Still Think Fashion Design And Business Are Two Separate Things?

From the start, you were taught to keep them apart:

Design is creative.   Business is strategic.

Design comes from the heart.   Business comes from the head.

Design is cool.   Business is boring.

But what if that belief,  the one that feels so normal, so obvious,  is the exact thing holding you back?

Why So Many Designers Stay Stuck

Let’s look at what shaped this belief.

• Fashion school taught you how to develop concepts, sketch ideas and construct garments. But it didn’t show you how to build a business around that creativity.

• Internships taught you how to cut a perfect sleeve, not how to structure a launch or create demand.

• Awards celebrate “visionaries,” not profit margins. You’re praised for pushing creative boundaries—not for building a brand that actually grows and sustains itself.

So of course the “business side” feels like it belongs to someone else.
You weren’t trained for it. You...

Have you noticed how everything started to look the same?

Tired trend cycles. The same silhouettes. Endless versions of the same viral aesthetic.
Somewhere along the way, design lost its edge… and its power.

If you’re an independent fashion designer with original ideas and a clear point of view, you’ve probably been wondering if the industry would ever shift back to valuing true originality and creativity again.

Well, here’s the good news:
In 2025, the return to innovation in fashion is already underway.

Fashion houses and customers alike are waking up to the fact that endless repetition is wearing thin.  People are tired of seeing the same trends recycled year after year—and they’re even more tired of paying luxury prices for “Made in Italy” garments that were actually manufactured in China with huge profit margins.

The trust is fading. The excitement is gone.  But something is shifting.

Real designers who lead with originality are finally being seen again.  Designers who crea...

The State of Fashion report by McKinsey & Company for 2025 paints a pretty clear picture of the challenges and opportunities ahead for small, independent and artisanal designers like you. 

With so much uncertainty I thought it’d be helpful to break down the key takeaways and how they might impact your work moving into 2025.

A Shift in Consumer Behaviour
First off, the market is still pretty tough. Consumers are still feeling the pinch and are more price-conscious than ever but this shift is NOT just about discount shopping—there’s more demand for value, which includes embracing things like resale, off-price, and, believe it or not, even dupes!!

As an independent designer, this could mean reconsidering your pricing strategy but much more importantly, and what I tell the designers in Fashion Entrepreneurs Academy, it’s about how you communicate the value of your work.

Regional Shifts

If you are an indie fashion designer wondering how long your business can keep going before you throw in the towel, then this is for you:

Lack of funds is understood to be the #1 reason for fashion businesses failing but that is part of a wider core reason.

We all have a specific threshold where if something gets too close to success, too expensive or too uncomfortable where we give up.

So, it’s not actually the lack of funds that is the REAL cause of the business failure. It is actually the business owners’ mindset.

It’s their fear of success, fear of not being able to get the funding to continue, their fear of having to struggle through or their unwillingness to make sacrifices and/or compromises to continue despite the lack of funds.

Successful business owners are tenacious and believe in themselves and their business idea longer than most people do.

It is the 1% who are willing to do what 99% of people won’t who get the success most people don’t.

Successful fashion designers hold on to t...

Every week I talk to fashion startups who want to get their designs in front of the RIGHT people who will actually buy.  You want to show at fashion week, get stocked in Harrods or Neiman Marcus and have consistent sales on your website!

The problem is you are stuck in designer jail creating products for the WRONG audience who won’t pay what you are charging.

You hoped that posting on instagram 3 times a week would build an audience but you just get 5 likes, 1 spam comment and zero engagement.

So how DO you target the RIGHT audience?

• You can use social media;
• Participate in makers markets or pop-ups;
• Join a fashion launch accelerator with collective fashion week showcase.
• Or pay £10k to £300k for your own fashion show.

But for social media to generate sales you need to nurture thousands of followers and how can they value your products over fast fashion when they can’t touch & feel the quality and, since you are just one of 2 billion users on instagram, how will people trus...

Relying on social media marketing to grow your fashion brand is DEAD!☠️

Huhhh. 🫣……

OK…..   I am being a little dramatic!!!  🤣 

BUT the reality is that you can no longer rely SOLELY on social media marketing if you want to avoid an empty order book!

According to McKinsey & Company BRAND MARKETING is back!!   

They said in their annual State of Fashion report that [in 2024] 71 percent of executives plan to spend more on brand marketing than in 2023.

So what does this mean for you as an independent fashion designer….

It means that brand marketing is more relevant in 2024 and you cannot be AS dependent on Instagram!!   

You need both social media AND brand marketing!  

In 2024 your Instagram, other social media marketing and Facebook (Meta) ads demand more raw authenticity than ever….  and your content needs to be turbocharged to create an emotional connection if you want to drive people to eventually become a customer.

A HUGE mistake I see hundreds of ...

If you are sitting at the same desk surrounded by the same people, doing the same boring job 8 hours a day 5 days a week and basically feeling soooo creatively repressed ….  

...but you’ve always dreamt of becoming a fashion designer….  Then isn’t it time you took charge of your life before it’s too late?

Most of us are indoctrinated to believe that getting a well paid secure professional 9 to 5 job with a big pay check is the right thing to do if you want happiness, self fulfilment and stability ….. and sometimes it’s just to please your family!

But is it worth denying what you really want?

When you are young you just do what you are told so it is natural to follow the path that your family want for you….   

...and when you are young you don’t yet have the life experience to realise that a big pay check can never make you happy.   So it is normal for us to unwittingly follow that path.

But if a 9 to 5 with a big pay check was enough to make you happy then the...

If all independent Fashion Designers get behind a new concept we could create a paradigm shift in the fashion industry, making it much easier for small creative fashion designers to thrive alongside the big brands.

I call this concept LUXIE.    Luxie is a hybrid concept where big LUXURY brands collaborate with small INDIE designers.

When I started my business in the 90’s consumers wanted big brand labels so it was a struggle and that’s why I want to make it easier for independent designers to thrive in a much more even playing field without the struggles we experienced.

For the first time in at least 40 years more consumers now actually do want to buy from small independents and at long last realise that it is cool to buy more authentic, unique products produced in small quantities and to have a real connection with the designer.

I think the large luxury brands could risk becoming dinosaurs if they don’t adapt and the most obvious solution is for them to work with, spon...

A once-in-a-lifetime RADICAL shift in the fashion landscape is leading the way to create exciting possibilities for Fashion Designers to build successful brands from their OWN HOMES.

Consumers now actually WANT to buy authentic products from small artisanal designers and social media is providing low cost or free ways for designers to promote their designs on a much more even playing field.

This will result in a NEW AGE for designers to work in a more ethical, sustainable way around their lifestyles and many designers have already adapted to this SHIFT building successful brands from their KITCHEN TABLE or spare BEDROOM.

Over the last 3 decades big fast fashion companies made it impossible for independent designers to compete with their large marketing budgets and exploitative low manufacturing costs. 

So, while these big companies were polluting the planet, overproducing and undervaluing staff ambitious designers had to give up dreams of running their own fashion busin...

Why you DON'T want to be the most OUTSTANDING, conceptual fashion designer!

Most fashion designers think it's becoming really great at DESIGN that leads to fame and success but that is the most DELUSIONAL idea thats actually likely to keep you broke.

If you keep thinking success comes from putting 100% of your attention into being an outstanding designer you could actually just be working yourself into burn out with no sales or profit to show for your efforts.

If this is you your audience probably don’t even appreciate the quality and craftsmanship of your products so you are undercharging...

... and now you are running out of money,  wondering how to pay for your next collection and you’re tired of posting on social media every day when nothings selling!

If it was true that every conceptual, innovative design sold then EVERY  conceptual designer who JUST focused on design would be successful and we all know that is NOT what happens!! …

 ….   On the other hand w...