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Designer Definite Dos! (8 tips for budding designers) Everyone needs help when they’re starting off. Some handy tips below

Designer Definite Dos!

(8 tips for budding designers)

Everyone needs help when they’re starting off. Some handy tips below

 

Practical is boring. It’s one of the biggest myths in fashion. While outlandish, avant garde pieces that are more art than clothes certainly have their place in the halls of fame of fashion; we all still need the basic blue denims and the classic white shirt. There’s nothing wrong with creating, or wanting to create, functional and wearable clothes. In fact, it’s a great place to start. Here’s what you need to keep in mind:

1. Don’t go wrong with basics  
Every budding designer should have a line of high-quality basics that lasts for years to their credit. Your fashion vision might be to veer towards couture, but unless buyers trust you with the fashion they need on a daily basis, they are unlikely to loosen the purse strings with the expensive stuff. Must get your basics right! It will teach you a lot about tailoring, silhouettes and how different fabrics flow. Also, people tend to be very loyal to the designers they pick for their basics. If you’re good, you’ll retain customers for a long, long time. 

2. Pay attention to the fabric
You can have a great design for functional, wearable fashion. But all of it will go down the drain if you don’t pick the right fabric to go with it. Know your fabrics. Using cheap fabrics and chemical dyes that bleed colour on washing may help you keep costs low initially, but they won’t get you loyalists. Use the best fabric you can afford. And try using easy-to-maintain and easy-to wash fabrics as far as possible. 

3. Learn from people’s mistakes
Don’t live in your own fashion bubble. If you admire someone or something, keep an eye out for what the industry is saying about them. What might seem like a revolutionary idea to you might not sell even one piece because you or the creator overlooked what seemed like an insignificant detail. Invest in knowledge, it will help you become a better designer and you’ll be able to foresee disasters before losing a lot of money to them. 

4. Do your research
If you’re creating clothes for a particular demographic, spend a LOT of time researching and understanding what they need, not just what you think they need. You will be surprised by the insights you get once you actually listen to what’s lacking from your buyers’ experience. It might even help you come up with a design element that begins to define the category. Good ideas don’t come from a vacuum; they are almost always personal to the creator. 

5. Don’t skimp on the details
The devil is in the detail. Don’t cut corners when it comes to embellishments and details. Don’t tell yourself that “no one will notice” a cheap substitute. Someone will notice. In fact, most people will notice. No one wants to run to the tailor to fix loose buttons and embellishments or to the store to get a piece exchanged because of poor zippers and hooks. The devil is in the detail. 

6. What’s on the inside matters
The fabric you choose for the lining matters just as well as the fabric that faces the world. No one is going to buy a jacket from you a second time if the lining in the first one shrunk. And no buyer will forgive you the embarrassment of seams that split at the slightest pressure. Invest in good lining and good stitching. 

 

7. Think about the environment
Use easily-recyclable or recycled fabrics. Adopt fair-trade practices. Even if you can’t use vegetable dyes, at least use colours that aren’t loaded with harmful chemicals and pigments. Opt for eco-friendly packaging for your products. It might not get you loyalty immediately, but it will build your credibility as a designer and a brand that cares about something other than profits. 

8. Make clothes in more sizes
Nothing good comes out of making people feel excluded. While designing, think about how that design would look on more than one body type. Create variations of the design with modifications to suit different body types, when you can. Body-shaming has no place in today’s fashion revolution.