How Do I start a clothing line?

Question

I have a catchy name, a logo, but where do I find a good manufacturer that can make "urban" stylish kind of clothing that would fit "thick" women (sizes-8-18)?

Answer 1

For manufacturing sources, I suggest you check out the manufacturers listed in the National Association of Manufacturers http://www.nam.org/s_nam/index.asp

Also check out Davison's Textile Blue Book, which is an annual directory of mills, dyers, finishers, converters and jobbers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Central America. http://www.textilebluebook.net/

Or you can take a risk and look for international manufacturers through sites such as Alibaba http://www.alibaba.com

I recommend that you read Kathleen Fasanella's blog at http://fashion-incubator.com . She is the author of the book "The Entrepreneur's Guide to Sewn Product Manufacturing" and her blog is full of answers to questions on how to start a clothing line

Here are some articles on how to create your own clothing line:

How to Start a Clothing Line http://www.style-source.com/how-to-start-clothing-line/index.asp
Starting a Clothing Line or Apparel Manufacturing Business http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol66/clothing.htm

For in-depth information, you may want to read the following books

The Official Step by Step Guide to Starting a Clothing Line
Start Your Own Clothing Store (Entrepreneur Magazine's Start Up)
The Business of Fashion: Designing Manufacturing, and Marketing
The World of Fashion Merchandising
So You Want to Work in the Fashion Business? A Practical Look at Apparel Product Development and Global Manufacturing
The Entrepreneur's Guide to Sewn Product Manufacturing
Fashion: From Concept to Consumer

You may also want to check out the resources of the following associations:

Professional Apparel Association http://www.proapparel.com
American Apparel Producer’s Network http://www.usawear.org/
Worldwide Responsible Apparel Manufacture http://www.wrapapparel.org/
American Apparel and Footwear Association http://www.americanapparel.org/
National Association of Fashion and Accessory Designers http://www.nafad.com/
Fashion Group International http://www.fgi.org
Apparel News http://www.apparelnews.net/

Answer 2

Have some experience in fashion (retail counter doesn't count) Knowing how to run a business or having a partner who has taken a course would probably determine whether you could even start a line Making a vlog, blog, twitter or facebook would really help you out One guy I heard about on the radio was asking some of his followers for help with a job and he got hired at the company he wanted at a better position then he earlier applied for. And starting a group on facebook showing pictures of your designs would allow people to be more aware.

Answer 3

first raise the money, then get a patent and a licence for your design or label, then find someone to make the clothes if your not making them yourself, then find a distributor for yor brand, a good tip to make good money is to have friends and family wear your clothes, and then sell from home to make 100 percent of the profit, then as you get popular and have more demand for your clothes then find a major distributor like target, wal mart, j c penny, macy's etc.

Answer 4

The best way to start a clothing line is to start with a good nylon rope and use a square knot on your patio post and run it to the closest tree. In a pinch, you can run it to your neighbors picket fence if'n they're not lookin. Good Luck and thank you for letting me be silly...I just couldn't resist! :)

Answer 5

SOMEONE FAMOUS. Thats how my friend started hers. She knows Ernie and Ice T. I've met them, but back to the answer... definatley someone famous.