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The Fashion Designer Survival Guide provides the necessary tools to get a fashion line or label up and moving on the right track, including: How to create a viable business plan Figuring out how much money you need, where and how to get it, and how to make it last, including the latest on private equity The best sources for fabric and materials Navigating the pitfalls of production both at home and abroad Marketing, branding, and getting the product into the stores and into the customer’s closets Romancing the press, dressing celebrities, and creative publicity techniques Producing a runway show that will get results
The Fashion Designer Survival Guide Revised and Expanded Edition Start and Run Your Own fashion Business Mary Gehlhar Contents Foreword Preface One Piece of Advice 1 • Before You Start The Reality You Survived the Bad News 2 • The Fundamentals The Plan Elements of the Plan Setting up the Business, by Melanie Jones 3 • The Money How Much Do You Need? Where to Find Money Factoring, by Tim Moore 4 • Product Development Know Your Customer Have a Point of View The Trends The Collection Signature Items The Quality Standard It Must Look the Price Commerciality and Show 5 • Fabric and Materials Learn First The Challenges The Sources Once You Order 6 • Production The Production Plan Sample Production Tips and Considerations When Hiring a Patternmaker, by Sally Beers Production Options Production Management Factory Management 7 • Marketing and Branding Materials Be Your Brand Logos Press and Sales Kits Other Marketing Materials 8 • Sales The Financial Realities of Selling Where to Sell Selling to the Stores Cold Calling, by Rachel Shechtman The Appointment The Order Getting Paid Customer Service and Supporting Sales Who Should Sell the Line? Trade Shows Making the Most of the Shows, by Barbara Kramer 9 • Press and Public Relations Good News/Bad News The PR Strategy Dressing Celebrities, by Roger Padilha Who Should Handle PR? 10 • The Runway To Show or Not to Show Producing a Runway Show Sponsorship 11 • Copyrights and Knockoffs Fashion Design and the Copyright Laws by Jason Gabbard 12 • Expanding the Business Licensing A Second Line Partnerships/Consulting Creative Direction Investors and Partners Acknowledgments Notes Resources Index Foreword When I began my business in 1972, I wish a book like The Fashion Designer’s Survival Guide had existed that I could have turned to for advice on how to launch a fashion business Fortunately, Mary Gehlhar has provided such an invaluable tool for today’s generation of designers Reading this guide brought me back to my first days as a designer and my own journey New designers often ask me what the key to success is when starting a business in fashion My response is simple: you must first understand who or what you want to be What is your vision? For whom are you designing clothes? It may take several months to figure this out, but once you do, the rest should come naturally Secondly, work with an experienced designer Many of today’s most successful designers worked as apprentices or assistants to established designers, which serves as a great opportunity for gaining exposure to the business of fashion and establishing industry contacts with suppliers, factories, editors, and retailers I, myself, worked in a printing factory in Italy before I decided to design and launch my dresses Finally, never hesitate to seek help Organizations such as the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) off er support and assistance, scholarships to design students, mentoring of emerging talent through the CFDA/ V ogue Fashion Fund and other programs, and ongoing panels with industry experts on the business of fashion The CFDA is committed to working hard on behalf of the fashion industry to help designers succeed As president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, I represent all designers, new and experienced, and believe in sharing all I have learned with emerging talent I leave you with this: a good designer must Fashion Institute of Technology Fashion organizations Fashiondex Inc Fashiontainment Federal Trade Commission Finance resources Finances Fine print Flea markets FOB (free on board) Focus Freelance work Fulfillment centers G Gen Art Gift bags Give-aways Grading, size Green movement Group shows Guaranteed sell-through Guests H Hair Handbag line Hanger appeal Harmonized Duty Tariff Code Hiring Holiday schedules Home Shopping Network I Iceland’s Bangur Banking Immediates Income statement Incubators Indirect costs Industry awards In-house Installation In-store appearances Insurance International sourcing Internet domain name Investment money Investors Invitations J Jobbers Job resources K Knockoffs Knowledge L Labels Labor costs Language LDP (landed duty paid) Lead time Leftover merchandise Legal issues/services Lenders Lending, online Letter of credit Leveraging show Licensing Lighting Limited liability corporation Line of credit Line representation Lines, number of Line sales Line sheet Listening skills Location Logos Lookbook M Maintenance Makeup Manufacturers Markdown money Market Marketing Marking Materials Merchandizing Mills Minimums Minority loans Models Music N National chain stores Net terms Networking Nondisclosure agreement NRDC Equity Partners LLC O Off-shore production Online stores Operations plan Order taking Outside financings Outsourcing Overordering Overstock P Packing Partnerships Past due accounts Patent Patternmaking Pay premium Payment Perfection Personal loans Personal savings Phone calls Photographer Photography Postcards Presentation Press coverage Press kits Press release Pricing Private clients, sales Private equity funds Product Production Professionalism Professional services Promotional mailers Public relations Purchase order financing Q Quality control QuickBooks Pro QVC R Referrals Regional markets Rehearsal Relationships Replacements Reputation Research Retailers Returns Run of show Runway S Sales Salespeople Salespeople information Samples Schedule Seating charts Secondary market Second line Selection Selling self Sell-through Service approach Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) Services Set Sewn goods Shipping Shopping events Showpieces Showrooms Shows Signature Small Business Administration Small collection Small orders Smart money Software Sole proprietorship Space Special requests Specialty stores Sponsorship Staff Staging Start time Start-up period Staying power Stores Styling Suppliers Sustainable fabrics Swap outs T Target customer Tax liability Technology Television Terms Territory Timing Trademark Trade shows Training Trends Trunk shows TSM Capital U U.S Patent and Trademark Office Unique selling proposition (USP) V Vanity investors Vertical manufacturing W Website Wholesale Women business owner loans Work schedule Praise for The Fashion Designer Survival Guide “Lest fashion’s neophytes get too dreamy, Gehlhar is there to ground them…” —Women’s Wear Daily “Mary presents many expectations [new designers] will confront in the marketplace and provides excellent professional advice throughout the book.”—Margaret Hayes, President, The Fashion Group International “Must read…find out from a pro who has worked with up-and-coming designers.” —New York Daily News “Every aspiring designer needs this book Mary Gehlhar wrote an invaluable, step-by-step guide to succeeding on Seventh Avenue and beyond.” — Nancy MacDonell, News Editor, Style.com, and author of the Classic Ten: the True Story of the Little Black Dress and Nine Other Fashion Favorites “For anyone who’s ever aspired to be an independent designer, this is the book to pick up.” —the Daily “Ms Gehlhar to the rescue! Who better to school fashion young ‘uns on the ins and outs of the business than the woman who does just that for a living?” —Fashion Wire Daily “A must-read for anyone in the world of fashion Gehlhar offers practical tips and strategies to increase chances of success.” —Soma Magazine “this book encourages all aspiring designers ready to embark on an independent career within the industry.” —Rebecca Taylor, designer This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought © 2008 by Mary Gehlhar Published by Kaplan Publishing, a division of Kaplan, Inc 1 Liberty Plaza, 24th Floor New York, NY 10006 All rights reserved under International and PanAmerican Copyright Conventions By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down- loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher July 2008 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 eISBN: 978-1-4277-9977-7 Kaplan Publishing books are available at special quantity discounts to use for sales promotions, employee premiums, or educational purposes Please email our Special Sales Department to order or for more information at kaplanpublishing@kaplan.com or write to Kaplan Publishing, 1 Liberty Plaza, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10006 ... The Fashion Designer Survival Guide Revised and Expanded Edition Start and Run Your Own fashion Business Mary Gehlhar Contents Foreword Preface One Piece of Advice • Before You Start The. .. running your own business is another matter This book is designed to help new designers successfully set up and run a business, benefiting from the pitfalls, mistakes, and triumphs of other designers... Many young designers start their own businesses too soon without the resources to survive their mistakes or the experience to avoid them Be patient and realize there is no rush Showroom owner Denise