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Hewan Franchi gave a detailed talk on the research capabilities WGSN has especially for a fashion buying student like myself. The site provides detailed reports on future trends within the market and retail reports of how current trends or particular garments are selling. For a buyer this is essential research as they need to provide range plans for brands with items/trends that consumers will want to purchase. The run through of the website showed me all of the tools I could use for future uni projects or even to create my own range plan just for fun.

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I decided to set myself the task of creating a menswear A/W 22 trend pack using the research tools available on WGSN.

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WGSN is a great resource for many fashion students. Frequently, work I have done for previous projects has been led by my own personal opinion or taste on trends or garments. However having really explored the website it has taught me that I can use data to back up points as to why I may think a certain trend will or won't be successful with justification, not just my personal opinion.

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I could use the sites free CADs and patterns to create mock up range plans based on the retail, trend, fabrics and shapes reports to show how I can translate the research into a final product.

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Brand owner Jake Hall hosted an evening to talk to a small audience about his own personal journey of developing and running his fashion brand Prevu Studio. He detailed the highs and lows and gave an honest reality of what being a small fashion brand in todays world is like. It was really eye opening to hear how hard it could be and how there are so many aspects that go into having your own brand that a lot of people wouldn't ever even consider. It was also a great opportunity to mix with industry professionals and gain contacts and other tips for the industry.

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Have you ever considered starting your own clothing brand? Editor Natasha chats with Tom Lovelace, Co Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Hawthorn, a clothing manufacturer based in the City of London on his insights and advice on getting started in the fashion industry.

Hawthorn is a UK based clothing manufacturer who specialises in garment production for start up brands. Hawthorn currently produces for over 180 different clothing brands who range in size, and they have a great spread of expertise covering the fashion industry and business in general.

Tom, tell us why decided to start your own clothing manufacturer?

Hawthorn was actually started as a result of our own struggles when starting a clothing brand, in the fact that we found it impossible to find a manufacturer who could produce both the quality and the quantity which we required as a small business. We had some bad experiences with other manufacturers both in the UK and overseas and eventually decided that if we wanted a job done properly we should do it ourselves. This lead us on to starting up our own small manufacturing facility in Turkey, and the business has since expanded in to producing for other brands rather than ourselves. There came a point when the business of producing for others overtook our own brand and it was then that we concentrated on it full time.

Who is your average customer?

Because of our ability to produce the lowest minimum order quantities in the world for fully custom clothing, we naturally work with a lot of start up brands. We are positioned such that we can provide the manufacturing solution employed by large brands, but we can give this to those who don't require huge quantities, thus allowing them to start their journey in the fashion industry with larger ranges than they would be able to with another manufacturer.

You say you work with a lot of start ups. What advice would you give to someone new to the industry?

There is so much to think about when starting a clothing brand, that it can sometimes be tempting to cut corners. Whether that be in your visual identity, or the products themselves, it's important to ensure you're unique, but still commercially viable You're starting a business, after all. If you're too unique you won't be targeting a large enough audience to turn a profit, but if you're the same as everyone else then nobody will be interested. For that reason, most brands take inspiration from others, but you need to make sure that you strike a good balance and that you only take inspiration rather than plagiarise the designs of others. Taking something that already works and making it better is a business technique used by many, and this is no different in the fashion industry.

Describe the common mistakes made by new brands?

Unfortunately we see some all too common mistakes which brand owners make daily. The most seen is that although some brands have a great concept, the execution of them can sometimes be a little amateur, and this is something that consumers don't tolerate. If a brand seems to be amateur, be it through the presentation of the the website or socials, or the photography is clearly not professional, a consumer is very quick to dismiss. Captivating your audience is so important that the importance of investing in high quality photography cannot be reinforced enough. Our best advice is to take inspiration from your idols in the fashion industry. When conducting your business, think to yourself "would my idol do this?" If you take inspiration in the respect of professionally presenting your brand in the same way that your idols do, you'll be giving yourself a great start.

Are there any challenges the industry faces which new brands should be aware of?

There is an old saying that "if it were easy, everyone would do it", and this is something that applies to starting a clothing brand for sure. The fashion industry is one which has a lot of competition naturally, since it's such a dynamic one to start a business in. Brand owners can combine their passion with their livelihood in most cases, however it is because of this that there is a lot of competition. A lot of brands will fall by the wayside through poor execution, unfortunately, but every day there are breakthrough brands who do it the right way and really dedicate their life to what they're doing. If you have the right attitude, starting a clothing brand is a fantastic way of making a living from your passion.

British Style Society would like to thank Tom for taking the time to offer his advice and insights on starting a clothing brand. If you have any questions on starting your own fashion brand, connect with Hawthorn on Twitter or Facebook.

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Starting Your Own Clothing Brand | An Interview With Hawthorn | British Style Society

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Have you ever considered starting your own clothing brand? Editor Natasha chats with Tom Lovelace, Co Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Hawthorn, a clothing manufacturer based in the City of London on his insights and advice on getting started in the fashion industry.

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OXFORDSHIRE, United Kingdom - In a conversation that explored the potential of conversational commerce at VOICES, BoF's annual gathering for big thinkers, Glossier founder and chief executive Emily Weiss explained that she was doing more than just selling to customers. "What I learned is that there's already an incredible breadth of product out there. There's no shortage of stuff," she told Alexandra Shulman, former British Vogue editor-in-chief and BoF's contributing editor. "There is a shortage of integrity in terms of product and quality."

"When launching Glossier, the idea was to create a beauty company whose sweatshirt you wanted to wear, because it's so much more than just a product," Weiss said. "I thought, how can we create a company that evolves with their customer and the customer is a part of the company?"

Today, Glossier is one of the world's fastest-growing beauty brands, having captured a generation of consumers with covetable products, such as glossy highlighters, rich moisturisers and eyebrow brushes, which Weiss attributes to her hyper-engaged fan base. Indeed, in an age of online access and unending choice, customer engagement is something that Glossier has gotten right.

"Sixty percent of Americans rely on peer-to-peer recommendations on whether they decide to buy a beauty product. It could be someone on social media they've never met before, or it could be someone they read about on Into The Gloss," she said. "People are the 'unlock' to shopping today [because] whatever you consider buying, you've probably read a review about it."

Find ways to ask your customers questions and build that into what you do.

Into The Gloss quickly garnered a global fan base of two to three unique million monthly visitors for its insider beauty tips from celebrities and industry experts. Weiss raised $10.4 million in funding for the site and was able to launch her own beauty range, Glossier, in late 2014. In less than three years, with just over 20 products that range in price from $12 to $25, the beauty startup has become one of the industry's biggest disruptors, with a worldwide audience and close to one million followers on Instagram.

"The mandate for Into The Gloss has always been to be inspired. We're providing product, a platform and content for other women to share and write their stories," said Weiss, noting that while "empowerment" may be a buzzword in the industry, she believes otherwise. "I don't like that word. People are powerful, period. We want people to realise and unlock their power."

Glossier's audience isn't only made up of social-media savvy Gen Z-ers, however. "It's more of a psychographic than a demographic," Weiss said. "Whether you're a 45-year-old lawyer or an 18-year-old customer who saves up for Boy Brow and spends two hours at our New York store making new friends, they have a similar desire to share."

Glossier rolls out a new beauty product every six to eight weeks, and it is always done in conversation with their customers, whether Weiss is deciding which markets to expand into or what qualities to consider when developing a new candle scent. "Everything that we've chosen to do, it's because it's better for [our customer]," she says, advising all brands to "find ways to ask your customers questions and build that into what you do."
To learn more about VOICES, BoF's annual gathering for big thinkers, in partnership with QIC Global Real Estate, visit our VOICES website and click here to request an invitation to attend. Related Articles:
[ Emily Weiss: Blogger to Social Brand Builder ]

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Build the Customer Into Your Brand, Says Glossier's Emily Weiss

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OXFORDSHIRE, United Kingdom - In a conversation that explored the potential of conversational commerce at VOICES, BoF's annual gathering for big thinkers, Glossier founder and chief executive Emily Weiss explained that she was doing more than just selling to customers. "What I learned is that there's already an incredible breadth of product out there.

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Earlier this week, we published an op-ed detailing all the reasons why you probably won't make it in fashion. As a counterpoint, this piece finds us speaking to the founder of CALA, a service that has never made it more possible to try break into the game. Here are some tips for success:
What even constitutes a fashion brand today? Once upon a time, to be considered "world-class" a brand needed to be mass, have a global footprint, be artisanal, frequently sell-outs be worn by celebrities, and always be decorated by a ribbon of double-digital annual revenue growth. Is that still the case?

If so, should those permitted to design exclusively hail from the halls of prestigious design schools like Central Saint Martins, Parsons, or the Royal Academy of Fine Arts? Should their CVs boast accolades including that one internship at that one atelier in that one Parisian townhouse where 25 "world-class" couturiers painstakingly spent 1,000 hours on that one crystal-embellished, hand-crafted gown with ostrich feather trimmings?

The dinosaur editors, publications, and buyers who have dominated this industry for decades will still make you believe so, camouflaging their can't-be-killed knack for nepotism into celebratory support of emerging talent, only later revealing the new flavor of the day used to work at Dior, assisted Phoebe Philo, and got that job at Chanel through a plug.

But we know those aren't the ones who get to exclusively call themselves fashion designers. We know there's space in this multi-trillion dollar global apparel industry for the autodidacts, those self-taught designers who keep screen-printing graphic T-shirts in their parents' crowded garages, growing their business by selling to one friend of a friend at the time. We know that the cultural literacy that many (predominantly streetwear) brands imbue into everyday items like certain hoodies, caps, and sneakers has long trumped the intrinsic value of a high-priced item by one of the traditional luxury giants.

The creator economy - and its corresponding fan base - is growing fast, resulting in fashion's tight grip on its hierarchy loosening, and with it, the definition of what constitutes a "pioneering" fashion designer and brand.

But there's certainly space for both, the professionally trained and the self-taught. For new entrants, however, the latter is developing at a much quicker pace as the traditional luxury industry continues to consolidate, leaving only a handful of power players in charge. Meanwhile, new technologies have lowered barriers to entry while more people want to speak directly to their audiences through product. Kanye West, Kylie Jenner, and everyone else with an even remotely loyal following and creative vision have gone from buying to promoting to collaborating to now creating their own product.

"Social media has democratized reach, so for the end consumer instead of [the fashion industry] being an exclusive thing, you're now part of the story," says Andrew Wyatt, founder of CALA, an on-demand fashion supply chain that connects fashion brands with suppliers, factories, and design experts currently working with 55 manufacturers in 12 countries. Much like Uber, CALA's partners can accept jobs requested by both new and established fashion brands.

"That's a good parallel, because we're not a pure marketplace where you go and look at 1,500 factories. We're the next evolution, like a curated and managed marketplace, where we have a very specific opinion about the best way to do this, and our product is going to walk you through every step of the way," says Wyatt.

"Tools like Shopify have come into the fray and now, all of a sudden, anybody can set up an online presence and the whole backend infrastructure in an afternoon. [But] if your online site is the tip of the iceberg, the supply chain, fulfillment, and manufacturing are all the pieces that no one really sees or thinks about, but it's where a lot of brands trip up and spend a lot of time," adds Wyatt, whose background as Head of Operations at a San Francisco-based startup likened to the "Uber for shipping" connected those in the need to shippers.

"What I saw there was that more people wanted to be entrepreneurs, and they typically have a product or brand vision but need help executing the rest. I started talking to some fashion designers who told me they were spending so much time on so many different things they weren't good at," says Wyatt. So far this year, CALA has grown its revenue between 20 to 30 percent month-over-month.

As CALA remains the vendor for every order, the need for large quantity minimums (a longstanding barrier to entry for new brands) is eliminated, allowing new brands with smaller orders to enter the market. It helps brands using the tool to shop around while getting a personalized final price quota (including shipping, delivery time, and further costs) up front regardless of product units; revolutionary in the industry whose clunky pricing mechanisms have long been ripe for disruption. With each order, the algorithm that makes up CALA's pricing (price quotes remain unchanged for 14 days) learns.

"You're now able to quickly see how much it costs with 50 units versus 5,000; it changes everything. And you add your margin to that number, and that's your whole economics. You don't have to do this Excel wizardry to figure out what your brand can actually be," says Wyatt.

What will it all change?

"It's pure-play democratization. So what it means is that the best product and the best story will be what people buy instead of whatever's at Nordstrom or Dover Street Market. That's what's really exciting, because it puts the power to the people," says Wyatt. "And what's interesting is the whole NFT wobble that's happening is a great preamble. So now, all these creators are able to make money over their digital-only assets, which is cool. It really is democratization, challenging everyone, but we see us enabling that to happen with actual physical products."

To not trip up when launching a fashion brand from scratch - the non-conventional way - CALA and Highsnobiety present a guide in six steps, from us to you.
THE OLD WAY
"Prior to CALA, we witnessed a lot of designers making the mistake of jumping directly into product development before building a good foundation for the brand. This often resulted in a lot of time and money spent on product. Maybe a Vogue article or two, but basically no sales, limited funds to work on the next round of product, and continuously posting the same editorial images with the same product over and over, until everything fizzles out," explains Wyatt.
FUTURE SUCCESS CHEAT SHEET
- Question everything: Why does the world need this? What does my brand stand for? What story does my brand tell visually? Who will be my customer? What products will resonate with my customer, and at what price point? How will my customers find my brand and products? How will I fund this venture?

- Take the time: Some people will sit in this phase for a year (or more). Do the research, run an Instagram page with inspiration imagery, and develop what the brand actually is before spending a single dollar building a product.

- Document: For those who have been running their IG for some time and have these questions already answered in their head, write them down and codify them into a form that extends beyond you.
THE OLD WAY
"We've seen an infinite number of different ways people communicate design ideas. Excel docs, giant PDF files, thousands of emails and Whatsapp messages back and forth," Wyatt says about the notoriously clunky communication methods the fashion industry has long adopted into its design process. "Materials have traditionally [also] been a constraint, so people that go to fashion school are trained to start with fabric first and then design the styles. Historically, this meant literally going to fabric trade shows and walking for hours, looking at fabrics from different vendors, then ordering sample yardage, and waiting 4-6 weeks to receive it. That's disconnected from the way the world works, as today's customers and designers think in final product form."
FUTURE SUCCESS CHEAT SHEET
- Timebox: Give yourself a set amount of time for the design phase. Pressure breeds creativity.

- Compete: Competition also drives creativity and productivity. Let there be friendly competition against each other within design teams. If you're solo then challenge someone online or imagine you're competing against a designer like Virgil Abloh.

- Don't isolate: Creativity comes from experience. Rather than locking yourself in a room, get out in the world to find inspiration.

- Start small: The CFDA used to coach young brands on creating huge collections, of which only a very small amount would actually be bought by retailers. We encourage brands to start small and be concise. Expand once you see what resonates with your customer.

- Test: Within your initial small drops, test a product or two that you love but are not certain about yet.

- Feedback: Get feedback from your network early and often before checking out.

3. DEVELOPMENT
THE OLD WAY
"Ask any existing brand and they'll tell you development is a nightmare; so much so that if you look at larger fashion brands, they have big teams that all work to manually execute this [stage] over email and clunky PLM systems," says Wyatt. "For small brands, it's even worse, because you usually have one or two people as designers trying to manage [this entire] operational nightmare - including revisions - while paying [external] designers thousands of dollars for each development phase. And as a small brand, you're always the last priority behind the big brands," he adds.
FUTURE SUCCESS CHEAT SHEET
- Go deep: Lay a good foundation for your brand, also during development. That small detail you're unsure about in a sample will very quickly be multiplied into something you can't unsee when you have 100 completed units.

- Tape measure: This will enable you to provide feedback with precise detail, which will help whoever is doing the tech design and pattern making to quickly and easily implement your requested changes. For instance, instead of making the sleeve a bit longer, snap a photo with your tape measurer to show you want it 1 inch longer.

- Double down: If you're buying your own sample yardage, get twice as much as you think you'll need.

- Correct and proceed: Development is always a balance between time and perfection. If the latest pre-production sample is almost there but you want to make one or two small changes, ask whoever is making the sample if they feel comfortable to "correct and proceed." This means they will make small changes and then directly go into production without making another full sample.

- Audit trail: A lot of factories and pattern makers will want to just hop on the phone to talk through changes. This is great, but make sure you always follow up over email, text, etc. with the requested changes and be sure the message was "well received." Your audit trail will help you get a resolution.
THE OLD WAY
"Pre-CALA, you could pretty much bet on a two-to-four week [price] quotation process after you'd hand off a perfect tech pack and likely a final sample. If you got a quote for 150 units and you wanted to know what it would be at 250, it may take the factory a week to get back to you," says Wyatt. "Ideally, this would all happen over email, but a lot of times the manufacturer can sniff out if you're a new designer, and they may quote you one price over the phone and then jack it up once the products are finished, or ghost you entirely."

Then there's the nightmare of product and on-model photography for young brands where prices usually run up at least $2,000 to $5,000, whether you're shooting a single shirt or a full collection. "If you're a small brand and the photographer you're working with gets you a 'deal' at Milk Studios, you're screwed."
FUTURE SUCCESS CHEAT SHEET
- Plan: A strong development sets you up for smooth sailing in production.

- Triple check everything: Make sure your care labels have all the proper info and that you have the right HTS codes, so your products don't get stuck in customs.

- Aesthetics: Don't let photography be an afterthought. In the e-commerce world, how your product looks on screen is paramount. If it doesn't look good on a screen then customers won't buy it.

- Highlight: Use detail shots to highlight key design features.
THE OLD WAY
"The launch will be the craziest, most stressful week of your life. There will be so much last-minute coordinating that it will be nearly impossible to keep track of all the different things that need to come together," says Wyatt. "Unfortunately, a lot of brands don't have enough volume to use a fulfillment center for their first launch, so often you'll be packing and shipping the items yourself. This takes a ton of time and, if you're not used to this, can lead to a lot of shipping errors, which means it can take a few weeks for folks to receive their product. These situations lead to unhappy customers."

For those who aren't as successful from the get-go, acquiring customers through the buy of advertisement on Google, Facebook, and Instagram often follows. That can be pricey, argues Wyatt. "[Even] if you know what you're doing, it's likely you'll have a one-time return on ad spend, which can be demoralizing after all the work that goes into a launch."
FUTURE SUCCESS CHEAT SHEET
- Track: Make sure you have Facebook Pixel and Google Analytics installed on your website so you can track conversions if you decide to invest in paid marketing.

- Customer service: Try to respond as quickly as possible, even if it's just a, "Hi! We're looking into this." Customers would much rather know that you hear them immediately versus you taking a few days to get back with a full answer.

- Be quick: Get those orders out. Delays can cause a tidal wave of customer support that can easily become a nightmare.

MANAGE & ANALYZE
THE OLD WAY
"A lot of brands are so busy with marketing, fulfillment, and customer service that they don't get the time to review what's happening on a granular level. Sometimes this look back never happens and learnings aren't incorporated in real time," says Wyatt, who adds that carefully tracking sales is crucial in the beginning to inform what styles, colors, and sizes can be incorporated into assortment plans for future drops.

"A lot of small brands have to wait a few months to make enough revenue off of their first drop to cover the costs of their previous drop before they can start working on new products. This can lead to long lulls where there isn't any new product, which means their customers stop thinking about them."
FUTURE SUCCESS CHEAT SHEET
- Manage supply: Work with your supply chain to understand how long replenishment will be if you submit a re-order. If you want to keep a style in stock then set your reorder point at a level that will equal you receiving new product right before you go out of stock.

- Consider drops: Most clients we work with have limited drops, which helps to not get stuck with inventory. Additionally, it drives excitement.

- Set milestones: Set a few milestones post launch and take the time to review what you've learned so far at those points. Write these down and refer back to them during the design phase and at the next launch. This will help you to incorporate learnings, plus it's fun to track how far you've come.

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So You Want to Start a Fashion Brand? | Highsnobiety

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Earlier this week, we published an op-ed detailing all the reasons why you probably won't make it in fashion. As a counterpoint, this piece finds us speaking to the founder of CALA, a service that has never made it more possible to try break into the game.

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Having listened to the talk by Jake Hall and looking into different accounts of starting a fashion business it has taught me that some things are not as simple as some articles make it out to be. There are articles online giving you simple 10 step points to creating a brand when in reality there are many different obstacles that occur and different pathways to take. The highlight of this research is understanding that often talking to people in person and getting real life advice/accounts are more insightful then a generic step by step guide you can find online. Personalised research is key!

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I will try to reach out to industry workers to perhaps get an insight on a particular area for uni projects rather then just using online content. Interviews, zoom calls or emails with people could give me more honest or even more accurate information.

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The interesting talk touched on the forming of the company and the hugely insightful consumer data that they constantly produce. They have groups of consumer from all around the world who they collect data from in order to provide detailed reports about human behaviours and patterns. Mintel provides detailed reports on categories such as technology, sustainability, fashion and many more.

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I decided to set myself the task of researching the current state of retail stores, using Mintel, and produce a fact sheet. This would be insightful for brands to gain a better understanding of consumer behaviours so that they can make sure they are meeting their needs to secure more sales.

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After listening to the talk and exploring the Mintel website it has taught me just how important it is to get an insight of consumer research. You may have an idea oh what a particular audience may like but without actually having data to suggest how or why then that idea will always be risky. You can make an informed desicion if you have relevant data to support the reasoning for your idea. Mintel has also made me think that more brands should hold events or focus groups with consumers to gain specific insights about the brand and use this data to reflect and inform their future business.

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I could use the Mintel reports to support ideas for my uni projects; why I think consumers will like certain garments, where they are most likely to it from and who is going to buy it. It is hard to get consumer research as an individual as most of the people you reach out to are likely to be friends or family and they will probably all have similar behaviours or attitudes just based on the fact that they all come from similar lifestyles. Using data from Mintel, you can be reassured that a range of consumers, with all different backgrounds, are contributing.