How Kathryn Kerrigan turned a footwear problem into a successful shoe biz

I love this piece on Kathryn Kerrigan. Frustrated by a lack of glamorous shoe styles in her size, she decided to make them herself. With alot of dedication, smarts, and hard work, she tuened her smashing footwear business into a fashion businesss with sales projections in the millions. Bottom line: if you can fill a need in the marketplace, you will have a guaranteed audience. How can you apply this to your business?

Read about it here:

http://www.ladieswholaunch.com/magazine/kathryn-kerrigan-footwear/4513?source=2

How to choose the right model to be the face of your fashion brand

I recently wrote about this topic in my latest business piece for Nolcha.com. When you start a new fashion label and you’re on a shoestring budget, it’s understood that you have to make the most of what you have. But when people are sizing up your brand in the blink of an eye, not only do you have to use every tool to your advantage to get customers to identify with your brand, you have to make those tools work extra hard to meet your strategic goals. This is where hiring the right models comes in. Wanna learn how?  Please read my Nolcha piece here:

The Model Puzzle: Choosing the Right Model to be the Face of Your Brand

Enjoy!

Inspiration from Johnny Cupcakes: How to start a rocking t-shirt business

I love, love, love this piece on Johnny Cupcakes, and how Johnny Earle, a 27 year old from Hull, MA started his T-shirt biz selling fun designs out of his trunk, and built it into a million-plus dollar biz. Quick summary: people want what no one else has. Keep it fun, creative, and fresh. Be smart about money, but take necessary steps to protect your brand and intellectual property. After that, the world is yours.

Enjoy the article from Inc here.

Work it, baby: More fashion trade show tips

A few months ago Kathleen Fasanella from Fashion Incubator chimed in with some great links from her website on how to better work the fashion trade shows. Here are links to those tips again, posted front and center for everyone to see.

1. How to promote yourself before a show
http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/how_to_promote_yourself_before_a_show/

2. How to promote your line at a tradeshow
http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/how_to_promote_your_line_at_a_trade_show/

3. What it’s like to exhibit at MAGIC
http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/what_its_like_to_exhibit_at_magic/

Tip from Kathleen:

“One last take away, I CANNOT stress this enough:
Make sure your booth number is on EVERY SINGLE piece of material in your booth. EVERYTHING, down to press releases, press reprints you give away, line sheets, order forms, business cards, swag, whatever. If that means you have to order little stickers to plaster on everything, so be it. Seriously.”

And lastly, I found this great interview with the folks who put on MAGIC on Fashion Biz Inc’s website. It also has some great advice on how to work the shows. It’s called “Get the most out of MAGIC!”

http://fashionbizinc.org/blog/selling-at-a-trade-show/

Good luck at market everyone!

Do you really know who buys your clothing?

I love this article that just came out in W magazine. My quick, two-second summary: those who are truly purchasing luxury fashion right now are not the skinny 16 year olds, they’re the established forty-something women with experience and the cash to prove it. Sure, they might like edgy or avante-garde styling, but they also have curves and want to be comfortable. What does this teach us? That in order to survive in this market, you have to truly know your customer. And design just for her. May success then follow.

Read the article here:

Adult Content

Not a cash-strapped, trend-crazed kid anymore? Perfect. You’re fashion’s new best friend.

by Dana Wood for W magazine

Survival of the Fittest: How emerging labels can build more value in the eyes of retailers in a tough economic climate.

My latest article for Nolcha.com contains advice on how emerging fashion designers can impress retailers when going to market for the first time. All info was gleaned from interviews with successful boutique owners. Insider info, just for you. Here’s a quick excerpt and a link to the full article:

As an emerging fashion label launching in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, you are undoubtedly making every possible effort to impress buyers at market and gain a competitive advantage. Chances are, you’ve made a considerable investment in all aspects of your business, from samples and production, to branding, marketing, PR, and sales efforts.

But because of the recent economic down-turn, retail buyers are scrutinizing new labels more closely, and some are favoring tried and true brands over new ones, for fear that new ones may not be as “buttoned-up” and therefore a financial risk. With tradeshow season upon us, how can you show retailers that your label is a good investment? Show them that you’re pulled together and super committed to helping them sell your line. Here’s how….

Read the full article here.

Need inspiration?

Here’s a great article on some young, up-and-coming fashion designers, and how they’re pulling off success in these tough times. Check it out and get inspired:

The New Guard

“In this most inauspicious of economic moments, it takes major guts to launch a fashion collection. Meet a crop of freshman hopefuls who have the creative chops—and business savvy—to pull it off.”

By Bridget Foley for W Magazine

Using mood boards to visualize your brand

Mood boards are a tool I use quite frequently with new clients when they ask me to create their new brand image. Simply put, a mood board is a collage of a certain style of imagery that represents the kind of look and feel you would like to portray in the marketplace. You can gather the imagery from various sources, but it is designed to be inspiration only. After deciding on whether to go with the look portrayed in the mood board, you would then hire a photographer to shoot images in a similar style. Don’t forget, the mood board must be a direct execution of your brand strategy, otherwise, it won’t make sense.

Here’s a small section of a mood board I did for a Seattle-based line of organic clothing. The mood board is very lifestyle-oriented and shows people just naturally being themselves, and having fun. It was a great way for the client to see a possible execution of their brand attributes.

Example of a mood board

I think the best mood boards tell a story. If your brand had a story, what would it be and how would it look? Would it look like an black and white film noir? Or would it look like someone’s romantic travel journal? The possibilties for giving your brand a unique look are endless! Think creatively, and have fun.

5 Reasons why you should be using social media in your fashion business

I just wrote on this topic for Nolcha.com. Social media—word of mouth on steroids— can give your fashion biz the boost it needs to gain traction.

Here’s an excerpt:

Social media is all the rage: fashion brands like Gucci, Rachel Roy and Louis Vuitton are all tapping into this medium to have their voices heard in a free-global marketplace.

At the 9 Festival for Fashion and Photography in London, fashion executives spoke about the impact social media is gaining in their business.

Stephanie Phair, Director of www.theoutnet.com explained the new presence of Facebook and blogging in business. “In traditional media fashion designers and retailers had a push mentality where we told you what you wanted and what your should buy.  Now with social media a push-pull mentality has emerged where customers have a very important voice.”

The beauty of this media revolution is that anyone can participate, from the consumer to the independent fashion designer, yet few fashion brands are embracing the full potential of social media’s impact on their business. Here are the top 5 reasons you should be using social media now….Read the full article here.

Launching a fashion or retail business? Join me at CRAVEbusiness Coffee Chat July 19

On July 19, I will be conducting a Coffee Chat through CRAVEbusiness along with fellow superstar consultant Juliet Sander. It will be an informative, informal, and entertaining session where we discuss the ins and outs of launching a successful biz in the retail, fashion, and beauty industries, and what to expect in your business, over coffee. Here’s the official event description and a link to sign up. Hope to see you on July 19 in Seattle!

_____________

This Coffee Chat is for fashion, beauty, lifestyle and retail business owners (or those who want to be) and will give you a snapshot of what to expect for your first 0-10 years in business, how to get off the ground, and how to use branding, marketing, and social media to your advantage. We’ll also focus on your own individual business challenges and will brainstorm helpful ideas to keep your business growing.

Speakers: Giannina Granata Silverman and Juliet Sander
Topic: Make it happen – Strategies for Launching and Growing a Fabulous Fashion, Beauty, Lifestyle or Retail Business
When: Sunday, July 19th, 2pm-4pm
Where: Pilates on 10th, 2351 10th Ave E Seattle, WA 98102
Price: $25 per person

Click here to sign up.

Naming strategies for branding your fashion business

Naming your fashion business is one of the most important things you will ever do. The name of your business, coupled with its visual look and feel, and verbal voice, will set the tone for your business and tell your customers what kind of brand you are.

Here are a few strategies, with some quick descriptions, to help you figure out your own approach.

1) The Artist as Brand
Betsey Johnson. Calvin Klein. Dolce and Gabbana. John Galliano. Versace. Armani. All are named for the principle designer, establishing the feeling that the designer is an artist, and the work is an extension of his or her personality or philosophy. This naming strategy may also be the most distinctive, if your name is unique.

2) Arbitrary/Intellectual
Helmet of the Will. Imitation of Christ. These are obscure, sometimes arbitrary names with a literary feel that may only make sense to the designer. They may also describe an intellectual approach to fashion design, where the design of the garment itself is an intellectual exercise.

3) Evocative/Lifestyle
Agent Provocateur. Miss Davenporte. Rock & Republic. Glam. These names evoke a feeling, an era, or a lifestyle. This naming strategy readily lends itself to visual branding, because it easily conjoures up visual ideas.

4) Literal
Truly Organic Apparel. Sustainable Collective. These names describe exactly what you get when you buy these brands. A good strategy when you need to distinguish your brand based on certain distinct attributes.

There is no one right way to name your brand, use what works best for you. When I work with clients on naming their businesses, we start first by creating a brand strategy and trying to figure out what feeling we want to create with their brand. Then, brainstorming names comes naturally. It should also be one of the most fun parts of starting your business. Enjoy!

The challenges of branding your green fashion business

I just wrote about this topic for Nolcha.com. As green fashion evolves from a hot trend to the status quo (and I sincerely hope it does), how will fashion companies distinguish their brands when everyone is using the same branding conventions? In my article, I talk about branding trends—or clichés—to avoid when creating your brand image for your green start-up. I also discuss logos, naming, and more.

Here’s the link:
The Challenges of Branding Your Green or Sustainable Fashion Business”

Enjoy!

Great article on why Anthropologie is so successful

Thanks to my friend, fashion business consultant Juliet Sander, for finding this great article. My quick read: Anthropologie puts a lot of effort into crafting a creative lush environment for its shoppers, inspiring them to extend that feeling into their own lives with their gorgeous wares and distinctive feminine fashions. This is a successful case study in brand loyalty, starting the emotional connection right in the store, building a story right in the store, and involving your customer in that story. It is also a case study in truly knowing your customer, and the kind of life they live and aspire to.

“Sophisticated Sell” by Polly Labarre for Fast Company. Enjoy!

Are you a Smashing Darling?

If you are an indie fashion label, then you should be. SmashingDarling.com is a place where indie fashion labels can show and sell their wares online to the discerning fashionista, as an alternative to mass market fashion and malls. For indie designers, it’s great way to build a cult following and sell your product.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Trish Ginter, one of the amazing forces behind Smashing Darling, and she gave some great advice for indies looking to showcase their wares on Smashing Darling, as well as some thoughts on how sites like hers might shape the fashion world. Here’ s the interview, enjoy!

A lookbook success story

Surely you’ve heard of Rodarte, the young and wildly successful label by Laura and Kate Mulleavy. Apparently, what got them noticed was their first lookbook, a gorgeous handcrafted piece using paper dolls, which they sent to editors and got immediate attention at WWD and Vogue, giving the young and insanely talented designers a rocket boost into superstardom. To read more about it, go here.

Your lesson here. An amazing lookbook can help you get noticed by the people that count. When you are ready to make your lookbook, think creatively. Use unusual materials. Send it in a gorgeous package. How can you stand out from a pile of junk on editors’ desks? I am sure you’ve got the creative chops to handle it.

Read this while it’s hot.

Portfolio magazine is shutting it’s doors, so read this article before it’s too late. It’s about how the Fashion business is moving forward in these tough times, with great points on brand building, marketing, passion, creativity, value, etc.

“Fashion Forward” by WWD staff for Portfolio.com

Enjoy.

How Marc Ecko built his brand into a killer business

Ok, you have to read this article. Then when you’re done, read it again. Because Marc Ecko has killer brand building ideas. And so should you. Here’s the link:

“It’s Going to Be Big” by Arthur Lubow for Inc. magazine

My quick summary:

Don’t think of yourself as a T-shirt company or a jeans company, but think of yourself as a brand. A brand that lives and breathes. If you’ve got limited funds, find creative ways to build and promote your brand. Marc used YouTube to inexpensively generate lots of media attention for publicity stunts, way before it was fashionable to do so.  One year, Marc couldn’t afford to be at MAGIC but turned it into his best sales year to date by employing a street team to promote the fact that he wasn’t at MAGIC, therefore generating tons of inquiries. (Guerrilla marketing at its best.) As of today, Marc’s brand continues to be successful, despite the economic down-turn, demonstrating the power of brand loyalty.

These are some of the highlights of the article, but you should really read all of it to learn from the awesomeness that is Marc Ecko. Enjoy!

Why, now, more than ever, you need to invest in your brand

Great news! My article went live on Nolcha.com today and was made a feature. For those of you who don’t know, Nolcha.com is a business magazine aimed at start-up fashion companies. It’s got lots of great advice and it’s free!

My article is called “Risky  Business: Why now, more than ever, you should be investing in your brand image.”

It’s about competing in this tough market and how a well thought out brand image can help you gain the confidence of retailers.

Enjoy!

Cool new website for fashion business advice

Have you heard of Nolcha.com? If not, you have to check it out. It’s got tons of great business advice for the young fashion start-up. And, as of tomorrow, I will be a guest blogger there, blogging exclusive content about branding and brand image. I’ll post a link and snippet here when my article comes out, very soon. Enjoy!

What to do when you can’t afford a trade show

Another reader has written in with a question, which I will reply here for everyone’s benefit:

From Shannon:

Hi Giannina,
I was wondering if you ever covered the topic of how to approach the buyer at a boutique? I have a new product (it falls under the Food & Beverage category I guess) and I am just now starting to work on getting the product into stores. I would love to know if there is a protocol on how to go about doing this – without going to a trade/gift show. Any advice? Or any suggestions of articles/blogs/posts that address this question? Thanks for your time. I love the blog and can’t wait to read more of it!!

Hi Shannon, I have covered this a little before but will address the topic again. I have a client with similar situation to yours, she could not afford trade shows or gift shows, yet by simply pounding the pavement locally, has managed to gain entry into major stores here in Seattle. It is completely acceptable to approach local boutiques directly.

However, emails didn’t seem to work, as they got lost in the shuffle, but what did work was calling and asking for the buyer and getting an appointment. Once at the appointment, being very organized and professional is helpful. Of course, it really helped my client that her brand image was in order ( I designed all of her packaging) as it really, really helped sell the product. What also helped was having some sort of professionally designed literature (which I created for her) accompanying her product that would explain it to the customer, and help the product sell. This really clinched the deal, as it made her look like she was thinking ahead about how to sell the product, which store owners love.

I hope you find this info helpful. Good luck!

Question from a reader re: naming your label

Phew! I have been crazy busy—working late nights, weekends, and I’ve got bags under my eyes to prove it!—but am now back in the blogging game.  To start, I have a question from a reader I think I’d like to answer here for everyone’s benefit:

From Layla:

I am starting a fashion business that’s due to launch in the summer of 09 and I find the that the part that I am struggling with the most is the naming and branding. I have come up with quite a few names and when I get to the point where I can put them on a business card they either are taken, too vague, or don’t equate to fashion at all. The main focus of my business is alterations and custom designs that most importantly fit the client. I read the article by Dana Wood and am leaning more towards the simple name than the flashy clever french ones that have been suggested to me (long story) because in the end if people can’t read it, pronounce it, or remember it what good is it. If you have any other articles or suggestions that would be a great help!

Thanks.

Layla, your instinct here is good. Being able to read, pronounce, and most of all, remember a name is the first challenge of a memorable brand name. While the clever long name trend might be fine for a niche brand aimed at 20-something hipsters who revel in intellectual obscurity, you have to consider your target market, their likes, and their lifestyle. You need to be different but also still reach your target market. What resonates most with your target market is the direction you should take. My guess is that the nature of your business demands a more direct, accessible sort of name. If your business name is short, you can also use a tagline to help people understand exactly the nature of your business.

Suggested strategy exercises to guide name brainstorming:
• write down the benefits of your brand to your target customer
• write down a list of words that describe how your brand should make people feel
• write the single most important thing you want people to know about your business.
• imagine a satisfied customer is telling a friend about your biz, what would they say?

Let that filter through your head for a few days and then use it to guide your naming.

Hope this helps!

Good news for indie designers in this tough economy

In a recent article in WSJ, it seems that local indie designers who sell directly to their customers may have a distinct advantage over others in this economy. My quick read: the experience of the customer interacting directly with the designer adds value and a perception of additional luxury, causing customers to develop an emotional connection and to return again and again. This, my friends, is the essence of brand loyalty. Read about this positive trend here:

“Local Color: Shopping Hometown Designers” by Christina Brinkley for WSJ. Enjoy!

Getting maximum tradeshow visibility on a small budget

Hey, kids! It’s that time of year again. MAGIC, POOL, and PROJECT are just around the corner. Will you be ready? If you haven’t started getting your marketing materials together, you have to start now. For start-up fashion labels with a small budget, here are some cost-effective ways to get noticed and remembered.

• Rock your booth
Help buyers find you as they are walking the show. A booth with little visibility or eye appeal could be the kiss of death. Buh-bye!

My advice: Get the biggest logo banner or booth backdrop that you can, within your budget. Your logo/name should be visible from about 40 ft away. But use your best judgement: don’t make it horsey, make it tasteful and good-looking.  If the least you can afford is a horizontal banner with your logo, max that out. If you can afford more, I would suggest a colorful backdrop in the back of your booth that is the height of the wall behind you. The last time I walked POOL, the most memorable and easy to find booth had a large digitally printed banner backdrop with whimsical graphics, and, of course, the brand’s logo. Remember, if you go this route, all your graphics should establish a certain mood and brand image. Choose your graphics wisely and make sure they fit within the strategy of your brand. Worried about eco-friendly banner options? Many eco-friendly banner companies have popped up all over the country this year, offering options that us Greenies can work with. Just remember to give your banner vendor enough time to produce your stuff. Calling them the week before a tradeshow is a no-no.

If you can’t afford a large booth back-drop, copy this cool technique I saw being used by a T-shirt company last year at POOL: use your product as your backdrop. This particular company arranged their T-shirts all over their back wall in an artful arrangement, resulting in an attention-getting, highly visible booth. Nice!

• Work your press
If you’ve gotten any press at all, print it out and display it on boards, which will impress buyers as they walk by your booth. Easel-backed foam board displays can be bought at Staples pretty quickly.  Again, do this tastefully so it doesn’t detract from your overall brand image.
Also, if someone famous has been seen—and photographed— wearing one of your pieces, work that as much as you can.

• Have a take-away
A tip from my two hot buyer friends here in Seattle: if a buyer has only seconds to stop by, give them something to remember you. A biz card is teeny and will get lost in the shuffle of junk from the show, but a large postcard showcasing your best pieces is a good option if you can’t afford to print out multiple copies of a look-book. The postcard should be big enough to stand out in their pile of show-related materials (I carried home two big bags last year!) but not so big that it’s annoying. Really smart start-up fashionistas will mail prospective buyers before the show too, letting them know what booth to find them at. And don’t forget to put your website’s URL on it so people can find you after the show.

• Give them (arm) candy
This option is a little pricier, but if you can swing the extra cash, you may want to consider it. This technique is being used by some of the savvier marketers at the show: give out canvas bags imprinted with your logo and tagline. Your URL might be good too. To save on cash, print up a small quantity and give them only to buyers. Afterwards, they’ll walk around the show with your brand name on their arm, generating curiosity for your cool new brand. You dig? I thought you would.

Other ideas?
I am sure there are many more creative ideas for getting noticed at the shows on a small budget. If anyone has any creative ideas that they’d like to share, feel free to comment here. Thanks!

Designing the right logo for your fashion brand

Whether you’re attempting a logo design on your own, or have hired a skilled graphic designer and brand image expert (like yours truly), there are molto important things to consider when designing a logo for fashion brands that are unique to the biz. I’ll walk you through several considerations, so you’ll be well prepared when you tackle your own logo design project. Natch!

1) Have a brand strategy
I can’t stress the importance of this enough. This is the launching point of every branding and marketing decision you will ever make. Ever. You need to define, in words, the emotional connection you’d like your audience to have with your brand. Who is your audience? What does your brand stand for? How does it make your customer feel? I have special worksheets that I give to clients to help them figure this out. Your brand strategy should be visible within your logo, and your logo should communicate the subtle emotional elements of your brand.

2) Brand your business, brand your product
Think of the many ways that your branding might be experienced. You’ll need a logo, possibly with components, that can be equally comfortable branding your marketing materials, as well as your product. Meaning, you may want to a logo that is comprised of both a symbol and logotype, and also has versions that are optimized for various situations and uses. 

In one instance, you’ll need something that has great readability on a website. This may mean a horizontal version of your logotype, since header bars in websites are typically shallow. Also, you’ll probably want a symbol component, which can be used to brand your product in a variety of ways, to create an even more unique, value-added product. For instance, with a symbol, you can brand little details on your product, such as pockets, zipper pulls, peek tags, and buttons or snaps. If you’re a jewelry designer, you may want a symbol that you can use as a tiny tag to brand your chains with. Or even works as a medallion. If you’re a footwear designer, a medallion would look great on flats. Think of Tory Burch’s gorgeous symbol and how it elegantly brands and distinguishes many of her products, from flats to bags to T-shirts. I really do think Tory Burch’s logo is pure genius. 

Don’t forget, regardless of how many applications of your logo, they should all have consistent elements, used consistently: consistent typeface, consistent symbol, consistent colors. Building a brand image is all about repetition. Eventually, die-hard customers should be able to recognize your brand with little prompting. 

3) Think big, think small
Have optimized versions of your logo that work well on trade show booth signage, and have versions optimized for even the smallest garment tag applications. For instance, at a trade show booth, your logo banner will most likely be horizontal, so you’ll need to get the most visibility possible within that space, so your name can be read from far away. This is where a horizontal version of your logo will shine. On tiny garment peek tags, you’ll want your name to be readable, so you’ll want to optimize for such small sizes too. That’s where you might make tiny adjustments and simplifications so your logo will embroider well. A tiny garment peek tag is also a great place to use your symbol, if it’s simple enough to reproduce well at small sizes. In short, test all applications of your logo, and tweak accordingly.

What’s the sum total of all of this?
If done right, your logo can help sell your product and make it fly off the rack. It can establish a mood, add value and desirability, and make your customer feel like part of an exclusive club. If done badly, your logo can make your product feel cheap, like a back-alley knock-off. And in this economy, you’ll need all the help you can get for your label to stand out above all the others screaming for attention. So, if you’re gonna do it, do it right. Pretty please?

Amazing website for killer marketing insight

You have got to check out Marketing Sherpa.

It’s a little steep to get a one-year subscription to this site, (I think it’s $400?) but if you can swing the cash, the returns might be handsome. I did it, and was able to gain insights that really helped my clients. A membership gets you direct access to the latest and greatest real-life case studies, research, and data on how to maximize your return on marketing efforts, and covers diverse topics like email newsletters, direct response, social networking, website landing pages, and much, much more. If you don’t mind busting open your piggy bank, this could be some of the best money you have ever spent. I think it’s one of the best online repositories of marketing knowledge ever. To get the most out of your membership, join up and read this site voraciously. I do.

How a luxury jeans line used the power of brand image to stay hot in a down-market

I love this story. It supports everything I believe about the power of branding and savvy marketing. When done right, your brand can withstand anything. The folks at Rock & Republic have it down cold. Read their story here:

“Selling $300 Jeans in a Down Economy,” by Stacy Perman for BusinessWeek

What I really love about their story is how they turned away certain retailers (they even said no to Barneys-gasp!), to create a sense of exclusivity, which ultimately supported their brand and created more fanatical lust for their product. Again, pure genius. What decisions will you make to support and pump up your brand?

Great article on retail buyers surviving the downturn

Yikes. Just the title of this article gave me chills.

“Retail Darwinism” by Mary Bridges, from Condé Nast Portfolio

My quick read: It appears that most retail buyers are stocking with caution for Spring 09, but some are focusing on items that have a strong emotional pull to the customer. Designers: How can you work this?

Question from a reader on choosing a trade show…

Hi everyone,

Sorry I haven’t written in a few weeks, I have been severely under the weather and now needing to catch up on blogging duties. Never fear, I’ve been brewing up some good topics, so keep checking back for more fashion branding and marketing fabulosity.

Last week, reader Kelly M wrote in with a great question, which I’ll post here with a response, so everyone can see. Thanks Kelly! Here is the question:

“I work for a small manufacturer of eco-friendly products. We are considering attending one of these fashion shows- either Magic, Pool, Project.. etc. We know that Magic incorporated Ecollection this year. By the looks of the description this may be a great opportunity for our company… however we are really unsure if this should be “the one”. What were your thoughts on Ecollection and how would you go about choosing a trade show if you haven’t participated in one before.”

Great question, Kelly. In previous years, the Eco category was given a small section in POOL [last year it was called "(s)econds"], but as you can see the category is growing tremendously, so much so that MAGIC has dedicated a much bigger effort to it with Ecollection. I haven’t been to Ecollection yet but a client of mine showed this past August with good results. Since MAGIC is in fact the largest fashion trade show, I think it should rank high up there in terms of which show you decide to go to. MAGIC probably gets some of the highest foot traffic of all the shows, so to me, showing at Ecollection makes sense. I would definitely choose a big show like MAGIC and show under the Eco category,  as opposed to doing a smaller show that also might have less foot traffic. Basically, you want exposure to as many retail buyers as possible, and MAGIC affords you that possibility.

Also, from what I have seen, POOL is fairly small and heavily dominated by T-shirts and youngish, trendy hipster wear, and it does get less traffic. PROJECT is bigger, and more oriented toward young lifestyle fashion, like fashion jeans and such.

Of course, you have to look at your budget and decide what you can afford to do. But if you can swing the cost, I do believe MAGIC is the place to be. If you decide to do MAGIC, make sure you’re prepared: Make some clean and attractive signage so people can easily see your booth, and bring good marketing materials, even if they are simple and low-budget.

Thanks, Kelly! I hope this helps! Don’t hesitate to write again if you have more questions!

In this economy, you really need to read this.

Seriously, take your butt over to your local book store and pick up the latest issue of the Harvard Business Review On Point: ”Growing Your Business in a Downturn”. Unfortunately the HBR doesn’t post articles online for free very much, so you really have to got to buy it. It’s worth every penny of the $16.95 cover price. It’s like getting an MBA in a bite-sized package.

My fave articles in this issue have to do with how discounting hurts your brand over the long run, how you should manage your brand for your long-term vision (and not quarterly), and how not to get too comfy sitting on your laurels even if you are number 1. Case studies mention Nike, Levi’s, and others. It’s pretty heady stuff, but I know you can handle it.  Enjoy!

Can the name of your fashion label hurt you? Why your name is really everything.

This is a sad tale of an illicit love affair. It all began innocently enough. I was at a department store and happened upon a really sweet, sexy bag. Oh yeah—this baby had just the right of leather, buckles, hardware and compartments to get my motor running. I loved it, and was about to plunk down some hard- won greenbacks for it, but no dice: my eyes spotted the huge logo tag on the side, upon which were inscribed the fateful words “Jessica Simpson”. Though I was madly in love with the bag, I had to put it down and walked away, heart-broken.

You see, the crowd I run with here in Seattle tends to be a little on the high-brow side, and a logo’d Jessica Simpson bag would be the end of my street cred.  I’m sure Jessica Simpson is a great gal, and I’m sure she’d be fun to hang with, but the negative public perception imparted upon the poor Ms. Simpson from her reality TV Show “Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica”  continues to exist, whether she likes it or not.

How can Jessica fix this problem? Well, I would have bought that bag if the name and logo had been subtle or cryptic. If you want to tell me on the hang tag that the bag is a Jessica Simpson creation, that’s fine. I just don’t want to shout it out to the world when I’m walking down the street. I want a bag that can become part of my iconic personal style, but not an extension of Jessica Simpson’s unfortunate negative public perception.

Dear Jessica, if you’re out there, please know that I love your stuff and even own a sweet pair of your shoes. But in the meantime, I think we need to work on your product branding. Because I’m sure I’m not the only gal who walked away from your sweet bag.

A celebrity fashion label that gets it right is William Rast. Obviously we all know by now that this is Justin Timberlake’s creation, but because the name is a made-up character, it allows the wearer to create a personal identity with the brand. This is ultimately what you want for your brand: for your customers to fill it in with their own wonderful associations. Set the tone, give them direction, but let their imagination run wild.

And hopefully you’ll be on your way to smashing success.