Fashion For Profit

My other job!!

For those interested in what else I do besides write books on running an apparel business please check out the following link.

http://www.blackdiamondproductions.com/bdp
User Name: FBI
Password:  FBI

Typical Questions for New Apparel Manufacturers

Hello Frances!

 

You very kindly answered a couple of questions, previously, for us. Hope your trip went well.

Just one more question, if you don't mind.....

 

We are about to launch our new apparel line and are novices at this. We have read your book "Fashion For Profit" and it has been an enormous help.  However, we are unsure about the usual buying practices of retail stores. Our garment contractors, of course, have minimums. What minimum quantities can we expect smaller stores to order? We are selling high quality ladie's tops. Should we expect that they would buy 6 of each size from a new company such as ours?

 

As always, thanks for your help,

Best regards,

Carrol Magder

DOGGONE APPAREL

 

Hi Carrol:

I am traveling at the moment but here is a quick response.

You can ask either for a minimum order in a $ amount, or for minimum of pre packs of sizes.

You should go and talk with a couple of smaller stores near you for the way they like to buy, just to get feedback.
Good luck!

 

FRANCES:

We launched our line last week. We followed your advice regarding packaging and are already in 5 stores after one week of selling.

We have a store in one of the beach front communities in L.A. that wants an exclusive right to carry our junior line in their city only. Any ideas on how much a minimum order should be to grant that privilege? If for example you recommend a $1,500.00 minimum order, how often should they have to re-order that dollar amount to retain their exclusivity?

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Hi Carrol: Yes, this request is normal. Remember it is your business and you have the final say. Have you seen where their store is? Is it a store you would like to grant their request to? Meaning they have the customers you want and they are the best store in the area? You can grant them their request for minimum orders each season and you can also add that you will not sell to any other store within a certain area of blocks. It would be worth a trip to look at where they are and what they are requesting. It is hard for me to know the answer as I don't know them. It could be a store that is out of the way and has no traffic or has shoddy goods! Know who you work with on all levels! Good luck!

Case Study of New Apparel Business

Dear Frances,

I have just purchased your book, Fashion for Profit. This book is extremely helpful! I am setting up my own fashion business and your book has actually saved me a whole lot of time and money due to it answering all of my questions.

I see you have additional courses, which I feel all designers should keep on doing even once they have a career. It helps to keep one updated and fresh of mind.

I am having a test run of my business, during which I would like to keep you in touch of the progress. I am designing made to measure jeans for Tall Women, so the test run will perfect the unique patterns and testing of premium quality denim for each client.

Once again thank you for the book and also your business, both are a continued help for my business; TallGenez.

Sincerely,

Roy Parkin. CEO/Chief designer of TallGenez

Biker Shorts – Another fashion statement that should be against the law!

I had to laugh when I received the following from an old friend and successful fashion designer over in the UK. She echo’s my sentiments on bikers’ shorts in true British out spoken fashion.

“ps a friend from NY came for dinner at the apt in Paris, it was so embarrassing, she was wearing a T-shirt and cycling shorts, and she weighs 500 lbs, i joke with the weight, but she is FAT !!, It was a dinner, Saturday night in Paris, and she looked like she was going to the supermarket, with all this horrible lumpy fat showing on the tops of her arms and legs, Fran i think u might have said something to her, it was revolting.  u can be fat, that’s not the issue, but pls wear the right clothes. She is 65yrs old, so it matters. Why do Americans often have no sense of decorum? ”

That last statement could be debated, and I hope you put forth your two pennies worth!!

Biker shorts are really one of my pet hates both for men and for women. They are even worse for men! I see them every weekend when I go for a hike and stop for a morning coffee. Bikers also stop by for a coffee when enjoying their morning ride at the most fantastic location for a Starbucks on the PV peninsular. The men have very unsexy lumpy lumps at the front of their bike pants and ugly padded butts from behind. The women in this odd fashion often look more appealing, but only by a hair!

A free invite to a very important film premier

Buying a branded product is often snob based. We seem to have a preconceived conception of a person walking around wearing a "Prada" or other highend branded products! Wow! They must have the BIG JOB and the BIG BUCKS! But why do we think like that?? Do you value that person more?? Is that product worth more because it is branded?

NO!!!

I have preached it for years, that for a manufacturer you need a brand follower to earn the big bucks but as creative designers, or free intelligent creative thinker, WHY do you feel you need to have a brand association? We should ask ourselves why do certain people keep on buy these goods knowing they are knock off's???

It is important to begin a dialog to educate both the old and the young as to who is behind these illicit goods. Why do we not think beyond buying a "great bargain" and saving on a product that should often cost much, much more?

Please join us for this very important film premier, sponsored by the US Chamber of Commerce, made by the National Geographic and produced by the famed producer Dr. Moises Naim, acclaimed editor of Foreign Policy magazine.

I look forward to seeing you all on the 14th April at 5.30pm at the LA Textile show at the California Market Center in LA. Please see more below-

Illicit: The Dark Trade

Film Background

The National Geographic Special reveals how hidden criminal networks cost untold numbers of jobs, kill and maim thousands of people, and breed violence and corruption. It focuses on how technology both enables and can disable illicit trade. It also raises questions about whether authorities have coherent strategies to combat this new phenomenon and shows how consumers are often complicit in illegal trade.

To highlight this growing threat, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has underwritten a new National Geographic Special, "Illicit: The Dark Trade." This groundbreaking film is not just about smuggling or crime, it's about how criminal networks are changing the world.  Illicit trade has increasingly dangerous political consequences—money laundering, massive corruption, and the subversion of entire governments. It is changing how we live in ways unrealized, and governments around the world seem powerless to stop it. Illicit trade is redefining economic relationships, borders, and the role of workers, managers, armies, and governments.

The film is based on the bestselling book Illicit by Dr. Moisés Naím, acclaimed editor of Foreign Policy magazine. Naím believes illicit trade could be as big—or even greater—a threat to our way of life than terrorism. Naím lends his expertise and his voice to the film.

                                                                                                         

Protect What You Create!

How to safeguard your artwork from thieves, pirates and other unscrupulous industry players.

            My name is Attorney Scott and I practice in Los Angeles, California. My firm, the Doniger Law Firm APC [www.donigerlawfirm.com] specializes in representing artists and companies in resolving the disputes that arise in the creative industries. Artists are often unaware of what their rights are under the law and face obstacles in enforcing their rights when someone infringes their works. One of the most common problems we encounter is the theft of graphic artworks. A couple such scenarios are as follows:

            Scenario #1: An up and coming, artist-driven brand provides a line sheet showcasing its new designs to a potential buyer. The buyer passes on purchasing goods from this company, instead opting to simply steal the art and reproduce it as part of its own line.

            Scenario #2: An artist posts his work online, noting on the body of the website that the works are owned by the proprietor of the site. A few months later, shirts and hats bearing the works show up in a retail chain store.

            These are just two of a number of different ways artists get ripped off and both of scenarios are totally illegal.  Too often the creative expression of the artistic community is exploited for profit without credit or compensation being paid. Yet, this doesn’t have to be the case. Taking the time to legally protect your work, and then prosecuting any would-be thieves, can help put a stop to this sort of behavior.

            1. Register Your Work

            In the United States, once you have created something that is tangible (such as drawing a picture, taking a photograph or sculpting a statute), you automatically have what is known as “common law” copyright protection. This means that if you can prove you published that work by distributing it to others, and someone copied it, you can recover damages from this copier. However, you are only allowed actual damages (the money the copier made off of the copies and any money lost by you as a result of the copying) if you did not hold a copyright registration when the copying occurred.

            If you take the additional step of registering your work with the Copyright Office, you can recover increased damages from any infringer, including your attorneys’ fees. Filing a copyright registration is not complicated, and carries a relatively nominal fee and the protection you receive is more than worth the amount. It will give you peace of mind knowing that there is a public record of your creation of a piece of art, especially if you are distributing it to multiple parties in search of buyers, investors or collaborators.

            2. Monitor for Infringement and Attempt to Resolve any Dispute

            Keep an eye out for thieves! If you see someone that has stolen your work, contact your attorney immediately. Your attorney will issue a cease and desist demand to the infringing party. At this point it may be possible to discuss an arrangement, such as a royalty payment, to resolve the dispute. With the advent of the internet, where many retail stores maintain an online presence, it is easier than ever to identify potential infringers. You can review the sites of companies to which you have provided samples, or sites of old collaborators, to see if they have “borrowed” any of your work.

            3. If all Else Fails, Litigate

            If you are unable to resolve your dispute with the thief, the next step is to file a copyright infringement lawsuit. In order to do so, you must have a registration (see #1). Even if you did not have the registration prior to the infringement, you must apply for one after the infringement in order to file your case. The Court will assist in resolving the issue, either informally, or through a trial.

If you have any questions regarding the law as it applies to fashion, please feel free to contact me at scott@donigerlawfirm.com

Fashion Fur “Faux” Par

Not since we were all exposed to those low riding, and often too much belly reveling hip hugging, crack exposing pants, have I felt such a strong distain of a fashion trend. Well, maybe the “Juice” across the butt is another. But this year’s real fur around the collar jackets, or is it faux fur? Either, or, is an out dated statement of a very distasteful and tacky trend.

Sadly, from my own and many others point of view, real fur this year has returned in a big way on catwalks and many designer collections, from Prada and other European luxury goods designers and indeed certain US designers. But, as a south west coast resident, real fur is thankfully considered unnecessary as a means of warmth and politically incorrect by Hollywood and other Californians’ who tend to have a reputation as being more socially sensitive.

Until this season’s invasion around the necks of all and sundry from the LA fashion district, through international airports and malls, is has been difficult to escape this ugly trend. When I look at these fur “things” around these fashion trend seekers necks, I seem to hear cries of pain from dogs or wolves, and see their haunting eyes of pain. Or, I find myself looking very carefully to see if in fact it is a cleaver faux imitation. Either one, is in my opinion a statement of embracing an out dated fashion trend of wearing fur as a trim, or as clothing.

Additionally, while on this subject, I have always felt animal prints where an odd choice of what is really a depiction of animal fur, or reptile skin and therefore a strange blasé endorsement of cruelty. But, I do wear leather so who am I to criticize!

But as a fashion “expert” it maybe acceptable for me to say I am so over seeing those jackets with the real dog fur collars, or the very realistic synthetic fur collars.

My strong reaction may have stemmed from last years animal rights exposé of major US chain stores who had purchased fur collared jackets from a Chinese vendor of what they had been informed were synthetic fur collars, but which, unfortunately turned out to be real fur. It was to the retails dismay, and many others that these fur trimmed jackets were discovered to be made from real animals’ fur! The Chinese had substituted and lied about the fact the fur was real and not synthetic fur they used for these collars. They had in fact used dog fur factories to breed and kill, and produce for this season’s buyers.

As we are aware, the Chinese are on the whole not famous for their kindness to animals. So, this reveluation should have come as no surprise, but to us dog/animal loving people it was very disturbing.

Looking on the bright side, summer is on its way and those distastefully fur trimmed jackets, a symbol of the socially blind trend seekers of fashion, born out of both ignorance and cruelty will be hung up and hopefully stay hung up!

Next season’s trend setters are at this time busy creating new styles to entice and to create a demand. The fashion industry must constantly create a demand for new trends, or there will be no new sales or no profits next season. The industry is after all about making money and about creating a “Fashion For Profit.”

 

MAGIC – Trade show Feb. 08

Just returned from presenting five seminars at one of the largest apparel trade shows in the world!

Las Vegas was full of the fashionable and the not so fashionable for this bi annual show, which occupies most of all the large hotels and the whole of the Las Vegas convention center.

The buyer’s attendance was down but to my surprise the seminar attendance was up. All our seminars that the FBI presented were full. Much to my own amazement, my last seminar on how to start your own apparel company was at the max of 300 and still some where unable to get in the door.

Maybe, when the economy is down then people turn to entrepreneurial ventures. It would be interesting to track the businesses started and the percentage of successful apparel start-ups who have attended my seminars or have read my books. Of course it has always been my plan/wish that all our hard work in presenting these seminars would be helpful and would assist in making good future business decisions.

 

One of many typical questions I get asked

One of many typical questions I get asked

Hello Frances:

My sister (cc'd on this email) and I have recently started a new company that aims to produce a patent pending t-shirt design. We are still in the prototype phase and have had trouble finding a seamstress/tailor that can develop the prototype given the unique design of the T-shirt. I hear that you "know EVERYONE" :-) so I am hoping you can help me find resources on the following:

• A seamstress or tailor in the Los Angeles or San Diego area that is able to work with cotton/lycra. I need someone who is knowledgeable with creating patterns and making clothing. As previously mentioned, the design is a unique T-shirt so the person has to be able to sew a non-typical/unusual pattern.
• Best resource for low-cost and allows for low-quantity orders of a cotton/lycra fabric and the quick dry fabric.
• Best resource for a Sales Rep with contacts into major department stores and boutiques.

Thank you in advance and best regards.

Julie

Hi Julie:

You have a nice list here for me to answer!

May I suggest you go to www.Fashionforprofit.com and www.fashionbizinc.org Both these sites are mine and maybe helpful with connecting you to the garment contracting associations, who have lists of sewing contractors in the Southern California area who specialize in sewing knit goods. It will be helpful if you can give your patternmaker specifications and measurements. Otherwise you maybe wasting time and money having samples remade until they are what you want.

To find a good rep it is like finding a good husband and requires some investigation, which only you can do.

First, inquire in stores you have pre identified as stores you would like to sell in as to where they buy their merchandise. Ask which shows they attend and do they deal with road reps or do they visit showrooms? If they visit showrooms can they help you with the right connections? Once you have a few names you can call them and ask if they would be willing to see your new line.

Also, ask the stores to please check your line out and to give you feed back as this will be helpful with your costing and merchandise selection and to see if they would be interested in buying your product.

Hope this helps.

Good luck!

Frances

Harder

FBI's Frances Harder and AIMS' Henry Cherner Return from Speaking Engagement at Chinese University

Happy New Year to all creative and fashion business minded blog visitors!

I am updating you on my recent trip to China, which I took just before the holidays. When I have time I will write more as it was a very mind changing trip that left me with much to ponder.

FBI's Frances Harder and AIMS' Henry Cherner Return from Speaking Engagement at Chinese University

China may be the world's apparel manufacturing giant, but it knows it has a lot to learn from how things are done right here in Los Angeles.

Fashion Business Inc.'s Frances Harder and AIMS Technology's Henry Cherner  returned from a week-long series of seminars in China. The trip was at the invitation of the Fashion Institute of Donghua University in Shanghai, and was sponsored by Newal Inc. a Shanghai based apparel manufacturer.

"The idea was to present to the university about the training the FBI has developed here in Los Angeles," says Harder. "One of the main reasons China was interested is that when they were under the "real" Communist regime, professionals were doing unskilled work. There was no real formal training. So they have this whole middle-aged group of people who missed out on training."

In addition to a large part of the population lacking the skills to keep up with China's growing manufacturing-industry needs, there is also, as in the U.S., a huge number of young people who want to be designers, Harder says. "But their technical patternmaking skills are very weak, and in order to improve product development they they need to strengthen these skills."

Cherner, president of AIMS, delivered a presentation on apparel-industry software, and Harder also presented on Full Package Production. In addition, Harder met with university representatives to discuss having her book "Fashion for Profit" translated into Chinese, and having Harder Publiations represented in China.

Harder says the trip was very informative for both the Chinese and for herself and Cherner. "We believe it will be the first step in future collaborations between the FBI and Donghua University," says Harder. "Perhaps we may partner with the university to help their instructors train industry professionals."

Regardless, it's opening a door to a relationship with China that could be productive for everybody.

"Our goal is to help the U.S. be more efficient dealing with China and other offshore manufacturers," concludes Harder. "The benefits will be to all of us in the long run."

Representatives from Donghua Unversity will visit the U.S. in February to see FBI seminars first hand, as well as attend the MAGIC International trade show in Las Vegas.