How to Focus and Develop a Fashion Brand During Uncertain Times
A challenging time is upon us and many businesses are fighting to pivot and adapt to the change. With brick and mortar retail in steady decline over recent years, it seems these establishments are being hit the hardest. But what about the start-ups, the indie companies and the small brands? I quoted Antonio Brown in this Instagram post “The journey is never ending. There’s always gonna be growth, improvement, adversity; you just gotta take it all in and do what’s right, continue to grow, continue to live in the moment.” - and that’s exactly what my clients and I are doing, and we’re thriving.
The Importance of Digital
It will come as no shock to you or the rest of the world that the companies managing to survive that little bit easier are the ones who are established online. Supporting your business with an e-commerce platform enables us to benefit from the increasingly popular digital fashion landscape. Although I don’t encourage depending solely on third party platforms such as Instagram or Depop (see why here) - diversifying your online presence and point of sale could definitely benefit your brand and offer marginal security.
To take this one step further and really consider the advancements of technology and fashion, we can look to unusual yet innovative digital brands like Carlings or my own brand Digital Pattern Library which provides an educational experience and sustainable alternative, allowing my customer to “Download Your Wardrobe” whilst supplying a passive income and additional revenue stream.
Marketing Now More Than Ever
In unprecedented circumstances people are online with the potential to have eyes on your brand more than ever before. Use this time to create nurturing content, promote who you are and what you stand for, grow your audience and extend your reach. However, be warned and proceed with caution as the danger of tone deaf marketing is heightened and a trap you don’t want to fall into.
Don’t blindly push a product or collection, instead spread your message and brand ethos. Conduct yourself with integrity and feed into the genuine human connections we need to establish right now for positive results and longevity. It is important you acknowledge the pandemic without adding to your audience’s anxiety or causing further depression.
Innovative Services
Direct-to-consumer brands may seem like they are in a prime position to continue sales should they have established a loyal customer following, but in the event your trade is slowing down instead of ramping up, consider ways to pivot your offerings and get creative with how you can broaden your revenue streams. Are there styling services you can offer alongside your products? Subscription models to introduce?
Claire Richards, founder of Delicious Monster Tea introduced embroidery kits for her customer to turn their hand to their own slogan tees at home. Could you offer repair kits with collection off-cuts? Create an accompanying accessory? This could be a fantastic opportunity to take your brand forward in a direction you would never normally consider and really explore the future of fashion in relation to your business.
Time to Reflect, Analyse and Develop
Above all use unique times like this to step back and review. Perhaps you could look to develop collections for the future when production returns to normal and we find our feet again, though don’t forget cottage production could still offer a solution to manufacturing hurdles.
Finding potential during adversity is what separates success from failure. You could develop and refine an existing product to align to customer feedback and elevate the standard of your range. Analyse previous sales data and focus on creating your next release in line with the statistics, you can read my top 3 tips for scaling your fashion brand to help you with this.
If you are considering launching a fashion brand then this could be the perfect time to start. Many of my clients work alternative 9-5’s when they approach me with the intent to create a brand as a ‘side-hustle’, get the wheels in motion today and it may bring you that step closer to your business aspirations.
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