How to Start a Male Clothing Line
Though there are many more women's clothing lines around, independent designers that focus on the men's clothing market can be very successful. Since there is less competition, starting a male clothing line may be the ideal venture for someone that is creative and has good business sense. To launch a men's clothing line, you will need to invest a great deal of time, research and effort.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Choose a niche for your male clothing line--this will help you market it more effectively. For example, you may want to create and sell formal menswear, clothing for big and tall men, men's golf apparel, custom men's ties or casual clothing for young males.
-
2
Pick one or more places to sell your finished clothing. You can look into selling items wholesale to local shops, through your own e-commerce store, an online artisan marketplace such as Etsy or 1000 Markets, at flea markets or in a brick and mortar storefront. Selling the clothing online is the least expensive and easiest to start with.
-
-
3
Learn how to sketch designs of your clothing. If you already know how to make simple fashion sketches, there will be no need to take a course in sketching or fashion design. However, if you have no design experience, consider taking a course on fashion design and sketching at your local community college, or teach yourself by reading books such as Alfred D'Ortenzio's "Fashion Sketching: Drawing the Fashion Figure." Alternatively, you can use a CAD (computer aided drafting) design system, such as Telestia Creator, instead of drawing with a sketch pad and pencils.
-
4
Find someone to make prototypes of your clothing sketches. If you do not know how to sew or source fabric inexpensively, you can hire a friend or associate who does, or ask your local seamstress, alterations or tailoring shop if they offer these services. The prototypes need to be well-made, since they will be shown on actual men to promote your clothing line.
-
5
Organize a fashion show to promote your new line of men's clothing. To do this, you will need to secure a venue for the show, as well as male models. You can post ads around your local college and university campuses to find models, and the venue can be as simple or as extravagant as you can afford.
To find out more about how to organize a fashion show and invite local fashion buyers and editors, see the link titled "How to Organize a Fashion Show" in the "Resources" section below.
-
6
Market your male clothing line by launching an informational blog or website, making a lookbook and sending it to fashion buyers, independent men's clothing stores and fashion publications and sending out press releases to your local media outlets that cover men's fashion. If you have limited marketing experience, consider hiring a public relations or marketing firm that has experience in the fashion industry.
-
1
References
Resources
- Photo Credit neck tie image by Christopher Hall from Fotolia.com
