domain sites such as GoDaddy where you can create your domain for a relatively low price. I personally use Shopify to then design my site and integrate payments, but there are several other cheaper alternatives such as Squarespace and Big Cartel. Again, everything takes time to learn but if you’re patient it will all come together.
Mass Production
When it’s time for your first product to be released, you have to think about if you want your product to already be on hand or done as a preorder. The first option allows you to ship the product out as soon as orders come in, but requires an initial investment to purchase all of the garments. A preorder basis allows you to have orders come in and then place a bulk order with a manufacturer or local printer, but you will certainly face longer wait times which your customers will have to be prepared for. Many brands will use the preorder method in the beginning as it makes more sense financially and allows you to test how in demand your product is.
Like I said before, the hardest part to all of this is simply starting. If you start learning now every day about the various aspects of running a clothing label, there’s no reason why you can’t start your own brand in the near future. The hardest part for me personally was developing designing skills to get ideas from my head into a reality. Of course there are other areas which I didn’t touch on such as product photography and growing your social media page, but I promise you there is nothing google and youtube can’t teach you. You can do everything without spending a single dollar starting out if you’re persistent and willing to learn. Simply develop your own style of design, put mockups on your social media page, use a preorder method for your first couple of drops and there you go. If there’s certain parts you feel I missed out on or would like to learn more about, please let me know in the comments below or DM me on my Instagram.
