How To Start a Clothing Business

How To Start a Clothing Business, 14 Easy Steps

Building a clothing business takes equal amounts of strategy and creativity. Learn from a Project Runway alum how to find clients and improve your style.

Two fashion tops floating on gradient pink background

Build your dream business today.

Start the free trial

Starting a successful clothing brand takes more than design talent. While mastering pattern grading, stitching and draping can be essential to setting next season's biggest trends, understanding the business side of fashion requires different skills.

Designer Sarah Donofrio, who successfully launched her own brand after more than two decades in the fashion industry, knows what it takes, learning that running a thriving apparel company means balancing the creative side of fashion with realizing business imperatives.

In this guide, learn how to start an apparel brand, from design to manufacturing to marketing, with apparel sales tips from a seasoned professional.

How to start a clothing brand in 14 steps

Develop your fashion design skills
Create a clothing business plan
Follow fashion trends
Build a strong brand
Design and develop your clothing line
Source fashion fabrics or your own designs
Set up manufacturing and production for your clothing line
Develop pricing and inventory strategies for your apparel business
Plan your collection for the fashion season
Pitch your clothing line to fashion retailers
Create an online clothing store
Market your clothing business online
Open a retail store, launch a pop-up or sell at a market
Learn from the pros

Sarah's experience spans design, manufacturing, education and physical retail. In 2016, she was a contestant on the 15th season of Project Runway.

Since that moment of fame, Sarah has launched her own clothing line and ecommerce store, won multiple awards and appeared in various publications and retailers. Tap into her success secrets with these steps to develop your own clothing brand

1. Develop your fashion design skills

How To Start a Clothing Business, A framed fashion illustration print sits on a ledge next to a tree

A distinctive style can help your clothing brand stand out in a crowded market.

Self-taught designers like Vivienne Westwood and Dapper Dan show that it's possible to thrive in fashion no matter what your background. In the internet age, the basics of tailoring can be learned simply by watching YouTube videos.

While it is possible to skip school and launch your own clothing line, formal education, whether in the classroom or online, has its merits. You can learn the latest industry standards, access resources and tools, communicate and get feedback from professionals.

Sarah learned basic skills in a classroom, but most of her fashion education was gained on the job, working in corporate retail.

"I wanted to work for myself," she says, "but I felt it was important to gain experience."

It took me a long time to be confident enough that I could fill a store with my clothes.

Sarah Donofrio, fashion designer and entrepreneur

Sarah is an advocate of spending years learning the ropes from other brands and designers.

"It took me a long time to be confident enough that I could fill a store with my clothes," she says "I think I need time to grow and get advice and experience."

Many institutions offer fashion design and small business programs in a variety of formats. Schools such as Parsons in New York and Central Saint Martins in London are world-renowned for their fashion programs.

The number of online courses for fashion industry hopefuls is also increasing. Check out local community colleges for virtual or part-time formats, or consider sites like Masterclass and Maker's Row Academy.

2. Create a clothing business plan

How To Start a Clothing Business, A woman sits at a desk and thinks in front of a laptop. To the right sits a clothes rack.

To appeal to investors, your clothing line may need a business plan that outlines your target market, brand identity, and sales strategy. Ron Lach/Pexel

Starting a clothing line requires many of the same considerations as starting any business. How much does it cost to start?

When should you pursue capital for your startup? What outside help will you need to navigate the legal, financial, manufacturing and distribution aspects of the business? Where and how do you produce your products?

Let's dig in.

Fashion brand business model

For those designing a clothing line from scratch, this is the point where you decide what type of business you want to run. Being clear about your business strategy will help you determine how much time, effort and funding will be required up front.

A few business models to consider are:

Hand Production: Create your designs and sell directly to customers through your own website or marketplace and pop-ups.

Manufacturing Partner: Create collections and produce clothing pieces through a manufacturer, then wholesale your clothing line to other retailers.

Print on Demand: Design patterns or graphics to print on blank t-shirts and other clothing items using print-on-demand services sold online through your own store.

Choosing a business type and structure

Your business plan is where you define the official structure of your business. You can choose to operate as a sole proprietorship, a corporation, or something in between.

If you decide to focus on sustainable business practices and make clothing ethically, you can also consider becoming a B Corp. This designation conveys to conscious consumers that your clothing business is committed to sustainability.

What does it cost to start a clothing line?

Once you have a small business idea for your clothing line, you'll be able to finance it yourself and bootstrap as you go. Designing and sewing your own handmade clothing means you don't have to carry a ton of inventory. However, to be cost effective you need to invest upfront in equipment and large quantities of fabric. Other major costs include shipping fees and a marketing budget.

If you plan to work with manufacturers for production, you will have high upfront costs to meet the minimum. A solid business plan and costing exercise will help you determine how much funding you need.

"In fashion, you're not just spending fabric and buttons and labor," Sarah says. "You're paying shipping, you're paying heat and rent."

To bring in startup capital, secure a business loan or crowdfund product invoice. If it's really a zero-investment, online clothing business you're after, consider running a clothing dropshipping or consignment store.

Create a financial plan

How To Start a Clothing Business, When investors or banks look at your business model, they want to see a well-thought-out financial plan. This part of your clothing line business plan should detail how you will set a budget, manage cash flow, and track expenses. It should demonstrate a clear path to profitability.

When writing a plan for your own clothing business, try using a business plan template to guide you through the necessary sections.

presentation

Free: Business Plan Templates

Business plans are often used to secure funding, but many business owners find it valuable to write a plan, even if they've never worked with an investor. That's why we've put together a free business plan template to help you get started.

3. Follow fashion trends

A woman models a patterned dress shirt

Sarah keeps a close eye on trends but ultimately only incorporates those that make sense for her clothing brand, Sarah Donofrio.

Through Sarah's years of developing her brand, she's learned that focusing, honing your strengths and spotting trends are just as important as staying true to your own design sensibilities.

"The trick is to find what you're good at and focus on that," she says.

I've always had a really good trend intuition. But it's all about translation.

Sarah Donofrio

Sarah's product line has been consistent over the years; The choice of design in her pieces is undoubtedly hers. But he is always looking for trends. He says the key is to adapt those trends to your brand, personalize them and make them work for your customer.

"I've always had a really good trend intuition," Sarah says. "But it's all about translation." Sara has worked on plus-size collections during her time in the corporate world and says that translating trends means considering the needs of the plus customer.

Although she sticks to her strengths, Sarah is the reason for her growth in fashion and what is happening in the world around her. "Take athleisure," she says. "I don't make tights, I don't make sports bras, but this cool knit crop would look kind of cool with tights, so I'm going to incorporate this trend."

To get inspiration for your own ideas, consume fashion publications, follow style influencers and subscribe to fashion newsletters and podcasts to stay inspired and catch trends before they emerge.

In the noisy world of fashion, consider finding a niche or filling a market need, just like these founders did:

Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart launched vegan winter coat brand Vaute Couture after finding a disappointing lack of cruelty-free options on the market. (Update: While Vaute has closed, Leanne's new venture, Humans We Love carries the same ethos.)

Camille Newman threw her hat into the plus size fashion game with Body by Love (formerly Pop Up Plus).

Mel Wells launches a gender-neutral vintage-inspired swimwear line.

Taryn Rodighiero also got into the swimwear game but focused on custom suits, made to order to each customer's exact specifications.

Success Story: How an Artisan Grows His Eyewear Business

Kerin Rose Gold began designing her own sunglasses before catching the eye of top celebrities. Now he recruits other artists as he grows his brand A-Mori.

4. Build a strong brand

How To Start a Clothing Business, A grid of Instagram photos for a fashion brand

A recognizable brand identity through Sarah's social media accounts, her online store and her clothing designs are consistent threads.

Sarah Donofrio/Instagram

Your brand extends beyond a name or logo. Building a strong fashion brand is an exercise in capturing your values, your mission, what you stand for and your story.

Creating brand guidelines will help inform all your business decisions and guide visual direction, website design and marketing campaigns. Your brand will even dictate what you're looking for in a retail partner or new hire.

Use social media to create a lifestyle around your brand: share your inspiration and process, inject your own personality, tell your story and be intentional with every post.

"The key to social media is consistency," Sarah says. "I think you have to post every day, but it also has to be interesting." He mixes his content with travel, inspiration, sneak peeks of work in progress and even some interesting statistics from his analytics dashboard.

5. Design and develop your clothing line

Fashion illustration featuring three models

Sarah designs all her clothing brand prints and pieces herself — and every design starts with a sketch.

Sarah is an advocate of the sketchbook as the most important tool for a designer. "I carry my sketchbook with me everywhere," she says. "When I'm sketching, I often think, 'Oh, this little drawing would translate really well into a repeating pattern.'"

As a contestant on Project Runway, she was not allowed to carry her sketchbook due to competition rules. "It really threw me off my game," she says.

A collage of watercolor fashion illustrations from Sarah's clothing brand

To create her own clothing line, Sarah developed a distinctive illustrative style that resonated with her target market. Sarah Donofrio

Sarah's Tips for Designing a Clothing Line:

Always doodling. A doodle is the first step toward a refined design, with each idea starting on paper before being translated into Illustrator or other software tools. "I always use a mix of new technology and a notebook full of scribbles," she says.

Create your own garment samples by hand. That way, you can relate to a manufacturer with a better understanding of what the product may contain. If you are intimate with the manufacturing process, you are in a better position to negotiate costs.

Focus on being creative. When manufacturing or other business tasks start getting in the way of development, it's time to outsource.

6. Source fashion fabrics or your own designs

Sarah says fabric sourcing has a lot to do with who you know. Building a network in the industry can help you access fabric agents, wholesalers and mill contacts. When he lived in Toronto, he knew the local cloth market and used an agent to procure cloth from Japan.

But even that route has flaws.

"In Canada, everyone is using the same agent," he says "All the local clothing lines are using the same fabric."

As fabrics from around the world became easier to access online, Sarah began to find it difficult to source unique prints and materials despite her familiarity. His solution: He started designing his own.

A woman wearing a sleeping mask holds a patterned notebook

After finding a match among local fashion designers, Sara chose to create her own prints for her clothing brand. Sarah Donofrio.

"When I got out of fashion school in 2005, you couldn't just go online and go to Alibaba. Now, a lot of people I know do that," Sarah says. "So I really honed my textile design skills."

For those just starting out, agents can be helpful, but Sarah recommends building personal networks and joining communities of designers. Start meeting others in the industry at local incubators, meetup groups, online communities, and live fashion networking events.

7. Set up manufacturing and production for your clothing line

Clothing and fashion draft patterns hanging on a rack

In the clothing industry, there are many methods to bring your clothing line to life. This includes designing and sewing the part itself.

Ksenia Chernaya/Pexel

Early in your fashion business, you may not be producing volumes that warrant outside help, but as you scale, a manufacturing partner will free up time for other important tasks.

If you are not creating a one-of-a-kind handmade item, creating your design can be accomplished in several ways:

Created by hired workers or freelance sewers but still owned by the home (small studio)

Sewing in your own commercial production facility (owned, shared or rented)

Outsourced to a local factory where you still have some oversight (try Maker's Row or Mfg.).

Produced in a foreign factory (completely closed)

Internal production

OKAYOK's Adrienne Butikofer has kept her production in-house with employees while scaling. He outsourced his dye run to a factory. In Michigan, Detroit Denim makes clothing in its own manufacturing facility, where the founders are able to control the process — at scale.

If you're starting from your home, make sure your studio is set up to accommodate machine-to-machine flow, has enough storage, ergonomics are considered, and is an inspiring space where you'll be inspired to spend time. If you need more space, explore co-working spaces, incubators and shared studios.

Sarah's clothing brand has two different looks on a side panel of the same model.

Sarah's clothing brand created small collections in-house to test her designs. Sarah Donofrio

Working with garment manufacturers.

In the beginning, Sara's line was primarily handmade, but as she grew, she began outsourcing some of the ingredients to local sewers. Now, he is working with factories and taking his time back to focus on building his brand, developing new collections and expanding his wholesale channel.

Obviously American made comes with a higher price point, but it's worth it to me.

Sarah feels that her customers care about local and ethical produce – enough to pay extra for it.

"Obviously, American made comes with a higher price point, but it's worth it to me," he says "I think transparency is a big plus."

Experience working in the corporate world has taught him not to put all his eggs in one basket when working with manufacturers. He weighs the strengths and weaknesses of each factory and collects his results in his own database.

"Big companies use different factories for different things," he says. "Maybe there's a factory that makes good knitwear or good pants."

Ultimately, how you approach manufacturing and choose a manufacturing partner comes down to a few questions:

How big is your run?

Is "locally made" important to you?

Are you more concerned about ensuring ethical production or finding the lowest cost?

How productive do you want to be?

Do you plan to scale?

Quality control

For Sarah, it was important to closely monitor the production process. When checking out local factories, he believes it's important to visit each one to get a feel for their practices. He first requested factory samples for their technical inspection. When you work with a factory, spot-checking the work and carefully inspecting the pieces as they arrive and before shipping will help reduce returns and keep your reputation for quality intact.

Meet 26 sustainable clothing brands with ethical manufacturing, recycled materials and fair trade practices.

See the list

8. Develop pricing and inventory strategies for your apparel business

How To Start a Clothing Business, On the less creative side of running a clothing business, you'll need to come up with some tricks to help keep your back office in order. These include pricing strategies and inventory management practices.

Pricing your clothing line

Pricing your clothing items involves the same practices as pricing any item for sale. You need to consider the costs (fixed and variable) of producing, marketing and shipping the product, as well as any overhead involved in running the business. Also look at the market to see what customers are willing to pay for a brand like yours. Competitive research will help you establish a pricing strategy that aligns with the market.

Choose the right price

Determine your markup and profit margin to set the perfect price and increase your bottom line with our product pricing calculator.

Learn more

Inventory for apparel business

Managing inventory is a delicate process for any business. Clothes won't spoil like perishables, but trends pass quickly. Work with your data to understand what's selling and what's not, and change your manufacturing and design cycles accordingly. That way, you won't be sitting on unsold stock.

If you ship your own orders, create an inventory system that protects clothing from sunlight and moisture and organizes it so it's easy to find.

9. Plan your collection around the fashion season

The fashion industry works on a seasonal cycle (Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer) and working backwards from each season means a collection can take a year or more to develop.

"Corporately, we were developing two years ago," Sara says. "Big corporations tend to design quickly, so they're doing a lot of trend research."

Without large teams and resources, independent designers like Sarah are working closer to delivery dates.

Your design and development period and delivery dates depend on your customer and your launch strategy, Sara says. He recommends that you prepare your collection for next season at least six to eight months in advance. If you sell wholesale, buyers should see your collection a month before fashion week.

Work backwards from your delivery date to establish your design and production timeline. Add important global fashion event dates like New York Fashion Week to your calendar to help set goals.

Evergreen Fashion Collection

However, seasonality doesn't have to dictate all of your collections.

“It's always a shame when I design a beautiful print and I think, 'I only have it for one season. I only have a six-month window,'' Sarah says.

Therefore, he is inspired to work towards prints that work regardless of the season.

While product development is a constant concern for fashion brands, signature or original bestselling pieces can stay in your collection for years. This is true for basic brands that focus on the "perfect cotton tee," a classic that occasionally gets a color update. KOTN's brand is built around well-crafted, sustainable basics, selling core tees alongside seasonal releases.

10. Pitch your clothing line to fashion retailers

A woman is sitting at a desk typing on a laptop

Wholesale played a huge role in the growth of Sarah's brand in the beginning. After navigating other sales channels, such as his own retail store, he returned to a wholesale strategy.

In fashion, there are two main ways to sell your clothing line through other retailers:

run

This is a win-win for everyone, as it allows your line to gain exposure in a store without risking the retailer. The downside is that you only get paid when an item sells.

Wwholesale

This refers to the retailer purchasing a set number of pieces in advance at a wholesale price (lower than your retail price). This option is risky for the retailer, so you may need to prove yourself by shipment first.

"It's much easier for stores to take your entire collection on consignment as opposed to one or two pieces, because they have nothing to lose," Sara says.

Approaching buyers is a daunting experience, and Sarah worked on both sides of the transaction. The experience of seeing through the buyer's lens helped him stand out when he was pitching his own line.

Be prepared, Sarah urges. "The first time I pitched my line, I asked myself, 'What will buyers ask me?'" she says. "You can't just have nice clothes. You have to know every detail."

Hitting the pavement was a strategy that worked for Sarah when she started out. While she advocates for face time, Sarah doesn't recommend an ambush. Start slow, she says. Introduce yourself with a card or a catalog and try to book a time to meet later.

11. Create an online clothing store

A web page on a fashion retailer's ecommerce site.

A professional online store serves two main purposes:

This is a way to sell directly to your potential customers.

It's a living, breathing book to share with buyers and the media.

Setting up your online store

An ecommerce platform like Shopify is easy to use even if you don't have graphic design or coding skills. First, choose a Shopify theme that fits your brand and prioritize images. Then, customize the theme by adding your logo, colors, and any other design elements.

Try themes designed for fashion brands like Colorblock, Broadcast or Pipeline.

To provide the best shopping experience, your product pages need to capture details like fit, feel and drape. Add the right elements using the Clothing Store app from the Shopify App Store, designed specifically to help fashion brands.

Try these popular fashion store apps:

Kiwi Size Chart and Recommender

XO Gallery

Loox product reviews and photos

Consider making your store accessible on other online sales channels like Instagram and Facebook Integrating your store with a marketplace like Etsy is another worthwhile way to reach more customers.

Important page for your online clothing store

Every website needs a few standard pages that customers expect to find. It includes an about page, contact page, collection page, product page and a FAQ Since branding is so important for an apparel business, focus on pages that help visitors understand what you're about.

Your apparel brand's aesthetic and values should be clear from the start, starting with your home page. And a dedicated About page can help potential customers connect with you and your brand

Sarah Donofrio's brand story on the designer's website

Photography for clothing brands

The right theme helps photos pop, so make sure you invest in a professional photo shoot for a small budget, a basic lighting kit, a decent camera (the latest smartphones work well), and a few tricks of the trade to help you look professional. Looking for DIY shots. Be sure to capture details: fabric texture, trim and closure.

A model poses for a fashion lifestyle photo shoot.

A lifestyle shoot creates content for other pages on your site as well as marketing campaigns, a press kit and lookbook. Show your garment on a model to demonstrate the drape and tips to help your customers style the piece.

presentation

Free Guide: DIY Product Photography

Learn how to take beautiful product photos on a budget with our free, comprehensive video guide.

Get your free guide

12. Market your clothing business online

Marketing and driving sales is the single most reported challenge for online brands regardless of industry Since fashion is a saturated market, building a strong brand with a unique value proposition will help you focus your efforts on your ideal customer instead of throwing money away.

In the beginning, your budget will be small, but there are ways to attract attention with creative and organic ideas:

Invest in content marketing. Use optimized videos or keyword-targeted blog posts to drive traffic to your site.

Build an email list before you launch. Tease your upcoming clothing collection on social media and encourage sign-ups with exclusive deals

Lend your clothes to other businesses (eg beauty brands) to get shout outs and exposure.

Try influencer marketing by finding rising Instagram or TikTok stars to hype your brand.

Set up a loyalty program or referral facility to spread the word to your loyal customers.

Find support. You can collaborate with complementary brands to launch a collection, pop-up or co-promotion

Learn Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Honing your SEO skills can help you drive traffic to your online clothing store through search.

Try social media advertising. This can include paid ads, promoted posts with creators, and even organic content with viral potential.

13. Open a retail store, launch a pop-up or bazaar

A woman using a clothing rack in a design studio

As a fashion designer, you may need to pitch your clothing line to retail buyers.

Pexels

It took Sarah 11 years to be in a position to seriously consider opening her own retail boutique. Throughout the evolution of her brand, she has used local markets to gain more insight into her customers, test her merchandising, gain exposure and build relationships in the industry.

After moving to Portland, Oregon, he took his retail experiments to the next level with a three-month pop-up before opening a permanent retail location.

"I was always afraid to open my own store, especially in Toronto, because of the overhead," says Sara "It just wasn't achievable."

Through the process, he learned he could use more hands. She hired a fashion design student to help in the store.

"When you have a retail store and a clothing label, as many entrepreneurs do, you just have to learn how to allocate things," she says. "It took me a long time to learn, but the money I'm paying him to work in the store is worth my time."

Temporary retail space for your apparel business

Opening a physical store doesn't mean signing a 10-year lease. You can sell in person in a more affordable and non-committal way:

Subleasing retail space to host a temporary pop-up shop

A small experience on a shelf or part of a retailer's space

Applying for booth space at craft shows or fashion markets

Vendor booths at events like music festivals

Sarah has closed her retail location.

"I didn't like driving it," she says

The store took him away from the side of the business he loved – designing. He still sells directly to consumers through the website but has shifted much of the brand's focus to wholesale.

Start selling in person with Shopify POS

Shopify POS is the easiest way to start selling in person. Take your brand on the road and accept payments, manage inventory and payouts, and sell wherever your customers are — at farmers markets, pop-up events and meetups, craft fairs, and anywhere in between.

Discover Shopify POS

14. Learn from the pros

A woman is working on a design at a desk

The fashion industry is a fast-paced place, where market trends change instantly. Look to other apparel industry leaders for best practices in launching a successful fashion brand. Unsplash

Sarah's experience as a contestant on Project Runway taught her many important lessons about herself and her art.

While she understands that being responsive to fashion is an asset, Sarah knows she thrives when she has more wiggle room. Because of his development background, he was amazed at what his fellow competitors could accomplish in such a short amount of time.

"For me, it wasn't a realistic pace at all," she says. "It's a shame that my best work wasn't on national television."

He also faced one of the scariest things any artist has to face: haters. She was eliminated in the fourth episode when her swimsuit did not resonate with the judges.

Lesson: Your target audience is not everyone.

But he was surprised to see so many supportive messages from new fans during the show.

"The show taught me that everything comes down to taste," she says. "There's always someone who will like your stuff."

Design your own clothing line

As you launch your own fashion brand and enter the competitive fashion industry, be sure to focus on what makes your ideas unique, as well as what your target customers want. Success as a fashion brand depends on a solid business model, a design vision and a deep understanding of consumer and market trends.

Sarah's business thrived because she followed her dreams and each misstep guided her next pivot. Sometimes, these pivots were risks, but they were also avenues of growth.

What is Shopify and how does it work?

5 steps to turning real-time audience insights into high-demand products

10 Small Business Trends to Watch (New Research)

How to start a clothing brand FAQ

What do I need to do first to start my own clothing line?

Starting any successful business requires a great idea. Meet your niche idea and audience and spend time in the brand-building phase as you begin your journey to starting your own clothing line. These exercises will help you move to the next step in the process of building your clothing brand.

Do I need a license to start a clothing brand?

You may need a few different licenses to legally start a clothing line. Requirements vary based on your location, but common licenses include sales and tax collection permits and a clothing registration certificate. You may consider filing to become an LLC or S corporation, obtaining business insurance and adding a brick-and-mortar license if you plan to sell your clothing line individually.

How much does it cost to start a small clothing business from home?

Depending on the type of clothing business you start, starting a fashion brand may require some upfront investment. Specific costs vary, but the cost of starting a clothing line includes fabric and other materials, labor, shipping, heating, rent, equipment, and various other production costs.

You also need to factor in ongoing costs for things like payment processing, your online store, and online marketing and advertising. If you create a clothing line from scratch and design or make your own clothes, expect to spend several thousand dollars up front. A print-on-demand apparel brand, however, will have much lower startup costs.

Is the clothing business generally profitable?

Apparel businesses can be profitable, but success varies widely depending on factors such as market position, operational efficiency, and brand strength. Many struggle due to high competition, changing consumer preferences and inventory management challenges. However, well-run apparel businesses with strong brand identity and effective marketing can achieve profitability, especially in niche or luxury markets.

How do I name my clothing brand?

Coming up with a brand name for your clothing line can be challenging but there are a few things to keep in mind. Try to make it something that is representative of your brand identity and will resonate with your target market.

Sarah Donofrio used her own name when launching her clothing brand. If your brand story is close to your personal story, it might be a good option for your clothing line. Shopify has a free AI business name generator that you can use to get the ideas flowing.

Can I put my own label on wholesale clothing?

You may put your own label on wholesale clothing as long as it does not conflict with the wholesaler's policy. This practice is called white labeling. In this model, you purchase wholesale clothing from a supplier, add your branded tags, and then resell directly to your customers through your clothing business's online store under your own brand name.

How To Start a Clothing Business, 14 Easy Steps

How To Start a Clothing Business