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

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...

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...

As a fashion brand startup or emerging designer,  trying to compete with the big brands when pricing your fashion products is preventing you from making any profits and growing your business to the next level.

I get it….   All your friends are telling you that Zara or River Island sell similar pieces for a fraction of what you’re charging .…. But are your friends your customers?   

Trying to keep your prices similar to the big brands could just be your reptilian brain trying to keep you small and safe.....   You might be thinking that if you keep your prices low people won't criticise, reject or judge your designs.

But, they are going to judge them any way.....  and wouldn't you rather your designs were judged for being high quality & high price that allow you to grow a profitable business instead of being judged as poor quality & low price where you can't make any profit.

This fear also shows up in your marketing when you hold yourself back from EFFECTIVELY communicati...