The Basics 03: Starting a Fashion Business
The production process: manufacturing a collection
What you need to know that no one wants to share….
Some quick background on me - I’m Kailee and I have a portfolio career.
I’m a —
Designer + founder for sustainable fashion brand and circular marketplace, STAATSBALLETT, scaling DTC revenue to 7 figures
Freelancer + consultant for brands and individual clients
Content creator
A girl who is OBSESSED with aesthetics, business + logistics
I pivoted from my fashion brand business, STAATSBALLETT, to focus on new ventures after some unfortunate ownership struggles, but I’m happy to share some of my knowledge and resources I’ve learned along the way. Some was gained through fashion school and working for other brands, but most was picked up through my personal experience of building a business from scratch.
Experience is truly the best way to learn, especially when you’re working for your own brand. Every little decision can be detrimental and overwhelming, even moreso if you’re bootstrapping your funding yourself. I hope this guide can be used as a starting point.
While there is a TON of information online, not all of it is easy to find or up to date. I’m often asked for advice on how I started, and while I’m in no way an expert, I do have a ton of information to share!
I wish I would have had some sort of guide like this to refer to at the beginning.
SECTIONS:
Start-up costs and the importance of research
Sourcing and minimums
Finding a factory
The flow of design and sample-making
Today we’ll talk about —
The transition to production and steps of the process
Supplies in NYC’s garment district Later this month I’ll share more on —
Collection presentation
Web design and store creation
Strategy - pricing and selling your product
Logistics and order fulfillment
Resources (factories, vendors, templates, etc.)
MANUFACTURING A COLLECTION
These are the most basic steps of the production process ..
Reference The Basics: 02 here for sample-making and design
Grading
The first manufacturing step in the production process is grading.
In the most simple terms - grading creates additional sizes of your existing approved pattern and sample, usually via a digital process.