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Step one

Design clothing

It’s not enough to come up with smart and interesting business models for a would be fashion business. Without designs, there is nothing to make and therefore sell. It’s important to push both of these aspects forward. As thinking about business propositions is something I do all the time and which is something I have started to draft here on this very blog, it’s time to also put energy into the “unknown” of creating my clothing designs. It’s easy to immediately start thinking in restrictions and hurdles, for example; Fashionary creates these Figure template cards that are very well made and would give a good sense of proportions and poses. However, I don’t NEED to have that to be able to create. It’s just me trying to come up with a reason why I can’t start right now.

My biggest challenge right now is stepping over these imaginary hurdles and to start creating/scheduling in time for myself to start making. And the scary part in that process is the unknown; not knowing what you will come up with and if you will be capable of doing so. But this is the process and something you have to learn and learn to enjoy.

What was useful after all, was finding inspiration in the work of Connie Lim who made the final illustrations to form an impression of how you can use the Figure template cards. Her style is free flowing but also clear and realistic in a sense. It’s something I’ll be looking at further for inspiration when I’m stuck with my own work in the coming months.

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Assessing cultural inspiration

Unpacking the brand positioning of being diversely culturally inspired and taking locality as inspiration a little further;

What does it mean to use these sources of inspiration as a starting point for clothing/brand design.

Using something as inspiration, does not mean the outcome will be a literal translation of that which has been the starting point (inspiration). It rather means that a source (of inspiration) has become seminal in the thoughts process, helping in forming a certain cohesion in thought, concept and creation. Although the final outcome does not necessarily need to have any resemblance or visual/physical queue to what has been used as a source of inspiration, the mention of the inspiration also can’t be frivolous. When the source of inspiration is an important factor to the design or positioning and is communicated as such, the synergy between inspiration and final product has to be relevant to some degree for it to be convincing.

Then, the question is; does the brand positioning need to be linked to the sources of inspiration? Or rather; is that which is described as the source of inspiration actually what is the starting point of the clothing designs, or is it a bogus attempt to be more culturally relevant? Here it becomes important to remind yourself that “using something as inspiration, does not mean the outcome will be a literal translation of that which has been the starting point (inspiration)”. And if [BRAND NAME]’s HOW (being diversely culturally inspired) and WHY (challenging the globalised (homogenised) world/industry) are genuine, there needs to be no fear as such.

Is it cultural appropriation to use these sources of inspiration?

Although genuine, are these diverse cultural inspirations and the use thereof for brand positioning (outside of those cultural environments) appropriate? Or is it a sort of cultural appropriation and therefor inappropriate? It depends on how literal the translation is between source of inspiration and creative output. It also depends on the way it’s translated into something new. When inspiration is used properly to create something entirely new, it would be appropriate as what is being made doesn’t pertain to be of that which is used as inspiration. However, if what is being made is leaning more to a copy, it wouldn’t be as appropriate. This is about (cultural) ownership and representation.

“Creativity is the focused combination of unlikely things. Your mind locks onto a certain element and then searches widely for something unexpected that fits with it. What can scuba diving teach you about agriculture? What can trees teach you about public speaking? There is always some connective tissue between disciplines. If you wish to be more creative, look for the connections between two previously unconnected things.”

by James Clear, as found in his 3-2-1 newsletter

True creativity comes from being inspired, which means you make connections between unlikely things and use that as the starting point for the creation of new things. Therefor, cultural inspiration is fine and appropriate, as long as it leads to something genuinely new and is done so with respect to it’s source.

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Different profitability mindsets

No sales-discounts

Good products deserve reasonable pricing. This works two ways; neither should a product be overpriced to create a false perception of value and quality, nor should a product be underpriced to encourage impulse buying and the idea of a good deal. A good product has a price that is linked to its production process and quality manufacturing. These days brands either work with economies of scale (Primark) or economies of exclusivity (Dior) to determine their pricing. When something seems too cheap or expensive to be realistic and fair, it probably is. Sales-discounts play a part in this too. When a product can still be sold for a significantly reduced price without a loss, it means the consumer has been fooled with the original product sales-price.

[BRAND NAME] wants to offer products that are priced fairly to sustain a good product quality and a reasonable and publicly communicated growth percentage (revenue). This means products shall be priced accordingly, and any devaluation in pricing won’t be possible nor necessary.

No out of stock items

Sales-drops and limited edition products have become a mainstay within the global (fashion)economy. They are a sales tactic with revenue as the prime incentive, not creativity. Why else would a great product design only be offered to a limited amount of people. This sales-tactic is used mostly to lure customers to a baseline product offering by creating the perception of scarcity and belonging. The scarcity is false, as it’s entirely within a brand’s power to make as many items of any product as they wish. The sense of belonging is created by making people think they are part of a select group of people that are “in-the-know” or these special editions/drops. Even if they couldn’t actually make a purchase of said item, by buying any other mainline product they feel connected to this urge they have to belong to the in-crowd.

[BRAND NAME] wants to offer products fairly and indefinitely based on people’s desire to purchase, through either pre-order listings, item inventory or archive reproductions. A product might be produced and launched in a specific quantity at first. Afterwards it might immediately be reproduced based on consumer demand or placed into a product archive from where re-runs and reproductions can be requested by prospect buyers (in active communication with the brand).

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Idea nuggets

  • Offering a guaranteed take-back option, no matter the condition
    Used clothing can have a certain charm that is unparalleled to new sometimes. Receiving used products could provide with an amazing treasure-trove of “vintage” items of the collection which then can resold. Even if items need repairs, this shouldn’t be a problem as that can bring additional charm to a piece of clothing. When the returned items are not salvageable, they can potentially still be used for off-cuts. It might be necessary to offer in return a monetary reward or discount of some sort to make it mutually beneficial. Potentially adding a grading scale could work for items that are immediately re-sellable.
  • Offering a repairs service
    As not everyone is capable of repairing their own clothing, it might make it hard for some people to keep wearing their clothing for long extensions of time. Offering this service helps them with that effort and hopefully keeps them happier longer with the clothing they bought. It also establishes a stronger more personal connection between owner and brand.
  • Offering repair kits
    Sometimes repairing clothing items is hard because the fabric make-up of the item is very specific. This can create problems for people that don’t want their mending and repairs to be visible. Offering fabric swatches that are made from the same cloth as the collection, as well as offering them a nice and nifty sewing case/set with it can make that people can keep wearing their clothing for longer and stimulate their creativity.

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Celebrating locality

Multicultural positive

No matter if we are able to travel to far-flung places or not – the mixing of cultures, nationalities and heritages happens all around us. It has done so for generations, though today it happens on a larger scale and to a wider demographic. Living in a multicultural world provides us the opportunity to see and understand life on earth from different perspectives, from which we can learn and grow. Globalisation has contributed to a faster and easier transfer of goods and thoughts. We have moved away from locality and diversity to a shared global aesthetic. The modern world stimulates homogeneity globally.

[BRAND NAME] wants to stimulate a more diverse understanding of our modern world by creating clothing that takes locality as inspiration for transforming globalised garments into localised expressions of our multicultural world.

Locally made & sold

Some things can only be found in very specific places in the world. However we have now access to almost anything from anywhere through the convenience of online shopping, international shipping and an interconnected world economy. Almost everything from anywhere is within our reach. The accessibility to such a wide gamma of goods from around the world has made us into greedy and unappreciative consumers. There is value in things being made and sold locally only, as it means the producer and consumer create a stronger connection; in physical contact the meeting of cultures can exist.

[BRAND NAME] wants to stimulate a cultural, personal and emotional exchange between brand, people and product by making certain products only available locally, close to its source of inspiration and/or production.