Apparel entrepreneurship is getting acclaim far and wide as the need of the consumers is rising. The term seems new but the concept itself is 1000 years old.
Key Points
- Apparel entrepreneurship deals with a venture involving clothing. In other words, it relates to the idea of an entrepreneur setting up his/her own clothing line or a clothing shop.
- Most of the time, such entrepreneurs are fashion designers but they still need to be unique and creative toward what they are offering to the clientele
- Continuous experiments must be done in accordance with the particular culture of the society in which a specific apparel entrepreneurship venture is operating.
- Resources and marketing tools must be added to the checklist right before taking the first step toward apparel entrepreneurship.
- Once your quality and innovativeness speak of you, you can extend your venture just the way you want.
We all need to sustain life through favorable conditions. These conditions include all the factors promoting human growth. The basic need for shelter, food, and clothing has remained significant in every era of human civilization. Well, humans made their way to fulfill these requirements by sorting out the right measures.
Also Read: “An Eye Opening Guide About The Home-Based Entrepreneur in 2021”
They adopted different strategies to help themselves claim these basic necessities and this led to the versatility we enjoy in the world today when it comes to the choices of these basic necessities which have attained a luxury status in modern times.
What Is Apparel Entrepreneurship?
Well, you all must be familiar with Coco Chanel who put forth that the right kind of fashion helps you settle into any environment and makes you classy. This is not just about Coco herself, many other gurus in the fashion world have us a concept to hold on to.
Yes, you got it right. It is nothing except the prevalence of fashion in a specific culture and when an entrepreneur focuses on one of the basic mediums of fashion in the world i-e: clothing or dressing, the world ultimately recognizes that kind of venture as apparel entrepreneurship.
Apparel entrepreneurship tackles dealing with clothing affairs. It is of course not hidden from the world that almost 55% of the world economy is dependent on the fashion industry and within that, the clothing industry stands alone on its own.
The world has witnessed many renowned fashion designers originating as top-level entrepreneurs who have made their names in the book of successful entrepreneurs. Apparel entrepreneurship is making headlines today because of the growing interest of the clientele as well as the entrepreneurs. Compared to the other forms of entrepreneurship, this one is deemed as useful and convenient which asks for just a chunk of resources for its origin.
This kind of entrepreneurship which is considered easy by many of the newbies in the business town still comes with certain requirements which are needed from the entrepreneur’s part. This is because the business world is very harsh.
Here only those stays who have their direction cleared and defined in front of them before they even begin with their venture. Let’s tell you some checklists which you need to consider before making it to the end of the race.
CheckList Of Apparel Entrepreneurship
Apparel entrepreneurship is indeed a venture that can earn you fame and capital both but solely on the basis of some requirements. It asks for conditions and this is why it is highly important to understand the significance of these factors.
- Creativity
- Resources
- Team
- Marketing
- Innovation
- Cultural Consideration
Creativity
It is said that art is the biggest form of human expression. This becomes apparent in the artworks created by the biggest names from the past pages and the modern world. Luckily, today art has got another form of expression. This form has become the hottest medium for the consumer to understand and go for the product.
Yes, the fashion industry associated with dress designing or textile management is highly dependent on the creativity of the very artist who is later on considered an entrepreneur on the basis of the venture he starts.
Check the mindset of the world’s biggest designer setups. They are making millions of bucks every day solely because of the individual creativity which is unique to them. This uniqueness must be kept in mind if you are going to start apparel entrepreneurship.
I have noticed that many entrepreneurs are involved in making money so they don’t go into the depth of the overall purpose and start selling cheap replicas. However, you would also notice that these entrepreneurs are the ones who are in a continuous hustle to produce and more because of the fear of the growing competition.
When they lack their own style and idea, they are unable to cope up with the changes of the market and thus become history after a short time.
Resources
Once you are an entrepreneur, you must understand that it is not based on sole ideas but you would be needing actual resources to accomplish your end goal. The same rule works for apparel entrepreneurship. Luckily, you don’t need a large amount of capital to invest here but still, a handsome amount would be needed to start the venture.
If you are selling out someone else’s design, even then money would be required to place the orders and start the venture. When you are starting your own fashion line. The hype is real and stiffer than you can expect. This time you have to spend a lot just to ensure that your fashion line is up to the consumer’s quality and they should be motivated to buy from you. All this magic is done by the availability of enough resources.
Team
Every successful entrepreneurial venture is dependent on a good and hardworking team. This works well with an apparel entrepreneur. You are required to bring like-minded individuals to the same table and then listen to their ideas. This is how the biggest brands of the world have made their place secure in recent times.
Look at the success story of Versace. It is not the sole effort of Donatella Versace but with her hundreds of innovative and intelligent designers work hard every single day to deliver the best quality at the end and that is why the brand is revered today globally.
Marketing
Marketing is the new magic potion for an entrepreneur to succeed. This is because of the presence of social, print, and electronic media. A good fashion brand is always the one that ensures its presence on these platforms and tends to attract the attention of its clientele there. In a report conducted in the year 2019 by an independent marketing organization, the researchers put forth that today “the client has become wiser than ever, hence, he doesn’t trust anything easily but verifies it first and for that purpose, the social media fame serves correctly.”
Did I tell you that many of the clothing brands and fashion lines are continuing their journey online by interacting with their clients and offering them the finest sales pitches. This is why marketers are traced and their services are used in the first place. This makes things easier for the brands whenever they begin their startup venture.
Innovation
Every entrepreneur becomes successful only if he ponders upon making time to time changes in his creation. This is a good way to attract customers and stay reliable in the long run. This is the mode of operation of the leading fashion houses. Their power resides in their ability to introduce their new collection every other season and on special occasions. This not only attracts the customers because of their unique nature but also helps the entrepreneur stay creative throughout the 365 days. This innovation is responsible for the trust which is entrusted to them by the clientele.
Besides, when you are an apparel entrepreneur, you must learn that the more innovative you will be; the more will be the chances of your success because it will tell your clients about your potential as the creator. This is the prime reason that the leading entrepreneurs who are known as fashion designers in the creative world organize and take part in various fashion shows from time to time because they want to showcase their talent before the world.
Cultural Consideration
One thing which must be remembered by all the newbies in the field of apparel entrepreneurship is the significance of culture with respect to their creation. Unfortunately, many of the entrepreneurs today are at a loss because they had committed the worst mistake of their career earlier. If you don’t believe me, you may study their cases. 99% of the cases will be due to the reason for not sticking to the cultural norms.
This is an obvious fact that every culture has certain rules and regulations. There is a specific ideology associated with the way an individual dresses. Some cultures don’t prefer certain kinds of dressing and therefore if the entrepreneur is just picking up that specific fashion because he/she believes that it’s in fashion or is making a trend globally, then this could be a potentially dangerous decision in the end.
This is because it isn’t prevalent that a style that is necessary for one part of the globe may also make headlines in the other. Therefore, the global brands which serve an international audience are highly bonded towards the consumers’ norms and choices to design and serve.
Hot Cakes Of The Apparel Entrepreneurship
No one denies the fact that every year millions of clothing brands and businesses rise high in the sky of Entrepreneurship. However, there are some which are making headlines to date because of their innovative style and years of reliability and therefore are considered the golden hens of the fashion industry. Let’s have a quick glance.
- Louis Vuitton: Originated in 1854, this brand is among the biggest fashion houses in the world collecting a net revenue of 18 billion euros at present. Originally started as a French fashion house dealing with formal and casual dresses, now we find all kinds of fashion accessories being a part of it.
- Gucci: The Italian fashion house established in1921 is now becoming the hub to all the apparel needs of the consumers along with other fashion products. At present, the revenue is 9. 62 billion euros.
- Zara: This Spanish brand established in 1974 came into prominence when it started providing an affordable clothing line to individuals of all ages. From that time, the popularity is growing along with the revenue which stops at 19.56 billion euros.
- Victoria’s Secret: Founded in 1977, this company highlighted the significance of undergarments and swimwear for the first time. Ever since its origin, the clientele growth is booming and they all are contributing to a collective revenue of $1.6 billion.
- Dolce & Gabbana: Another Italian luxury fashion brand is here. Founded in 1985, this brand is dealing with all the fashion accessories and amusing gowns for weddings and formal gatherings. The clientele seems highly impressed and that is why the revenue generated by the brand ends somewhere at 1.29 billion euros.
Conclusion
Apparel entrepreneurship is a great idea on which a keen and artistic entrepreneur can work. However, working is another thing but making the venture successful is a huge task and for this creativity plus reliability in terms of quality must be assured. It is the quality of the apparel which brings your clients once again to the doors.
Many fashion designers who are enthusiastic about starting their own clothing line must remember that as long as they understand the meaning of artistic creativity and create designs meeting the needs of the clientele, things will work rightly in their favor but if they start copying and selling whatever the majority is offering in the business market, it will no longer entice the consumer. So, yes, creation along with innovation is the key to master perfection over here.
The author is an M.Phil scholar conducting her thesis in Literature. As a sucker for literature, she swoons over Greek and South Asian fiction while reviewing books in her spare time. Her love for writing has made her expand her subject matter and now she pens her opinions frequently on business, finance, entrepreneurship, lifestyle, history, and literature. For a special connection with entrepreneurship, she opens up the details occasionally about it.