Starting your own private label clothing company is not as difficult as you may think. I assure you that Volcom founding members Paul Frank, Hurley and Von Dutch are not crazy fashion geniuses. You can double your rise to brand stardom as long as you have the following:
1. A decent logo
2. Creative and graphic concepts – Design Talent
3. A one-stop supplier of blank clothing
4. A decent screen print
5. A Line Sheet to Show Potential Buyers
6. Sales and promotional talent.
Which do you think is more important? It’s obviously design talent, you say? Are you kidding? You must be kidding. Have you left home recently? Have you seen Von Dutch’s clothes? Chimpanzees that use pencils produce better designs. Also, I would imagine overalls are more hygienic, but I digress.
#6 is clearly the most important element. You can create an entire line of beautiful, edgy clothing, but if you can’t launch it, no one will see it (except your mom, of course). So unless you want a closet full of your fantastic designs, ask yourself the following two questions:
I can sell?
In other words…can I hit the pavement with my line sheet and walk into every boutique clothing store I can find? So am I going to harass shoppers at retail clothing stores to try to squeeze out 5 minutes of my time at Magic 06′ (Clothing Convention)?
Will I be able to make a professional presentation to a Nordstroms buyer?
Can I promote?
Do I have creative viral or guerrilla marketing ideas to get this label up and running?
If the answer to both questions is No, you’d better seek help. Meaning, find someone who is passionate about fashion who is also ridiculously outgoing, great on the phone, and aggressive as hell. Lastly (and superficially) it would help if your sales rep is hot.
I know, how horrible… sorry, but I didn’t say anything about this being an equal opportunity blog 🙂
With that said, let me welcome you to the shallow end of the pool… the world of fashion, that is.
Good luck with your label!