The POWER of FASHION lies in its ability to transform IDENTITY and CULTURE.
Fashion, like ART, embodies the time we live in and society bears witness to the interpretation of its HISTORICAL and CULTURAL significance.
– RP Hill
Advice; best practices; reports; statistics; facts; and resources
The POWER of FASHION lies in its ability to transform IDENTITY and CULTURE.
Fashion, like ART, embodies the time we live in and society bears witness to the interpretation of its HISTORICAL and CULTURAL significance.
– RP Hill
ANSWER. A designer’s earnings are typically based on the number of years in the business, experience, expertise, region or location, size of the company, and job description. Because each person’s background and objectives are unique to them, we suggest to do your own research and due diligence. For example, compare salaries of local similar job […]
Read moreThe salary of a fashion designer depends on experience, responsibility, the company, and location. The easy answer, which is the annual mean wage from the May 2020 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS], is $87,210.
Read moreQuestion. What is costume design? Answer. Costume design is the creation of costumes for artists or characters of performance art – film, television, theatre, opera, music, and dance. It communicates the identity of a character to the audience and helps the actor communicate and “get into” the identity of the character. No other form of […]
Read moreQuestion. I want to be in fashion. Can I get a broad sense of what career options there are? Answer. There are many paths to a career in fashion whether you work for a company or are independent. Broadly, there are 6 traditional commercially focused sectors of which are organizationally structured with numerous skilled jobs; […]
Read moreTechnology is built on data; innovation is built on imagination and cannot be replaced by artificial intelligence.
Read moreAfter all, most artists don’t go around proclaiming, ‘I want to be a commercial success.’ – Bernard Arnault, LVMH chairman & CEO
Read moreBranding 101: Branding is the Big Picture. Branding is the sum of all impressions one has of your business. Such as, the quality and detail of your seasonal collections; public relations and news about the organization; social media output; your name, graphic and visual identity; packaging. Deliver a consistent on-target brand experience across all consumer […]
Read moreWe have to be unburdened by what has been to consider what can be. – Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States
Read moreStay focused, slow it down, present scarcity, and invest in a circular system.
Read moreAs part of the IFM – Première Vision Chair, Français de la Mode conducted a study that surveyed 5,000 consumers in France, Germany, Italy and the United States about their consumption habits of Eco-friendly fashion.
Read moreAre you giving your consumer a platform to provide you with meaningful feedback? Do you know why their consumption patterns have changed? Don’t assume anything. Have you asked?
Read more. . . And to Those Still Trying to Break Through the ‘Noise’. There are no impossibilities. In a world where we are taught to conform, we must be diligent in using our creative power for change. Many new to the fashion industry will see the difficulty in challenging the status quo. If you work […]
Read moreWith 25.5 billion pounds of USE-ABLE textiles thrown away each year (70 pounds per American), there is a lot of waste that can be prevented.
Expertise is no longer a guarantee in this business and bachelors degrees and awards don’t always take you to the top. Sometimes boundless energy, street smarts, a killer idea and an iPhone are what it takes.
Read moreA ten minute catwalk? How about a ten month campaign of exposure! Why not leverage this very short window of exposure to maximize your business long-term. Here are 10 steps of keeping your brand prominent in the eyes and buying power of your audience: Tell your story – document your design and development stages by […]
Read moreWe need to shift our consumption values so that the entire fashion system can shift along with it.
– RP Hill –
Non-biodegradable clothes are manufactured synthetic textiles including polyester, spandex, nylon, and rayon[*]. It may take between 20 to 200 years to fully biodegrade these textiles. Biodegradable Textiles: Cotton: Cotton is one of the most biodegradable fabrics you can have, especially if it is 100% cotton. In a compost, cotton may biodegrade within as little as a […]
Read moreDid you know as late as 1990, the United States apparel manufacturing industry employed nearly 939,000 people? In 1931, the Garment District in New York was home to the highest concentration of clothing manufacturers in the world. But as manufacturing has moved overseas the sector has since lost more than 85 percent of its workforce […]
Read moreThe fashion industry—including retailers, manufacturers, designers and wholesalers—employs more than 1.8 million people in the United States. It relies on workers in a wide range of occupations, including fashion designers, market research analysts, graphic design artists, computer systems developers, patternmakers, sewing machine operators, retail sales workers, wholesale buyers, accountants and business operations specialists.The U.S. fashion […]
Read moreAccording to U.S. Congress JEC report, the U.S. apparel manufacturing industry currently runs a trade deficit. In 2014, U.S. apparel exports totaled roughly $6 billion, while imports were about $82 billion. Over one-third of U.S. apparel imports come from China (36 percent), with Vietnam (11 percent), Bangladesh (6 percent), Indonesia (6 percent), and Mexico (5 […]
Read moreIn ten minutes the past few months of working on something is presented to the world. The show itself is over so fast, and for myself, I only see it on a playback video after it’s over. – Brendan M Combs, designer. With each show available for the viewing public, digitally, designers question where is the […]
Read moreTapping into your audience/client at key points during the design process can save you a lot of disappointment of the ‘big reveal’ at the end. Consider this your focus group/feedback session. Sketches really help you “sell” your designs to the clients. – Icon Utopia Designers, the entire design process is of such meaning to your […]
Read moreSkip the landfill and discard your unwanted R.A.G.S. – Recycle Accessories Garments Shoes – responsibly. Americans discard more than 28 billion pounds of unwanted clothing, shoes, and other textiles. Charitable organizations and others collect roughly 15 percent of these items, while the remaining 85 percent — 24 billion pounds — end up in landfills. – […]
Read moreA how-to guide from Redress and EcoChic Design Award.
Read moreFashion shows have become a media spectator sport at a high cost of entry for the designer. Is the 10 – 20 minute catwalk worth the investment in exposing their work, but more importantly getting that order from buyers? Read what emerging designers think of fashion shows. A mixed blessing? How important is exposing your […]
Read moreDid you know Wikipedia list over 75 countries that produce fashion events? Here’s a little context of how big the fashion show industry is:
Read moreIn fashion, do we produce and consume too much of the color black? Do you know why black is used in the branding of Chanel, YSL, and Armani Exchange? How does the color spectrum affect consumer behavior? Color is a powerful element in design. It has the ability to connect a variety of feelings, moods, […]
Read moreWell established big brands can start at $100,000, which can include venue, models, styling, hair and makeup, production, public relations, and live streaming. Pay to play celebrities is an addition. In 2011, the New York Times reported that the Marc Jacobs show cost at least $1 million, which breaks down to about $1,750 per each […]
Read moreBecome fearless in your design approach. Create fashion that is unexpected, unpredictable, and uncompromised.
Read moreDon’t let Fashion Week play you. What you should get out of Fashion Week. Designers/Brands A 20 minute catwalk gets you what? You pay to play. Think about what you want out of it [the return on your investment] and don’t settle. You should want orders, press, interviews, and dialogue about your collection/your work. Social […]
Read moreSelling to the “Majors” may not be all that profitable for certain brands.
Read moreThe states with the greatest number of fashion designers include: New York (7,190 fashion designers), California (5,750), Texas (500), New Jersey (340) and Massachusetts (270). The metropolitan areas with the largest numbers of fashion designers are New York City (7,030), Los Angeles (4,130), Santa Ana (520), San Diego (260) and Long Island (250).
Read moreWe don’t know what consumers don’t buy. We know what they do buy.
Read moreIn developing your brand, focus on engagement, not sales. You want to engage the consumer on an emotional level and to effectively communicate it across their entire brand experience. When you think of an emotional connection with a brand, Disney has one of the best practices of consumer engagement and brand leveraging across all its […]
Read moreThe Trendstop team of FashionUnited brings you this exclusive insight into the consumer mindset. . .
Read moreFashion designers are at the heart of the industry’s creative process. Across industries, fashion designers earn an average of $73,600 annually. [Source: The New Economy of Fashion | Joint Economic Committee, United States Congress]
Read more. . . And to Those Still Trying to Break Through the ‘Noise’. There are no impossibilities.
Read moreThe usage of social media with marketers ranks very high in the marketing efforts of connecting current and prospective consumers to their brands. As reported by statista.com, in the United States alone, social media marketing spending is expected to exceed 17 billion U.S. dollars in 2019 – almost ten billion increase, compared to 2014.
Read moreThe EDGE network of emerging designers share business tips and advice on their journey as an up and coming brand in the fashion industry. This is part of the EDGE experience based [to complement academic] educational best practice series.
Read moreAlex Jaeger is an awarded costume designer based in Los Angeles. His background spans multiple disciplines of the performing arts and film. We gained insight on the costume creation process and the role it plays in the performing arts from our talk with Alex.
Read moreA student fashion show is not just “show and tell”, but a collaborative educational experience that showcases student marketing, design, and event production talents. It’s applying academics to real life. I wanted to learn more about the “what, why, and how” of producing a show by the student body and in particular how it is […]
Read moreBusiness and design go hand in hand, now, and without understanding how each part is important you can easily find yourself losing your power in major decision making moments. . . – Brendan M Combs, designer.
Read moreIn today’s world, you need to understand what can be sourced at a level that will sustain commercial use. You need to understand that highly customized fabrics and trims will either have enormous minimums, enormous prices or both. – Jay Arbetman, The Sourcing District. As part of EDGE’s EDGE-ucation series, we bring you insight on […]
Read moreThe EDGE network of emerging designers share business tips and advice on their journey as an up and coming brand in the fashion industry. These direct quotes are from the EDGE Radar designer interview series. Explore boundaries and believe in what you’ve set out to accomplish. – An interview with Amabelle Aguiluz. . . My […]
Read moreEDGE team contributor and technical designer, Melissa Lugo, shares her expertise on garment spec packages. We talked to Melissa, asking her pertinent questions regarding the importance of design specification packages. Melissa, what are spec [specification] packages and how important are they in the product development process? I use the word packages, because it is inclusive […]
Read moreAmara Bessa, owner of Kariella Clothing Shop, took the time to talk to EDGE about her start in the fashion industry, how often and where she shops the market, and what she does to differentiate Kariella from other independent retailers. In a live audio interview, Amara tells us about her vision to be unique, build […]
Read moreArtist Teresita Fernandez once said, You don’t need a lot of friends or curators or patrons or a huge following, just a few that really believe in you. Graduates of all vocations, yet particularly those of the arts, don’t wait for one or two years to truly own your life, empower yourselves now! Whether it is […]
Read moreFocus on the consumer, not sales, believe me, it’s a win, win. To do this you have to intimately know who your audience is. Who are you designing for? You design for the customer – the retailer/buyer – and you design for the consumer – the ultimate end user. Knowing the consumer will position you […]
Read moreAs a veteran in the fashion business, this feature on business practices and tips are from my personal experience. Those of you that are recent graduates bear in mind that academia is a great foundation. Gaining complete knowledge of running a fashion business [designer, wholesaler, or retailer] is the combination of both academia and experience. […]
Read moreYou have a voice that can influence contemporary culture as much or more than anything else. If you love what you do, there’s nothing like the rush of having a great idea and then seeing it created. – Tom Ford, keynote speaker at the 2013 annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund awards dinner. EDGE up and coming […]
Read moreStella McCartney was the keynote speaker at the Council of Fashion Designers of America [CFDA] and Vogue’s annual Fashion Fund dinner. Her advice to the fashion class of 2014, as told by Marshall Heyman of WSJ.com: • Go work in Paris. “It will serve you very well if you can get there.” • Study vintage […]
Read moreIMAGINE A FUTURE LIKE THIS: Community Couture [Scenario 2] 1. The world is… struggling to cope with the impacts of climate change and resource shortages but community bonds are strong – many strive for self-sufficiency. 2. Fashion is… expensive new or cheap and second-hand… very high costs of raw materials and disrupted supply chains have […]
Read moreI got a grade of ‘D” on the first piece I made in my high school sewing class, which was a skirt. I cried all the way home. What I thought was a failure was a gift in courage and determination to still pursue my dreams. Twenty years later, I became Vice President of Merchandising […]
Read moreThe designers/brands that were truly professional would arrive a day or two in San Francisco [when I was a buyer for Macy’s] prior to our meeting. They arrived well in advance in order to shop the floor, shop the market, and understand the competition of both my department and their product competition. They wanted to […]
Read moreAnother lesson I’ve learned is that it’s so important to create strong relationship and to develop a strong network of professionals you can turn to for advice or support and know that they truly have the best interest for you and your brand. Building those relationships are like partnerships that will help strengthen your business, […]
Read moreOne of the most important challenges of your career as a successful fashion designer is to get and maintain retail and/or media exposure for your brand. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to land that first buyer meeting. You can’t stop trying to expose or get appointments just because some buyers or media have […]
Read moreCommit yourself to your vision and goals, and understand clearly what will and will not help you along the way. Stay in your “lane” or on the road that will lead you to accomplish your goals. Sometimes designers/brands encounter situations that appear to be opportunities, but can take them off the road in directions that […]
Read moreDuring my many years as a buyer and merchandising executive, I got to know and observe a variety of successful designers and brands from around the country. Many of these designers were emerging designers, others were well on to becoming established, yet all of them were fast on their way to making not only national […]
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