While fashion school is not a requirement for fashion design entrepreneurship, it's also not a guarantee for success. New fashion entrepreneurs often fail at the first hurdle for a variety of reasons. Once you have your designs ready, you need to take them through the garment manufacturing process, which involves pattern making, garment sampling, and so much more! All of this can be risky and might feel overwhelming, but here are five mistakes that new fashion entrepreneurs need to avoid at all costs!

Don’t Fret – Find Your Niche

Fashion design is all about risk, experimentation, and discovery, so failure will always be a part of the picture.

Renowned American fashion designer Marc Jacobs says that finding a fashion market that fits your style is crucial. You can try designing for different market sectors to find out what works best for you. When you design for different areas, whether it's activewear, bridal wear, or lingerie, you find what works best for you! While it might be overwhelming to start without a specific market in mind, exploring and discovering your niche is better than stubbornly sticking to something that's not working.

Focus On Them, Not You – Find Your Target Audience

Finding your fashion market isn’t the same as finding your target audience, and this isn't a one-time thing but an ongoing process. As a new fashion entrepreneur, you might start on a whim. Still, later on, you will have to rely on data analysis, focus groups, and client engagements to better understand your target audience. If you keep guessing who your target audience is, your sales will not increase.

Don’t Be Shy – Ask For Expert Help

The fact of the matter is that you are a young fashion entrepreneur with little experience in how fashion production works. Thinking you are an expert before you become one can prove to be a fatal mistake. You don't need to compromise on your vision, but you need to partner with someone who can offer you design consulting to help you fulfill your creative vision.

Quality Matters – Get The Best Production Partner

Inexperienced fashion entrepreneurs might be tempted to invest heavily in advertisements, marketing, and fashion shows but often neglect quality. Kim Winser believes that investing in garment production should be the priority for new designers.

Outsourcing production to other countries can cut costs but ultimately compromises on quality. Plus, you'll be far away from where your product is being made. Now that's one problem that you won't have with Lefty Production Co. We are a fashion manufacturing company based in Los Angeles, California, offering a wide range of services, including garment pattern making, sample making, pre-production, and production for your clothing line. Schedule an appointment with us to find out how we can help your new fashion brand grow.