Funnily enough the Midlands used to be the heartland of the British textile and clothing industry. That’s still true to some extent – there are still a lot of manufacturers based there, although sadly it’s declined quite dramatically in recent years. In the UK alone, the number of VAT registered clothing and footwear manufacturers declined from nearly 8,500 in 1998 to just over 3,200 in 2007.

Apart from the obvious – China and India – where are small fashion companies having their clothes made these days?

A lot of designers fresh out of school are brimming over with ideas, but have little idea of how to structure them to create coherent, commercially viable collections. Commercially viable? Some designers give you dirty looks when they hear those words – but keep in mind the distinction between commercial and commercially viable. The former is what you’d consider mass-market – usually not what the average St. Martin’s graduate aspires to. The latter can mean anything – anything that will let you sell enough to survive and grow. Grow creatively – and financially.

Keep your eyes peeled for posts pointing to online resources that are bound to be very useful, covering things that often don’t get much coverage in college but are essential when you venture into the uncertainty of putting out your own line.

Finally, if you’re launching into your first collection – note that we’re accepting applications from fashion companies to participate in our beta! Apply here. It takes less than a minute and might just help you focus on the stuff that really matters.

Expect lots of musings about

1. The fashion business
2. Reflections on the technology that is revolutionizing the industry
3. Features on designers who are using tech in exciting new ways
4. Updates how we are progressing with development
5. Anything else that springs to mind!

… Enjoy!