Independent Fashion Designers Take Pride in Second (and Third) Business Acts
2024 is proving to be the year of independent designers taking a hard look at their business from a longevity standpoint. As quite a few designers closed up shop earlier this year, others are reflecting on how their first attempts at running fashion brands taught them valuable lessons to implement into newer, more efficient versions of their businesses.
Fashionista highlights three designers who managed to find their own lane through trial and error after struggling through sales peaks and valleys and going too hard too soon on brick-and-mortar. All three came back to their natural passion after the dust settled. Designer Allina Liu states, “You should never view these things as failures. You’re just taking a step back for your own mental health and to reevaluate. Honestly, more thought creates better products and better things for the environment.”
While I’ve never desired to start my own fashion business, after reading through enough articles to make me sad about the state of independent designer fashion, I’ve come up with a list of takeaways to keep in mind in case I ever decide to launch a line.
Define your customer.
Determine who your customers are with psychographic data, what they’re interested in spending their money on, when they’re most likely to spend their money, where they normally shop (online or in-store), and how often they will use your products.
Create a roadmap.
Where do you see your business one, three, and five years from now? List financial goals for the business (and yourself). Determine how many employees you’ll need. Consider manufacturing and warehouse partnerships. Do you want to focus on building an efficient online shop, hosting pop-up shops, opening a brick-and-mortar space, or selling in major retail stores? Decide what “success” means to you. Set reasonable goals and work backward.
Determine where your organic social media content will live.
I’m a firm believer in not spreading yourself too thin when it comes to creating content since your priority should be running your business. Focus on two social media platforms: one to engage with your audience and build your brand community (Instagram, Facebook), and the other to drive traffic to your website and encourage sales (Pinterest, TikTok; assuming the TikTok ban doesn’t happen).
Consider a marketplace strategy instead of a wholesale strategy.
We’re all witnessing the shuttering of luxury e-commerce retailers like Matches and Farfetch while independent designers get left in the lurch regarding payments from these wholesalers and seeing their inventory get sold at discounted prices to pay off retailer debts. A safer strategy seems to be the marketplace model, where brands like Nordstrom and Garmentory provide a platform with a larger audience for smaller brands, but independent designers maintain control of their inventory.
A great example of an independent brand carving out its own space in the industry that aligns with its vision and customer values is Atelier Saman Amel. Co-founder, Saman Amel spoke to Vogue Business from their new London atelier about capturing a specific target audience who prefers custom clothing at a premium price point, stating “everything is the product of our single-unit business, wherein we only create what is ordered” because their clients are “tired of megabrands”.
The Swedish-founded, “quiet luxury” company launched in 2015 with designer Amel and his business partner Dag Granath. In 2023, the brand grew its revenue “by 41 per cent, which Granath expects to level out to 24 per cent for 2024”. And “its next annual sales milestone will be €10 million”.
With “seven full-time staff across its businesses and Stockholm and London”, the menswear atelier is focused on sustainable growth with no interest in outside investors. Garnath says, “We’ve been doing the same thing for 15 years and it works”.
This is what I like to see with independent fashion houses: a commitment to craftsmanship for a specific customer. It seems like every brand today wants to cater to everybody, but I don’t believe every brand has to be for everybody. A strong case study for that would be Victoria’s Secret over the last few years.
What are some other tips you’d share for independent designers? Share them in the comments below.
Welcome to Weekly Staples! A brief overview of my favorite fashion industry articles from the week related to marketing, retail trends, and events.
Are NBA Players Topping the Leaderboard in Menswear Style?
2024 is also the year of fashion and sports partnerships, which makes sense with the Paris Olympics right around the corner. Everyone from Glossier to Skims, Vogue, Mielle, and now David Yurman are gathering their favorite players to promote their brands.
WWD reports the jewelry brand named “seven basketball stars as brand ambassadors: Kyle Kuzma, D’Angelo Russell, Jalen Green, Jamie Jaquez Jr., Kevin Love, Josh Hart, and Seth Curry”. David Yurman’s chief marketing officer, Carolyn Dawkins, explains that while women usually have a plethora of style influencers to look up to, the leaderboard for stylish men isn’t as clear. But thanks to the rise of stylish NBA players, including some interesting tunnel outfits, red carpet looks, and street style, sports stars are now firmly in the spotlight. A quick Google search of “NBA tunnel fits” led me to @LeagueFits and needless to say, unique looks are abundant.
Dawkins continues, “They all have slightly different styles, but the thing that connects them all is the confidence to wear what they want and find their own way of wearing it”. Since menswear jewelry is one of the brand’s “fastest-growing categories”, they’re hoping that the confidence that exudes from each player will resonate with their customer base.
After browsing their website, I may or may not have pinned a few beautiful jewelry pieces to my Pinterest board. Luckily, I’ll have the opportunity to shop in-store later this year when David Yurman opens its first Washington store at Bellevue Square in November 2025, according to Puget Sound Business Journal. The jeweler will take over the 2,000 SF retail space previously held by Kate Spade until earlier this year.
Watch the three-party docuseries on the David Yurman YouTube channel:
Will Luxury Fashion Have a Larger Spotlight on Amazon with the Saks-Neiman Marcus Acquisition?
Vogue Business reports that “HBC, the parent company of luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue, has confirmed its long-awaited deal to acquire rival Neiman Marcus Group - owner of Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman - for $2.65 billion”. The merger will combine “Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks Off 5th, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman” into one parent company under the name Saks Global, with each brand continuing to operate under their respective brand names.
However, a challenge for the merger might lie if the FTC claims anti-competitiveness since the new parent company, Saks Global, would be “primarily left to compete with Macy’s, Inc.” and could create a monopoly.
So how does Amazon factor in? Amazon, along with Salesforce, plans to invest in Saks Global. A source told WWD, “Amazon has a real challenge in getting luxury/affluent brands to list products on their platform. By acquiring a stake in this deal, they are likely planning to put the squeeze on those brands over time, at a minimum by listing the brands through Saks/Neiman’s on the Amazon marketplace.
Fashion vendors seem optimistic about the deal, but are waiting until the FTC approves or denies it to shift their business structures. Gary Wassner, CEO of Hilldun Corp. told WWD, “Independent American brands should benefit as both Neiman’s and Saks grow stronger and more profitable… Saks has always supported the American contemporary market aggressively. This influx of new capital will allow it to continue to do so, and to take more risks on young and upcoming creative brands.”
Check out more interesting stories from the week:
The end of an era: Matches website winds down via Vogue Business
Why Abercrombie & Fitch’s Stock Exploded Faster Than Nvidia’s via The Wall Street Journal on YouTube
It Looks Like ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ Sequel Really Is Happening via Fashionista
Is Fashion Done With Diversity Departments? via The Business of Fashion
