Investing in samples or prototypes can be a huge financial commitment for a small fashion company, sometimes reaching upwards of $5,000. 

Before diving in, it’s crucial to validate your designs and ensure they resonate with your target audience. 

Here are 6 effective strategies to test and validate your designs without breaking the bank.

1.Social Media Feed: Share images of your designs on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest to showcase your products in various contexts.   

2.   Instagram Stories:  Use polls and questions in your stories to gather direct feedback, gauge interest and build anticipation among your audience.

3. Engage Your Audience: Ask open-ended questions to encourage your followers to share their thoughts on your designs and spark conversation so you can gauge what what might need tweaking.

4. Pre-Sell Limited Pieces: Once you’ve gathered feedback from your images the next step is to start pre-selling a limited number of pieces. This approach a...

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...

In the fashion industry it’s common for new businesses to be financed solely by their owners and develop organically.   Bootstrapping is the term used to describe the challenge of financing your startup without relying on outside funding and instead relying only on existing resources such as personal savings, materials equipment and workspace.

It's what I recommend to clients and students going through the Fashion Entrepreneurs 3 X Launch Formula and in my experience that's what I recommend for most people unless of course you already have someone ready to invest and they are willing to wait a while to receive a return on their investment.

There are many reasons why I recommend this:

• If you obtain funding too early your investor might not be aware how long it can take a fashion business to become profitable and if they don’t see a return on their investment early on could pull out.  
• In the early stages you need some time and creative space to build your customer base an...

YOUR FASHION BUSINESS REQUIRES YOUR MIND BEFORE YOU GIVE IT YOUR MONEY!

Throwing a rich sauce over tough chewy chicken won’t improve the chicken…

…And it’s the same in your fashion biz.   Just throwing money at your business only MASKS the problems.

Instead, successful fashion designers plan strategically with a launch formula.   They know the best areas to spend money that will move their business forward.

Look, I get why you might think that you need a huge investment.  In the past you had to produce large 40 piece collections for wholesale buyers to take you seriously.  You also had to pay for large studio & showroom space….

...But what most people don’t realise is that TIMES HAVE CHANGED allowing you to start a fashion business with just a small budget.  In fact waiting to find that huge investment or backer could be preventing you from taking action and getting started!

In the Twenty Twenties you can work from a small space with some of your team working remotely.   You c...