All about Starting Your Own Label & Becoming a Fashion Designer... (SEE POST #1 FOR RELATED THREADS)

[thercbray]

I'm unsure if anyone has mentioned this website but I found an ongoing series of articles about starting your own fashion business from scratch on businessoffashion.com (http://www.businessoffashion.com/category/education/basics for the exact location of the series, there are several other series such as business pitches from online upstarts, critiques from a panel of professionals, and many other useful articles as well as links to fashion and business related articles in other publications).

 

[BetteT]

Thank you for sharing this ... looks like some very good information!

 

[thercbray]

Thank you for sharing this ... looks like some very good information!

Anytime

 

[LittleChoupette]

Looking for advice on what to do to start my own brand eventually

So I've been into fashion design for a pretty long time now, both my parents also used to be in the industry and had their own ladies businesswear brand, I'm trying to do as much as possible independently from them though, so far I've only been doing fashion sketching really but I'm trying to get more experienced in other fields that are needed for my end-goal which is to start my own high fashion brand, I'm 16 right now and will likely be left with a very large amount of money soon, I'm thinking of using that to fund my study at university, move to a bigger city, (best option right now is London) and eventually start something up with it but obviously I'm not very experienced at all so I'm looking for any advice / tips that you lovely people might have for me right now!

 

[BetteT]

First .... There is a list of related threads, on the first post of this thread ^^^... check it out. You should find some topics of interest.

I moved your post over to this thread about your topic: Fashion Career Building Activities if you are Still in High School Head there for more stuff that I posted for you.

 

[Blaiseybabey]

I have just watched this newly-posted interview with (Lee) Alexander McQueen from 2003 ().
To one of the last questions about tips on getting into the industry he answered that one would need to know that they're good at it as, otherwise, it's just not worth the pain.
I am now at this funny stage when I'd like to try something in that area. I am quite...old (31) and I think my college years are gone. But how do I know if I should even...bother? How did you deal with that or people who you may know?

 

[Phuel]

^^^31 is not old LOL That’s the crippled mentality of a 15yo who likely, and openly acts out their ageism (passive-)aggressively, all the while freely accuses everyone else of all sorts of “isms’/phobics” whom doesn’t agree with their narrow-minded socio-political ideology-- ideologies that has no place in the high fashion realm. Age really is a state of mind. And at 31yo, one is still in their creative, intellectual infancy. The attitude and mentality these days seems too obsessed/preoccupied/driven to be a celebrity rather than a master dressmaker/tailor. The hardest part of a designer— and the part that so many these days neglect: The obsessive dedication to craft. Everyone wishes for the glamour, the adoration, the wealth. But no one these days seem to put in the long hours, the blood/sweat/tears into their designs.

Your 20s is a period where you cultivate your wonderfully archaic dreams/ideals/inspirations. And your 30s are a time where you set in motion already mastering/refining/dedicating that vision into high fashion design. Whenever someone makes claim of being the next “McQueen/Tom Ford/Margiela”, then they never will be— nor will they find their own way. There will never be another McQueen/Tom Ford/Margiela. Nor will there need to be.

 

[susseinmcswanny]

f*ck I didn't save what I wrote at work, but in summary you have to sit with yourself and figure out what you truly want. If you're serious about fashion design, putting your point of sense out there for others to experience in the form a label has no age requirement. Any sort of "success" will to be secondary to putting your integrous craft first. For "mainstream" people like McQueen, they don't necessarily start out wanting to be a celebrity designer. Rick Owens is always saying before he was famous he was fine with being a nobody living in squalor and creating beautiful things. Yes it may look fabulous being someone that everyone admires, but ask yourself if it's that status you're really after instead of the exploration of expressing yourself through designing clothes. To me it's so shameful how such a fun and interesting sector of self expression has been heavily overshadowed by fame and celebrity for such braindead consumption. It would be great to have more of a mainstream of designers who were actually interested in the craft and styles rooted in some sort of reality. Unfortunately that is not the case! Although, being mainstream is not everything. I think mulletproof used this terminology on here before but it is possible to be more interesting as an opening act or cover band than the actual headliner. Fame is not the utmost importance in being a good artist. But anyways so if you do sit and think about it and want to be a fashion designer, take the time and edit edit edit to find the true undiluted essence of your voice, and hopefully over time it will resonate with people who "get" you, otherwise, be hot and/or rich and suck someone off to get Lucien Pages to do your PR and you'll be A-OK.

 

[Phuel]

^^^Absolutely.

And all the while keep in mind that the tireless dedication, the endless hours, the blood/sweat/tears invested may be to no avail. There’s no guarantee that if you work hard enough, that you’re talented enough, then the success, fame and fortune will come to you. Helmut Lang casually stated that hard work, along with luck, may just make it… Along with the good fortune of being in the right time, the right moment. Because if hard work, talent and taste were enough, then someone like Ralph Rucci would have it made in spades LOL

There’s no shame, no failure to be a talented dressmaker/tailor plugging away quietly, content in serving their loyal clientele— far far far from whatever has come to represent high fashion. Frankly, there are more talented, insightful, intelligent individuals that aren’t a part of the high fashion elite… There are individuals on TFS that I’ve learned more from than any so-called famous fashion critic/editor/designer etc etc.

 

[LadyJunon]

Aside from books, this forum has given me a more unbiased, diverse, rounded view of fashion than my previous diet Bliss Foster, Fashion Roadman, Haute le Mode and Showstudio ever could and I thank you for it.

I don't want fame (couldn't handle it anyway, since I have no filter), but I'd like security as a fashion designer.

Here's all of my stupid, naive dreams as a designer:

Spoiler: Warning: naivety, stupidity and cringe

To create two small, but directional collections a year with everything designed to be produced, sold and worn.

To have a small studio to make my work and to eventually grow a small team to make even better work

To have a small, but loyal list of buyers and customers, who wear, enjoy and resonate with what I create.

To present my work through simple lookbooks, showroom presentations and straightforward films of models walking in single file across a seamless backdrop.

No fashion week circus, no advertising campaigns, no celebrity endorsements, minimal social media.

As I'm re-reading this, I realise that my ideals sound a lot like those of early Dries Van Noten and Helmut Lang, yikes...

 

[Lola701]

Aside from books, this forum has given me a more unbiased, diverse, rounded view of fashion than my previous diet Bliss Foster, Fashion Roadman, Haute le Mode and Showstudio ever could and I thank you for it.

I don't want fame (couldn't handle it anyway, since I have no filter), but I'd like security as a fashion designer.

Here's all of my stupid, naive dreams as a designer:

Spoiler: Warning: naivety, stupidity and cringe

To create two small, but directional collections a year with everything designed to be produced, sold and worn.

To have a small studio to make my work and to eventually grow a small team to make even better work

To have a small, but loyal list of buyers and customers, who wear, enjoy and resonate with what I create.

To present my work through simple lookbooks, showroom presentations and straightforward films of models walking in single file across a seamless backdrop.

No fashion week circus, no advertising campaigns, no celebrity endorsements, minimal social media.

As I'm re-reading this, I realise that my ideals sound a lot like those of early Dries Van Noten and Helmut Lang, yikes...

When I read your ideas I think about Azzedine Alaia.
And it doesn’t seem unrealistic.

I always/often mentioned the same designers, mostly because I love them but also because for me they are/were the blueprint for what a modern fashion designer can be/ is / might aspire to be.

I want to ask that question: what’s your take on fame in this equation?

In fashion, and particularly with fashion designers, fame is important but not in the sense of pop culture but more in terms of recognition. Fashion as opposed to music or maybe cinema is not so much of a popularity contest.
You have to have a certain credibility within the fashion system/crowd to have the fame, to be celebrated and recognized as a household name.

And it’s a designer ego that will sometimes lead them to fame. Sometimes it’s by pure accident but other times, they deep down want it after hearing the « you deserve to be recognized more ».

 

[LadyJunon]

When I read your ideas I think about Azzedine Alaia.
And it doesn’t seem unrealistic.

I always/often mentioned the same designers, mostly because I love them but also because for me they are/were the blueprint for what a modern fashion designer can be/ is / might aspire to be.

I want to ask that question: what’s your take on fame in this equation?

In fashion, and particularly with fashion designers, fame is important but not in the sense of pop culture but more in terms of recognition. Fashion as opposed to music or maybe cinema is not so much of a popularity contest.
You have to have a certain credibility within the fashion system/crowd to have the fame, to be celebrated and recognized as a household name.

And it’s a designer ego that will sometimes lead them to fame. Sometimes it’s by pure accident but other times, they deep down want it after hearing the « you deserve to be recognized more ».

Yes, something like Alaïa is sort of the goal here, the industry and fashion fans definitely know who he is, but the general population is at a comfortable distance. Preferably without the incapability to deliver a collection within a reasonable timeframe.

I wouldn't mind being the designer who is recognised for beautiful, well-made work or becomes one of the highlights of Paris/Milan Fashion Week nor would I mind being the creative director of a larger house, but becoming a celebrity designer sounds like a pain.

As someone who values their own personal autonomy, becoming the sort of designer that's attending parties and galas, constantly being interviewed and recognised in the street would make me very miserable. I don't want full Margiela anonymity, but I don't want to become the face of my brand or someone else's brand either.

 

[Lola701]

Yes, something like Alaïa is sort of the goal here, the industry and fashion fans definitely know who he is, but the general population is at a comfortable distance. Preferably without the incapability to deliver a collection within a reasonable timeframe.

I wouldn't mind being the designer who is recognised for beautiful, well-made work or becomes one of the highlights of Paris/Milan Fashion Week nor would I mind being the creative director of a larger house, but becoming a celebrity designer sounds like a pain.

As someone who values their own personal autonomy, becoming the sort of designer that's attending parties and galas, constantly being interviewed and recognised in the street would make me very miserable. I don't want full Margiela anonymity, but I don't want to become the face of my brand or someone else's brand either.

Interesting perspective…
You know, « fashion freaks/fans » like to root for the underdog and sometimes dismiss those who became stars, even larger than life and sometimes they forget that those stars once started small and became stars because of the quality of their work and because they have acquired some kind of credibility.

Yes, we have seen figures rise to fame in fashion thanks to cultural currency but the majority of the voices that matters are still voices that worked hard before having their moment.

Like I have never liked Chalayan even if it was « De bon ton » to say that you liked him. And it was a kind of currency of taste to say that you like Chalayan over Lagerfeld for example, simply because the two represented the opposite spectrum of what it was to be a designer (a famous one and a very much low-key one).

But I find it interesting that you wouldn’t want to be a Margiela. You would still want your work to be identifiable with you as a individual.
But to achieve that you might need to please first a media appetite. Even Alaia in the 80’s was very exposed. He became a more low-key persona after the death of his sister and when he kinda down-sized.

Sometimes I’m a bit frustrated with some designers tho. I feel like someone like Lutz will never reach the potential I feel like he got mostly because he has never been « that personality » that people would just be interested in like a Dries for example.

And on the other hand, there’s Martin Grant, one of my favorite designer, who is totally low-key. I don’t even think fashion people would recognize him but his success is based totally on the exclusivity of his clientele.

 

[LadyJunon]

Interesting perspective…

You know, « fashion freaks/fans » like to root for the underdog and sometimes dismiss those who became stars, even larger than life and sometimes they forget that those stars once started small and became stars because of the quality of their work and because they have acquired some kind of credibility.

Yes, we have seen figures rise to fame in fashion thanks to cultural currency but the majority of the voices that matters are still voices that worked hard before having their moment.

Like I have never liked Chalayan even if it was « De bon ton » to say that you liked him. And it was a kind of currency of taste to say that you like Chalayan over Lagerfeld for example, simply because the two represented the opposite spectrum of what it was to be a designer (a famous one and a very much low-key one).

But I find it interesting that you wouldn’t want to be a Margiela. You would still want your work to be identifiable with you as a individual.

But to achieve that you might need to please first a media appetite. Even Alaia in the 80’s was very exposed. He became a more low-key persona after the death of his sister and when he kinda down-sized.

Sometimes I’m a bit frustrated with some designers tho. I feel like someone like Lutz will never reach the potential I feel like he got mostly because he has never been « that personality » that people would just be interested in like a Dries for example.

And on the other hand, there’s Martin Grant, one of my favorite designer, who is totally low-key. I don’t even think fashion people would recognize him but his success is based totally on the exclusivity of his clientele.

I feel that "fashion freaks" like to see success as a compromise of values, almost to the point of a betrayal. It's almost like whiplash to see them turn against someone they unanimously praised only six months ago. Showstudio's reaction to Davis' debut at Ferragamo is concrete evidence of this. I wouldn't really care as long as what I do speaks to myself and my customers.

What I mean by not being a "Margiela" is not being seemingly cold, distant and avoidant, which isn't genuine to myself. That said, I don't want to be a celebrity, I have little to no filter, a low social battery and I value my private life.

It's more important that my growth as a designer and a brand is organic. I don't need to be dealing with mass customer service and production issues, as I pay seven-digit-figures to have an industry watch Rianne, Vittoria, Sora, Bella and Anok walk in intellectualised rags across an Arlesian salt mine, that is gradually being painted red because the shoes are poorly made.