How to create a fashion brand: Expert advice for beginners. How to create your own clothing brand: ways to promote and calculate costs How to open your brand

Text: Irina Dubina

Launch and keep afloat your own fashion brand in Russia- not an easy task. First, worthy educational institutions, which could compete with respected Western counterparts, there are practically no: education in the field of fashion as a phenomenon is in our country in its infancy. Secondly, entering the market and establishing sales through stores can be problematic: the overwhelming majority of domestic retailers work on terms of sale, which means that a designer can make a profit, or may be left with nothing.

Finally, as the unpleasant stories that happened to the brands and Oh, My showed, business in Russia is still often conducted using schemes from the 1990s: there is no guarantee that your brand will not end up in the hands of an unscrupulous business partner or that a large fashionable department store does not owe you more than a million rubles. However, even these difficulties are not able to cool the ardor of those wishing to launch their own clothing brand: new Russian fashion brands appear every year with enviable constancy.

If the glory of Gosha Rubchinsky and Vika Gazinskaya haunts you, we tell you what you need to do to found your designer brand and make it commercially successful. Our rules are not universal and do not give one hundred percent guarantees of success, but they will definitely help you to understand the basic things.

Understand what you want to do, for whom and why

The first thing you need to decide on if you decide to embark on the path of a fashion designer is the concept of the future brand, its identity and how it will differ from thousands of existing analogues. “The concept of sewing at least something and just like that is fundamentally wrong,” says Denis Erkhov, the founder of Items. - Before making a collection and making a lookbook, you need to answer important questions to yourself. Who are you doing this for? Where can you sell it? Who is your target customer and does he even exist? In fact, preparing for launch is the most difficult and important process. Based on the answers received, you can already create a product and shoot a lookbook. The strategy must be thought out at the very first stages. "

“Most of our girls and boys make collections simply out of a desire to express themselves,” says Dasha Samkovich, creator and designer of the I AM Studio brand. - But if you decide to make clothes that will be worn, you need the collection to be understandable not only to you, but also to people with their own vision of fashion. Decide on your goals: for you, your own brand is just a tool for creative self-realization in which third-party investors can invest, or is it a full-fledged business project? If you decide to make a commercial product, that is, clothes for people, it is important to understand who your target audience is, its age, social status, financial position- these will be your starting points. "

Assemble a team and find production

If you are serious about developing own brand, and not just sell dresses sewn on the knee through Instagram, without qualified personnel - nowhere. First of all, you will need to find people who can sew your collection: cutters, seamstresses. You can apply to already existing production facilities that cooperate with novice designers, but in this case, you won't have to wait for a return on the part of the team.

“I sewed the first collections at third-party productions: if you cooperate with them twice a year for a couple of months, while a seasonal collection is being prepared, this format is often more profitable,” designer Zhenya Kim shares her experience. - Over time, I began to recruit my own team: in the same industries I was looking for the most competent people and lured them to me. There are many advantages to such a scheme of work: you cooperate with people who are maximally involved in the process, and it is in their interests to do everything efficiently. On the other hand, it can be costly if you don't have regular customers or shops for which you need to sew things. "

“If you have a goal to produce large editions of clothes, you need a so-called experimental workshop: a designer, a tailor and an order placement manager is the minimum you can start from,” says Dasha Samkovich. - An easier way is to contact one of the companies that offer the development of a collection from scratch: you bring them sketches, fabric, they make a design, come for fitting, claim, you get a finished product. Sometimes such companies even help with the placement of circulations - now it is much easier for a novice designer to start his own business than even five years ago.

“It is important to understand that the fashion industry is a team game, and team members, a professional environment and the support of wonderful fans are vital here,” says designer Lyudmila Norsoyan. - And the team, and partners, and customers - all need to be carefully and attentively raised for years, without getting stuck in place. Emotion, attitude, loyalty, reliability are a terrible deficit in the fashion world, namely, the ability to these emphatic qualities makes it possible to build loyal companions around oneself. "

Take off a good lookbook

You have a ready-made collection, your potential hit, the next step is to create a presentable lookbook, which you can send to print or online publications and show to store buyers. Not everyone pays due attention to the preparation of the lookbook, and in vain - these are not just image pictures, but a PR tool: the more beautiful the images are, the more likely they will want to be published. At the same time, we must not forget that a lookbook is not equal to a campaign, that is, photographs should represent clothes in the most advantageous way, and not just be a creative outlet for a designer and his team.

“It's important to remember that a quality lookbook is a comprehensible lookbook,” says Sveta Müller, founder of the Picls agency. - If we talk about the availability of pictures, then, obviously, buyers and buyers should first of all see the clothes, all its details and texture of the fabric - we must give maximum information about the thing to a person who does not yet hold it in his hands and has no opportunity to try it on ... A quality lookbook is essentially the same good catalog, just with a more interesting shooting concept and, as a rule, a limited number of photos. All you need is a technically talented photographer who knows how to work with light, and a talented stylist who will not lead your lookbook into the jungle of creativity on set. "

When asked whether it is worth saving on a lookbook, the answer is rather negative: after all, this is an investment that will help recoup costs and bring the brand to a high level. “The main mistake young brands make is to shoot with friends,” says Müller. - Ok, maybe it works if you are from the industry and your friends are from Condé Nast. But in general, there are no options. Just trust me, because many Picls clients came to us just after such an experience, heartbroken and hoping for a normal shooting. You can save on anything - shoot at home and with natural light. Call a friend who seems to have a camera, because he travels so much. Invite a friend to be a model, who will do her own makeup (as it seems to her) and styling. You will have fun and hide your lookbook deep in the table. After all, industry professionals do this for a reason - they know how to do it better than anyone else, they will not let your concept crumble and do everything on their knees. You can talk about such a shoot for a long time, but I advise you just not to waste your time. "

Start selling things

Firstly, it is not superfluous to say that in the total digital era, all the worked out schemes for promoting one's own name and selling clothes cease to be absolutely categorical. In fact, you may not aim at all to enter existing retail sites, but simply create a separate Instagram account, which will be your PR tool and online store at the same time.

However, the notorious SMM is not an imperative for a young brand. Many young designers who have already made a name for themselves still spend a lot of time and effort selling themselves in large multi-brands and concept stores. “We are only now going to launch our own online store,” says Zhenya Kim. - Firstly, before I did not feel the need for it, and secondly, soon I plan to do regular collaborations with artists and other young creative guys and want to sell these collections through my website. From the very beginning, I had a goal to go out to the coolest retailers, I never wanted to sell my collections through Instagram, it seems to me unpresentable. "

“There is no single strategy for finding the right retailer - it strongly depends on the product. Some brands can even be recommended to start selling through own store and exclude wholesale, - advises Denis Erkhov. - If there is an understanding that the product needs to be sold through retailers, then it is more efficient to start cooperation with more image projects and gradually expand distribution through smaller and simpler ones. If you see a prospect in large projects, then look for contacts of buyers, in more small projects often the same person is the owner, director and buyer. Look for personal contacts, if it doesn't work out - go to the store and show ready-made things. It is better to arrange a meeting in advance by writing to the mail. If you have not received an answer, do not worry, perhaps the letter was lost and it is worth sending a reminder. "They didn't let you in the door, climb in the window" - contact another person, but you shouldn't sell too aggressively either - nobody likes it! "

If you want, you can get to any site - it all depends on how interesting and potentially commercially successful project are you ready to offer. As the former head of the PR department of Tsvetnoy department store, which presents many Russian brands from ZDDZ to Sorry, I’m Not, Pasha Bobrov, says, “The department store team always carefully examines all new collections, paying attention to quality and relevance. The assortment of the department store is often replenished with items from Russian brands, both those whose names are already well-known and young ones. Many new Russian brands enter the department store themselves, send lookbooks and samples for consideration. "

Having got involved in cooperation with third-party stores, be prepared for the fact that you will have to put up with conditions that are not always favorable for you: retailers, as a rule, have a special conversation with young designers and small brands. “The cooler the store, the worse the conditions, but presence in top stores for any brand is extremely important,” says Denis Erkhov. - If we talk about the foreign market, then mainly stores buy things, so many designers dream of a foreign market. In Russia, such cases are rare, but again it all depends on the product. The cooler the product, the greater the chances of pushing through its terms, especially in cases where the store itself goes to the brand. "

The overwhelming majority of stores in Russia work with young brands on terms of sale - this means that the designer gives his things without collateral, and the store pays him back upon the sale of things, usually at the end of each month. For many, this option of cooperation does not seem to be the most fertile: if for some reason the store could not sell the collection before the end of the season, the designer simply gets it back in his hands.

“In fact, implementation often turns out to be a more profitable story for both parties,” Denis believes. - First, mark-up (margin on prime cost. - Ed.) in a sales-based relationship is always higher than in a buyout relationship, meaning the brand gets more money. Secondly, in the case good sales almost always it is possible to sort the product, that is, add what has already been sold, or additional models. For implementation, as a rule, orders are larger and wider. In the case of a buyout, stores rarely sort out, and even if they sell everything, they will wait for the next season, so theoretically, on terms of sale, you can sell much more if possible. It is important, before agreeing to cooperate with a particular store, to familiarize yourself with the agreement, to ask other designers who have already collaborated with this project, since, unfortunately, there are a lot of unscrupulous stores on the market, which often do not pay the designers what they owe for the goods sold. ".

Photo: J.Kim, KM20, I am Studio, More, Braventru

told how to make your own clothing brand in Russia. Look At Me publishes a transcription of the master class.

The domestic fashion industry is in disgrace. They like to talk about it, hold round tables, discuss it, but in reality little happens. There is even a myth that it is not interesting and unprofitable to do this. We would like to dispel this myth: doing this is not only interesting and profitable, but you can do it without prejudice to your own sense of style and taste.

The fashion industry is manufacturing, press and shops. Manufacturing is design, fabric production, sewing, and accessories production. The industry also cannot exist without the press, because people have to find out about you. And without shops too, because sales are the main thing.

Every company has a concept. Earlier it seemed to us that this was a stupid thing, but then we realized what it was for. It is necessary that each employee understands what he is doing and why. So we sat down and wrote what our brand Oh, my is about and what we want to do. And we want to make in Russia a brand of inexpensive knitwear, in all respects corresponding to the level of a stable European brand. And to orient it not only to the Russian market, but to make it recognizable and sold throughout the world fashion community.

You need to understand if there is a niche in the market for you. In Russia, on the one hand, there is a lot of luxury, and on the other, there is a huge amount of retail chains where you rarely find something interesting. And there is emptiness between them. Of course, there are good brands of non-trivial yet inexpensive designer clothes that each of us can buy. But there are not so many of these brands that they form any kind of trend. We realized that there is a hole in the market, and we may well begin to fill it.

It is very important to have blind faith in yourself. Because in addition to some objective aspects of business and work, there is magic, when everything seems to grow together by itself. But the business component is also very important, without calculation, nothing will work. What we sew will have to be sold so that it can be sewn again and, perhaps, even earn.

Suppose we want to launch a clothing brand by September. We have three months, during which, having nothing but a certain amount of funds, we may well be in time. The time plan is divided into stages of work. Each stage is in turn on a step-by-step process on the way to ready-made things.

To begin with, we just surfed the Internet and collected pictures that we like. We clearly understood that we wanted to make inexpensive good knitwear. There is American Apparel, there is H&M, there are a lot of other things, but we don't have our own brand. Having collected a lot of pictures, we decided what kind of things we want to do. We had several categories of things: T-shirts, T-shirts, longsleeves, turtlenecks and hoodies.

Decide on the models before June 6. Until June 11th - draw sketches. In parallel, you need to search for a constructor that will do all this for you, because you do not know how to design. The designer is a professional, and he will eventually understand what you want. The design process, if the collection is small and the items are more or less similar (for example, 10 simple dresses), takes a month. The designer can be hired on the side, or you can take on the staff.

In parallel, we need to look for fabric and accessories. There is nowhere to buy fabric in Russia. And good fittings too - so that it is cheap. We have shops and warehouses, but what is sold there is expensive and not of the best quality. Therefore, we order fabric in the Baltics, which ultimately turns out to be cheaper than buying it here. Finding all this is not difficult if you have Google and Yandex. You find a supplier, he sends you samples, and you, having already gone through the shops and warehouses with us, understand what you want. You can buy a T-shirt, send it to them and say: I want such a fabric, such properties, such a composition. You also need to keep in mind the customs. In winter, the fabric took us two and a half months. But if you do everything correctly, find a good middleman, it won't be long. It is better not to do it yourself.

In parallel, it is necessary to look for production. We do not have high-tech production in our country, but there are heaps of opportunities to sew a T-shirt from canvas. In St. Petersburg, this is not worth doing - it is expensive. But this can be done in the Leningrad region, where a seamstress earns not 20,000 rubles, but 10,000 rubles, and the cost of the thing turns out to be very low. Manufacturing can also be found on the internet. Now you are ready to send the developed templates for production.

At this time, work with the press begins. Even if you do not yet know exactly what processing will be on the sleeves and collars of the T-shirt, you should already understand exactly who your audience is and in which magazines you want to see materials about yourself. It should be borne in mind that an issue is rented on average in a month, and if you want to get into a print publication, then you need to send a press release in two months, to which journalists would pay attention, and a shooting so that they understand what they are being offered write. During this month, you should already clearly understand what kind of fabric you have, you take 10 meters of this fabric, sew the models you have developed from it and take them off. You get beautiful pictures of things before you actually have them. And in two months, while the magazines are being typeset, you already have something to send to them and what to tell them.

Press release. The main problem with most press releases is that instead of specific information, journalists have to read, in what beautiful flying image you will walk around the city. And the journalist has 50 such messages in his box, so he opens them and immediately closes them. Write as it is: you are such and such a brand, it is interesting because of this and that. You are worth paying attention to because it is beautiful and at the same time cheap. Or no one has done this before you. You will find the addresses of journalists if you go to the kiosk and buy those magazines that interest you. Write each journalist a separate letter. We wrote in a crowd - we received a massive answer “no”. And most importantly, a good press release costs as much as a bad one, and a good shoot costs as much as a bad one. We must bear this in mind.

When things are ready, they must be sent to the store. To do this, you must add your margin to the cost of the thing. This is called added value. For example, a dress: if you add 100% to its cost and the store adds another 100% to it, it will cost 1,500 rubles. But your dress is so cool that it will sell for 3,000 rubles. This means you can add more. There is no clear coefficient for added value. But at the initial stage, you need to add more, since along the way you will still have a bunch of mistakes, mistakes, delays, and all this will cost money. And while you have a small turnover, these errors need to be insured.

Use the internet. Do not think about the show, it will not bring you any result, since we do not have an industry. But if you create a beautiful site, the effect will be much greater.

Come up with special projects. Often print edition it is not interesting to publish news about which 150 comments were written on Look At Me two months ago. Therefore, you can come up with all sorts of interesting things - for example, a limited collection, which should not be told to anyone except the editors of printed publications.

Take advantage of all the free features. Publishing is a sales tool. When the brand Oh, my posh! , a whole page was written about her in "Afisha", and everyone came to us and asked: "How much did you pay?" You will not believe, but such a thing as payment for publication, for good magazine does not exist. Beautiful videos and photos can also be taken for free, and there is nothing shameful about that.

Help the store. For the store, you are a partner, he is interested in selling you, making money on you. Therefore, print the price list, prepare beautiful lookbooks, it will cost you 5,000 rubles, but it will be a tool that will help you sell better. A lookbook is a trite thing, well photographed against a white background, where articles, composition, colors and sizes are signed.

Think about where you will go next. If you spent your money on the initial project, then you can then find an investor who will allow you to enter a new stage. You will already have something to go to him with.

Elena Fimina told in an interview to Kontur magazine how to solve the problem of staff shortage, work on the principle of small circulation and go out to the regions.

Idea

My sister and I have been working in the fashion industry for over 10 years. In 2002, a store of the Spanish brand Mango was opened in Chelyabinsk. Then nothing like this existed in the city. On a competitive basis, we got a job at Mango as sales consultants and gradually grew to the managerial level. During this time, we understood how a fashion business is built, how clothing collections are created and promoted, we figured out the intricacies of merchandising, the work of a showroom and the factors that affect successful sales. Since my sister worked specifically with the Spaniards, she learned all the nuances of promoting fashionable clothes.

I started making clothes more than five years ago. At first it was a hobby, although I studied individually with high-level specialists in the field of garment production, studied the technology and subtleties of design and modeling. Gradually, the process dragged on me, and when my sister gave birth to two children, they became a source of inspiration for more serious works and collections.

Once my sister and I came up with the idea to create a brand of children's clothing FiFi. We started with a starting amount of 100,000 rubles, but the experience in the industry that we managed to gain helped a lot. The first collection was sewn at home, employing seamstresses at home.

In fact, we immediately determined who our client is: these are progressive mothers of different ages who understand fashion, know trends, love to dress their children stylishly and tastefully.

Investments

Participation in the SKB Kontur "" competition is our first attempt to attract investments for business development. Our video was seen by an investor and offered financial assistance. At that time, we refused, since we were not satisfied with the conditions, and decided to develop on our own.

At the regional level, we participated in federal program"You are an entrepreneur." They were also interested in our project, but we realized that it would be difficult to get financial support, since this program is more educational.

Now we have applied for participation in the competition "Made in Chelyabinsk" and are waiting for the organizers to contact us.

Production details and complexity

Clothing production is a very long and painstaking process. It all starts with the emergence of an idea, we determine what exactly we want to do. Then sketches are drawn, in the next stage materials are purchased. Then constructors work - they develop patterns. During the construction of the model, many changes are made and something is necessarily rejected. But that's not all.

Seeing the result, we begin to discuss how to imagine and present the finished collection. We choose a location, invite photographers and create a photo session with model children.

It is very difficult to organize the production process in Russia. One of the most acute problems that we have faced is the personnel shortage: there are no competent designers or seamstresses in the country.

Of course, there are specialists who are 50-60 years old, but they are no longer in the ranks, and it is almost impossible to find young professionals. You have to spend a lot of time and energy on training, and efficiency suffers from this.

In the sewing industry, the speed of performing a particular job plays an important role. For example, in order to launch a children's dress into mass sewing, you need to calculate how long it takes to sew one model - in minutes and seconds. Thus, it is calculated in how many hours and days the whole batch will be sewn. And old school people simply cannot work fast. But we connect them to another work - design, since they competently make patterns and think over sketches, taking into account the fabrics that are available to us.

Solving the problem of personnel shortage, we attracted specialists from the Department of Light Industry of the South Ural State University to work. We have invited the best of them to work with us, and now they advise us and also train our employees. V currently the company employs seven seamstresses.

Another problem is fabrics. Production in Russia is barely working, factories fulfill some incomprehensible orders on old equipment - they have a very hard time, people work for a penny. But even those factories that are still functioning do not always produce what we need. For example, in Yekaterinburg, there is a wool mill. Tyumen produced similar fabrics, but, unfortunately, the plant has recently closed. We buy something from Russia, but basically, of course, we bring everything from abroad, more often from Italy. As long as the euro exchange rate was more or less stable, there were no problems with purchases. Now the situation has changed - we have become more careful in choosing fabrics: when making an estimate, we have to calculate how affordable things will be for the consumer, although, of course, we would like to buy more original and expensive fabrics.

The principle of small runs

We produce small collections - ten models each. The collection is built on the principle of a capsule, where each item complements the other. Thus, we increase our turnover, because people like to buy things in sets. At the same time, we have models that we sew constantly. As a rule, this is a festive assortment, basic models, the so-called "commercial".

When a collection comes out, in the process we can supplement it if we see that the demand for things is good. Elegant dresses remain the hit of sales - they are in demand all season.

During its existence, the FiFi brand has acquired its own admirers. We are working to expand their circle. But we are not fighting for our client - he finds us himself.

In Chelyabinsk, during production, we have a showroom where our clients can come and try on things. Two months ago, the FiFi brand entered the Moscow market: a new store, Children's Shelf, was opened in the capital, where our models are also presented among the things of Russian designers.

In order to promote the brand, we are actively working with social networks Instagram, VKontakte, and also developing our virtual store on the Fair of Masters website. From experience, I can say that social networks are in many ways more effective than stores, because they reach more potential consumers - people see our products from different parts of the country and even the world. We receive orders not only from Russia, but also from abroad.

In the next five years, we plan to launch a franchise line in order to increase the number of points of sale for our goods. We plan to make clothes at the production site in Chelyabinsk and negotiate with regional stores to represent our brand. Such stores will place an order for certain models from the catalog before the season and receive the required volumes of products.

Show all content

Every day, not even a year, but a day, the competition becomes stronger and stronger. Giants emerge and bite off a big slice of the cream pie from their customers.

Small competitors appear who also nip off a piece of the market with a dessert spoon.

In order not to lose this race, there are over 5000+ ways to marketing.

But if you plan to walk for a long time and steadily, then it's time for you to deal not only with chips, but also more long-term objectives... Namely, think about how to create a brand from your company.

If you think that the word “brand” means the process of creating a logo or, then you are mistaken.

Everything is much more global than it seems. Also, if you think that a brand is pathos and a huge amount of money for, I hasten to disappoint you.

Often they sin with this famous companies who are aggressively promoting their brand to the masses.

In fact, the word brand hides much more: the values of the company, its recognition among consumers, etc.

This is all part of why a customer makes a purchase decision from you.

And, as I said, if you are planning to do business "for a long time", then you will not be able to create your own brand without creating your own brand. Although at the beginning of my marketing journey, I thought quite differently.

Do I need it?

Let's go straight away. If you do not want to create your brand, then either the market will force you to do it, or throw you out of its orbit.

Naturally, you can get a little money from sales without a brand. This also has a place to be.

But if you look at the major players, then among them you will not find a single one that works without him.

You already have a company, a name and maybe even a logo. If you have been working for a long time, then there is form style, and maybe even.

Offhand, we can say that you have an established brand. Well, let's check not by eye, but everything according to science.

Right now, please answer the questions below to assess which of us gets a candy for being right in our thoughts:

Does your company have a mission? What is it?
Do you know your clients? Who are they? How do they relate to your company?
What advantages does your product and company have?
What impression should your customers have of you?

Stop! This raises the question: "Why does the brand assessment mention mission, values, customers, benefits, and also an impression?"

All questions are some kind of philosophical, without specifics, it's true. Because the very concept of “brand” is often misinterpreted in the world.

For most entrepreneurs, this is just a logo and slogan that is advertised everywhere. But in reality it is much broader.

Brand name- these are associations, ideas, fantasies: and even emotions that arise in the mind of a consumer when they mention your company.

In fact, this is an abstraction that pops up in the head, which is precisely created by the logo, colors, slogans and other things.

We will discuss what it takes to develop a company brand in the next chapter. Still, the article should be with clear instructions, and not fragmentary knowledge.

But before that, I want to warn you. Building a brand for a company is just a small part of the big task called branding.

Branding- this is the work on the creation and "promotion" of the brand to create and associate in the minds of consumers.

If you succeed in doing everything according to Feng Shui, then the result will make you the king of the copper mountain. The risk will be justified by the list of advantages that you will receive by completing this voluminous work. Here is some of them:

Correct perception of your company;
Increased awareness among competitors;
Reducing drawdowns during a crisis;
An increase in the number of loyal customers;
Increased employee loyalty.

All this leads not to mythical benefits, but to quite measurable ones, which will be reflected in the company's personal account.

Therefore, the process of creation must be started now, although no, it was necessary to start yesterday. And the reason for all this is the same.

A life-long road

Bad news. Branding implies a fairly long sequence of actions for the development of a company.

Nobody knows exactly what it takes to build a strong brand for the ages. This work with blurred boundaries. The only thing we know is that it happens in 5 directions:

Brand positioning. This is where the brand is born. What place will it take and where will the company go. Think of the famous Steve Jobs and his Apple company.
If it's easier for you, you can divide the brand into: product, location, price and promotion. This is if it is quite rude.
And what to do?
It is important to understand the specific creation algorithm, the sequence of steps and actions that will bring you closer to a strong brand.
We have reviewed the areas that generally describe the situation. Now we will examine each one under a microscope.
And we will define 11 steps (all books are reduced to them), each of which is responsible for one of the previously studied directions.
Big idea
What the brand is created for and what image of the company will be promoted with its help.
It can also be called a key message that you will convey to your customers in all your communications.
In our case, it is “only A complex approach(marketing, sales and personnel) will lead the company to stable and predictable sales ”.
Example 1: The Geox footwear company broadcasts the idea of healthy footwear. In addition to the fact that it is made of quality materials, it is made taking into account the physiological characteristics of a person.
And in this struggle, a properly created brand becomes a pretty good help and weapon, which, albeit in the long term, will still provide the company with growth and customer loyalty.

Text by Tatiana Blagovidova

Photo freepik.com, abc.vvsu.ru, nehbetone.ru

We begin a series of materials where we will tell you how to build production processes in different areas of business. We start with the fashion industry. In this article, we'll show you how to start a clothing line if you don't know how to draw, sew and don't understand anything about fabrics.

Our speakers

Basic concepts and specialists

Sketch- a schematic representation of a product on a model or on a plane. It can be drawn by hand or using a computer. In the next step, the sketch turns into a structure.

Design- a drawing of the future product, made, as a rule, in a special program. It is built on the basis of mathematical calculations and proportions.

Patterns- a structure disassembled into details of the future product for patterning on the fabric. Patterns can exist both in in electronic format and in paper - by hand. The patterns contain all the information for production: what and where to make stitches, seam allowances, and so on.

Constructor- a specialist who develops patterns takes into account not only the shape of the model based on the designer's sketch, but also all technological units. He transfers the idea of the designer to the blueprints.

Technologist- a specialist who determines how to process individual parts and assemblies of a new model. Adapts patterns for production and optimizes production.

Cutter- a specialist who makes cutting on fabric using ready-made patterns.

Is it possible to start a clothing line without knowledge of sewing?

Oxana Krengel clothing

Oksana Krengel

Brand founder and designerOxana krengel

At the university, designers are taught not so much to invent from emptiness, as to clothe their notes about the world around them in a tangible form with their own handwriting. It is possible to do without university preparation, but basic knowledge is necessary in order to speak with specialists in the same language, and not to explain on the fingers.

Svetlana Lavrova

Brand founder and designerLavlan

There are many successful brands that have been created by designers without vocational education in the field of design and sewing. It is enough to have a brilliant designer who will transfer your ideas from sketches to life.

A similar scheme works for our company. I am a brand designer, but without specialized "university" knowledge. Moreover, it seems to me that the lack of this knowledge even helps me. Sometimes I come up with new model, I come to the designer with a sketch, and he makes round eyes and says that this cannot be done on fabric. I start to find out, look for reasons, and by the end of the conversation it turns out that everything is possible, but with minor changes.

So I am free from clichés and restrictions - I do not have this knowledge and, accordingly, there are no boundaries for creativity.

Basic knowledge: where to get it?

Clothing brand ART FLASH

Emilia Manvelyan

Brand founder and designerART FLASH

I advise all novice designers to become a member of groups ProCapitalist.ru and Friends only fashion on Facebook. These are friendly communities of apparel industry professionals. They respond to all requests. They will prompt, advise, recommend, appreciate. You can find help in the selection of both personnel and contractor (find a shop), and materials. If we had known about the existence of these groups earlier, many issues would have been resolved more quickly and efficiently.

Exhibitions of fabrics and accessories help to plunge into the sewing world, where you communicate with other specialists, get the necessary information about new products, trends - in general, you feel like a part of the community.

Oksana Krengel

Brand founder and designerOxana krengel

I recommend short but comprehensive courses in materials science, technology, and technical drawing. Perhaps the basics of composition, depending on what role you intend to play in creating the collection. After all, if the role is small enough, then you run the risk of losing the DNA of your brand along with the unforeseen departure of the designer. Whatever one may say, a fashion brand is primarily based on personality.

Summarize. Where to get knowledge:

1. In specialized schools.

First you need to come up with the main idea of the brand, the concept, designate target audience, price segment. Therefore, you need to have at least a general idea of what marketing is. To get the base, I recommend Philip Kotler's textbook for universities. Read basic concepts about 4p (product, price, placement, promotion), positioning and brand concept.

Our example. Our brand is based on the idea of multifunctionality: we make clothes for modern city dwellers who live in a frantic pace. We call this style WORK & OUT. Our clothes can be put on in the morning to the office, and in the evening you can wear them on a date or a party. The harmony of the collections lies in the combination of different materials and garments, which makes it possible to fulfill many wardrobe needs.

Oksana Krengel

Brand founder and designerOxana krengel

Our example. Oxana Krengel is an elegant classic, in tune with the times, in the middle up segment. Our laconic, strict and at the same time feminine models echoed in the hearts of successful working girls, although initially we did not set ourselves the task of making collections for a business woman.

First collection

Galina Stuchilina

Designer, expert of the Gala Grosso brand

As a rule, at the start, it is better to start with a narrow range of the most in-demand items. Of course, you want bold experiments, but for a start it is better to choose what will be most in demand, perhaps you should limit yourself to basic running things.

Even if you want to sew evening wear, start with knitted dresses or even sweatshirts. This will help you both get the experience you need and not burn out on the first try (which is why beginners often get frustrated). It is best to sew one or two pilot samples together. The first sample will allow you to assess the success of the resulting thing and correct possible mistakes. The second will already serve as a kind of reference for the model, and it can also be used for demonstration purposes. We managed to interest the site and get an order - then start production.

Emilia Manvelyan

Brand founder and designerART FLASH

If your budget is limited, you should not immediately start developing and producing a complete collection of clothes. Create two or three models in different colors and minimum dimensions.

Once you get the money from the sale, start developing more models, perhaps even releasing a capsule. Gradually increase the pace and turnover, form a circle of contractors and partners. Many brands started that way.

Specialists can be selected on conditions that are acceptable for the budget. Prepare a post for communities ProCapitalist.ru or Friends only fashion with a detailed description of who you need. They will definitely answer you, offer options, recommend specialists and workshops. This way you can design and sew multiple items.

Marusia Meyer, Katya Bakumenko

If at the initial stage you have few funds for the collection, but you need it entirely, then, as an option, you can sew samples and make things to order, adjusting to the client. This creates exclusivity at the lowest cost. Personally, we already work this way with expensive clothing lines.

You can also negotiate with retailers, for example Lamoda, to make samples, make a lookbook and already create a collection for a partial redemption.

Clothing brand Not Addicted

Model creation: stages, work with specialists

STEP 1. Sketching

Svetlana Lavrova

Brand founder and designerLavlan

The designer creates a sketch. And transfers it to the designer for further work.

You can transfer a sketch as follows:

1. Drawing in fashion sketching format... This is a specific technique for drawing models in motion. The technique is subject to certain mathematical calculations and proportions, it is not difficult to learn it - there are online and offline courses in Russia.

2. Schematic drawing.

3. Photography with a fabric sample on a 3D model.

4. In words convey the idea. This is possible when you have been working together for a long time and understand each other.

The main thing is to describe in detail to the constructor what you want to get the desired result. Then the designer, together with the technologist and the designer, discusses how the item will be sewn with all the stitches, fasteners and hem.

STEP 2. The designer builds the templates for this model in the base size for the brand

Oksana Krengel

Brand founder and designerOxana krengel

Each brand chooses the base size for their items on their own, based on their concept or needs. It can fit any size typology. Usually designers try on models with Russian sizes 40 or 42. But we prefer to test the sample on size 44, as we have it the most popular.

STEP 3. The garment is going to be tried on from the fabric

Oksana Krengel

Brand founder and designerOxana krengel

You can use a mock fabric - coarse calico. Or work with original fabric. Coarse calico is cheap - 30–70 rubles per square meter. It is convenient to work out patterns of products of the costume and coat group on it, but it does not, for example, have the plasticity of silk and the elasticity of core materials. Because of this, we prefer to work directly with original fabrics.

STEP 4. After trying on the collected sample, design and fit adjustments are made to the templates.

STEP 5. The product is adjusted and reassembled.

STEP 6. If all is well, then the patterns are approved and transferred to the cutter for size gradation.

Important! If the size range is large, then the samples need to be sewn off another 1-2 sizes for checking.

How to find a designer and technologist

Emilia Manvelyan

Brand founder and designerART FLASH

You can search for contacts of specialists on the Internet - in a search engine, in specialized forums, as well as at various fashion events and exhibitions.

We design clothing remotely, sketch and technical task we send to the constructor by e-mail. He not only prepares patterns, but also transfers them to electronic format... We meet with him if, after sewing the sample, it is necessary to make significant changes to the model. If you need small adjustments, we describe the shortcomings and send them by e-mail, comment, discuss the changes by phone.

We do not just work with fabric, but we put a print on each model. Therefore, the patterns are sent to the graphic designer, who overlays the image and sends it to the designer, that is, me, for approval. Then they go to the workshop.

Galina Stuchilina

Designer of the Gala Grosso brand

Finding a good designer is the number one task for any brand. I am sure that it is better to hire a person on the staff so that he can be imbued with the idea, but novice brands can cooperate with a specialist on freelance.

Look for a designer with more than three years of experience.

Education- an ideal combination of college and institute:

in college they assign a tailor's rank, and the designer must be able to sew,
at the institute, the foundation is laid and the taste develops.

Skills: he must be able to work with his hands and with a CAD program - a computer-aided design system in which patterns are drawn or built. Of course, knowing the basics of CAD is very helpful, especially in routine work, but nothing replaces, for example, mastering different methods of tattooing on a mannequin.

The designer prepares text and graphic documentation required to launch the model into production. Text - technical description of the model, graphic - patterns for cutting.

Look for a technologist with work experience, since a lot depends on this person. He must understand the processing of seams and the technical sequence of manufacturing products, know the properties of the fabrics from which the model will be sewn. The technologist is also responsible for quality control of products at all stages of production.

Be prepared that in any production a designer + technologist is the most expensive link.

For example, the average market price for the elaboration of design documentation for a simple dress is 2,500–5,000 rubles. Sewing and processing the sample by a laboratory seamstress and technologist - 3000-6000 rubles.

Clothing brand Gala Grosso

Building a large collection

Svetlana Lavrova

Brand founder and designerLavlan

If we talk about a large collection, then it starts with an idea, with a definition of what you want from it emotionally and energetically. To do this, for example, you can put together a mood board - a collage of visual images, colors, textures, elements. This method will also help the rest of the team get into the mood of the collection.

The next task is to develop a harmonious and balanced commercial line. A ruler is an assortment, a catalog. For example, a collection can consist of 5 items of dresses, 3 items of shirts, 2 items of trousers, 5 items of T-shirts, and so on.

I am guided by the principle of a "balanced portfolio": the collection should have different products that play their own role in the commercial component - on some products you will earn more, some you need for your image, some exist as a trial - that is, those products through which the consumer can get to know your brand.

Trial products should be something small and basic:

For example, we have shirts. The main thing is that the trial price is cheaper than your average cost per product. For example, our dresses cost, on average, 7-10 thousand rubles, coats - 18 or more, and shirts - about 5. Shirts are trial. This is to ensure that the consumer does not have a price barrier to get to know your brand. So that he is more likely to buy something inexpensive and come back again, ready to buy something more. We have about 20% of the collection have an image role, 80% are more basic things. And about 30-40% of all products are trial.

Fabric and accessories

Alla Levitskaya

You should know what kind of fabric the item will be made of already when you create a sketch. That is, to understand how it looks in volume and movement, how it sits on the figure, what impression it makes and how it is arranged from the inside.

There is another option: a collection from your imagination, reflected in sketches, will be embodied in a stack of fabrics. The main thing is that you must see harmony, know how shades and textures are combined.

Where to buy

Fabrics of the ART FLASH brand

Emilia Manvelyan

Brand founder and designerART FLASH

In Moscow, large-scale and small-scale wholesale warehouses and shops with a wide range of products, both in price and by producer countries, are located on Selskohozyaistvennaya Street, 4 and Dubininskaya Street, 71. Regular suppliers often offer discounts, plus you can receive information about promotions and thereby minimize costs ...

We selected fabric agents at specialized textile exhibitions. One of the most famous exhibitions is "TextilLegProm". Held in Moscow (at VDNKh) and neighboring countries. The exhibition is attended by a large number of importers of fabrics and accessories, as well as Russian manufacturers. There are many samples and novelties at the stands. You can take contacts, leave your own and receive news about receipts, discounts, promotions.

You need to search for suppliers of fittings according to the same principle as for textile ones: in the search engine, set the parameters of suppliers and warehouses. The exhibitions also feature many companies selling accessories, along with fabrics.

You can make a post-request in the groups of social networks dedicated to the sewing business. You will most likely be thrown off a lot of links where you can purchase what you need.

We prefer to buy fittings from the Buttoni company. In Moscow, she is one of the leading, offers a large assortment.

Oksana Krengel

Brand founder and designerOxana krengel

There are many options for where to buy fabric and accessories. It depends on the concept and budget of the brand.

Stock warehouses- there are sold the remnants of unsold imported fabric collections of previous seasons. These are high-quality design materials at a price 3-4 times lower than the original one. It is quite easy to find such warehouses in Moscow using an Internet search engine.

Their disadvantage: stocks are quickly bought up, and it is almost impossible to order an article in addition. At the same time, if you plan to increase and increase circulation, set the cost of the fabric not at the price of the stock, but at regular prices... Otherwise, when you decide to move from stocks to orders of regular fabrics, you will face an increase in the cost of the product.

Fabric Agents are intermediaries between foreign fabric factories and Russian buyers. Most often these are our former compatriots who live, for example, in Italy and bring samples of the material to Moscow. Their contacts can be found in the search engine for “textile agent, fabric agent”.

The quality and luxury of the fabric is important for our client, and historically, good textiles are produced in Italy. Therefore, we cooperate with Italian agents. Mass market companies are purchasing from China.

How is it more profitable and more reliable?

Bibigoni brand clothing

Olga Blindyaeva

Founder of a children's clothing brand"BibigonyYa"

Where to buy fabric depends on the brand's capabilities at the initial stage. If you are not sewing a batch, but individual products, then it may be more profitable to buy the material at a fabric store. Or, if you sew by piece and your budget is limited, you can buy so-called "coupons" from wholesalers - these are cuts from whole rolls. Although the price of the "coupon" is higher than the wholesale one (for example, a roll costs 400 rubles per 1 kg of fabric, and a "coupon" measuring 2 meters will cost 600 rubles per 1 kg).

But it is still profitable: both because of the price (cheaper than retail), and because of the variety of colors and textures available from wholesalers.

It is imperative to try accessories in a product. If you order a batch, and the materials do not work or look in the finished product, the item will be spoiled, and time and money is wasted. Therefore, you need to compare different manufacturers.

At exhibitions of fabrics and accessories, you can get one sample (for example, zippers) for free. But you shouldn't be 100% guided by the sample from the exhibition. If you liked the material, collect reviews about this supplier, if possible, go to the production facility, ask to show the production samples.

Domestic fittings are different. For example, the elastic band (elastic band) from Russian manufacturers is excellent, you can buy it in several densities. Plastic zippers did not fail (many options for pullers, a large card of colors to choose from). We prefer to use imported buttons.

Trial sample

Alla Levitskaya

Founder and designer of the brand "Alla Levitskaya"

Before the production of a batch of clothing, a test sample must be made. If the previous steps are passed without errors, you immediately get an almost perfect thing. If not, look at what stage the mistakes were made. Having made a sample, you can understand how comfortable the model turned out to be in motion. Its quality and sales will depend on this. it important point, completing the intellectual part of the work, where you can make adjustments to any of the stages of creation and achieve the perfect result.

ART FLASH

For the production of clothing in small batches, you need to contact a sewing workshop or sewing Studio(factories with large-scale production for such volumes are often not taken). In an Internet search engine, ask: sewing a small batch of clothes. And browse the companies that best meet your requirements, depending on the units in the batch and the segment in which you want to develop.

Technically, you can find production with favorable conditions in another city. But since the lots will be small, it is necessary to pay attention to the location so that the logistics do not place a big burden on the cost of the product. Therefore, you need to calculate all the costs. We sew in Moscow. We have both a designer and a constructor in Moscow. Only not in the office, but remotely: we meet as needed. This reduces the cost of renting an office, which is very important at the initial stage.

I advise you to monitor specialized groups in social networks. They often offer sewing and tailoring services. If you publish a post, they will throw links.

How to find a sewing workshop if the fabric"complex"

L.L. clothing

Lyudmila Kabernik, Elena Grigorova

Brand founders and designers"L.L."

If you work with a particular complex fabric, the search for production becomes more difficult. Our fabric is silk. It's even hard to cut it, not just to sew, it goes, everyone knows about it. Unfortunately, both private craftsmen and workshops, to whom we trusted her, let us down. We were shown products, and we were horrified: the overlock pulled, the machine too. We received products from the most beautiful and expensive silk with unimportant appearance.

But we have found our specialist. And where they did not expect. We were told that such professionals work in the theater: they are behind amazing Japanese machines and specialize in silk, they know how to cut and sew it. We got to know them and are now working together. They help us create beautiful products.

How to work with production: prices, contracts, meeting deadlines

Svetlana Lavrova

Brand founder and designerLavlan

I advise you to get to know the production staff personally. Believe me, this will be important both for you and for the staff. I once had a chance to spend a whole day in production, packing and labeling my first more or less large batch. Half of the workshop helped me, and during this time I got to know them, they recognized me. Since then, they have greeted me with a smile and hand over everything on time.

Olga Blindyaeva

Founder and designer of a children's clothing brand"BibigonyYa"

The prices for tailoring things in different industries can vary quite a lot. For example, for sewing pants we were told the cost from 70 to 150 rubles, sweatshirts with a hood with a zipper - from 120 to 250 rubles. Of course, when working with production, you need to conclude a contract in which you will prescribe, including the terms of the order.

But even with a signed contract and clearly agreed terms, be prepared to receive your circulation with a delay. There are a lot of reasons for this: a larger and more profitable order may appear in production, which needs to be urgently sewn off, the seamstresses will get sick or go on vacation, you will receive your order with a marriage and it will take some time to correct production errors. If your brand is still at low turnover, large production sites can significantly shift the originally announced deadlines. But even famous brands are not immune from this.

What if production misses the deadline?

Anticipate, pre-lay more time for sewing a collection, constantly remind of yourself - call the production, come there, in case of serious violations and disruptions - go to the business owner. Your best bet is to hire a manager who will be in control of the timeline. So you will save your own nerves, and will not spoil the relationship with production at the first order, and will receive the batch on time.

I can advise you to achieve the shipment of goods in batches (not the entire circulation at a time), get a realistic schedule of shipments, agree and track its implementation. For the future, if you understand that the site is not coping well with the deadlines, divide the order into two or three sites (if the circulation allows). This option seems difficult, but in fact, it is a winning one.