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...

Most fashion designers, when pricing their garments and products, will follow a percentage mark-up method which should ideally leave them with a workable profit margin.

However it’s never that simple because some customers don’t care what your make price is,  the pricing method used or even how much profit you made.  They just want the BEST!   ….  

Some want the cheapest but some customers want the BEST;   the most durable; lowest cost per wear; the most timeless or some want the best fit.

Of course it’s understandable that you use the percentage mark up method because it’s what you’ve been taught to do and it is the simplest way to approach pricing…..

But I don’t need to tell you that when your garments are priced like this you STILL get people telling you the price is too high! … and thousands of designers all over the planet use this method and STILL can’t sell enough to make a profit.

The popcorn you buy at the movies has a mark-up of around 1,000%.     You happ...

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...

Wanting To Sell More Is Not Going To Help You Sell More!

Don’t worry.  I understand why you want that.   Every independent fashion designer wants to sell more and you might have been trying for at least three months to sell but can’t find enough people who will actually pay for your fashion products or garments.

But I’m going to ask you a question:

If you were an accessory designer selling £50 purses to gen Z direct to consumer and a futurist said to you “I’ve looked into your future and you are going to get one new sale in the next 90 days” would you be jumping up and down in excitement that you had made….  Erm, lets see 🤔 £3.33 a week.

But, if you were the designer of exclusive designer pieces selling wholesale at £1,000 to high end retailers such as Neiman Marcus who has 36 locations and would  probably buy a significant number of each piece and that soothsayer or futurist said the same thing ….  “I’ve looked into your future and you will get one new sale in the next...

If you’re a fashion designer who’s been burning yourself out working 14 hour days, falling asleep on the sewing machine to produce your fashion collection but you’re now wondering why nothing is selling.

If you’re feeling a bit defeated, wondering why no-one is buying and losing your motivation to continue with your dream business…

… then I bet you are doing one or more of these three things:

1️⃣You are designing a large collection that offers too much choice so you burn out your health and finances in the process and your customers are confused by the choice so end up choosing nothing.

2️⃣You didn’t edit your collection strategically in such a way that would increase sales yet reduce resources.

3️⃣You didn’t consider what your audience actually want and will be willing to pay for when editing your collection……. Or didn’t edit at all!

If you are doing one or more of these three things then you don’t want to miss my free workshop when I’ll show you the essential strategies every fashion desig...

In this video you are going to learn how to attract massive attention to your fashion brand so you can sell more designs.    Many fashion designers are always telling me they can’t sell enough of their designs and don’t know how to attract attention to their brand…. But don’t worry I'm about to show you how to fix this!

Step 1 Defining The Vibe Of Your Brand. 

In this step you will learn how to clearly define the vibe or mood of your brand so that you can attract more of the right customers!   Most designers either don’t understand or skip this step and some just choose brand colours or logos without realising there is so much more to it!    

So here’s what you need to do.   Start by defining six words that describe the vibe, mood or overall story of your brand.   This will be used to inform your designs,  photography, videography, merchandising, packaging and communication.  For example words that describe Gucci’s vibe would be: nostalgic; nerdy; adolescent; 60’s & 70’s; dressi...

After consulting for many London fashion designers I noticed that lots of startup brands are not making it past their first three years.  

It occurred to me that they all had similar really big problems that no-one is talking about and if you’ve been doing at least one of these it means that you’re likely dealing with something I call the Curse of the Fashion Designer:-

1.

After 2 or 3 years trying to grow your fashion business you’re still only selling a handful of designs each week. 

2.

Every 3 to 6 months each new collection goes over budget so now you’ve lost so much money you even wonder if you can afford to do another season.

3.  

You’re posting on Instagram or Tik Tok every day but no-one is interested to engage with your posts.  You feel it’s such a waste of time and there must be some secret people aren’t telling you about.

4.

For every ten items sold you receive two returns and its eating into your profits. 

5.

Your family and friends love your pr...

Hey, It’s Jane 😀

Recently I’ve been noticing so many emerging fashion designers and fashion band startups not making it past their first three years of running a sustainable fashion business and it occurred to me that most of them have similar problems.

If you’ve been doing at least one of these it means that you are you’re likely dealing with something I call the Curse of the Fashion Designer…trying to sell while your brain is still in creative design mode!!

1.

You’ve been working 14 hour days with no social life for 3 months or more putting your heart and soul into a 20 piece collection but only get 2 or 3 sales of only one of your designs

2.

You’ve been in business for 1 to 3 years but still losing money and every 3 to 6 months your new collection goes over budget so now you’re wondering if you can even afford to do another season.

3. 

For 1 to 2 years you’ve been trying different products and posting images of them on instagram at least five times a week in a...