Part 3 of this series looks at Creating Samples & Production: 
After carefully thinking through your idea, doing your market research and business plan, it’s now time to create showroom samples to start seeking out prospective retailers. 

If your fashion collection is simple like t-shirts, for example, you may source ready-made blanks from white-label sources and have them embellished with your custom designs. 

You may also choose to identify a manufacturer to have them custom made according to your specifications as in the case of Patwa Apparel. I will go into more details about how to identify a supplier/manufacturer later.

If it is more elaborate, consider whether you will be the one designing or whether you will you employ a fashion designer. Can you make your own patterns or will you identify an expert to do this if this is not your area of expertise? 

You may consider connecting with a final year fashion design student from your local university to intern with you. Final year fashion design students are usually a great source of help as they need the experience. They will be willing to start at a lower fee than a more experienced designer. This is a win-win. 

Will you be the one manufacturing or will you outsource this to a production facility?

Have any questions? You can contact me through email (henekawatkisporter@gmail.com) or find me on Facebook, YouTube Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Thanks for listening!

For more updates and episodes, visit my website. You may also tune in on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify. Some episodes are also available on YouTube.