World on a Hanger sponsors NewGen designers!
We’re proud to announce that we’ve teamed up with the British Fashion Council’s prestigious NEWGEN supported by Topshop and NEWGEN MEN sponsored by Topman programme to sponsor its 25 designers with subscriptions to WoaH and consulting about how to best use the system to fit the labels’ individual needs. This means that designers such as [...]
Creatives in business, Fashion Fringe
DHL has been mentoring emerging fashion designers – winners of this year’s fashion fringe – in the art of supply chain management. Managing the supply chain is an important, albeit underrated, part of running a fashion business.
If products are delayed in getting to the customer, designers risk having them rejected. Conversely, if they deliver early, [...]
Reasons for fashion labels to be optimistic
Is the worst of the recession behind the fashion industry?
Going around Copenhagen Fashion Week speaking to managers of brands, designers and sales agents I got the impression that business is picking up again. Buyers are looking to the future. The consensus seemed to be that things will have improved enough by Spring / Summer ‘10 [...]
Fashion innovator: Catwalk Genius
Here at WoaH we get excited when we see new technology being used to help emerging labels thrive. We´re launching a new, regular feature which will cover fashion innovators and their ventures.
Catwalk Genius is a venture that has set out to solve one of the toughest problems faced by emerging labels: funding.
With their [...]
The art of pricing fashion
Pricing can be very tricky. Go too high and no one buys. Go too low and you sell yourself short. Get it right and you will sell more and keep tidy profit margins.
But how do you figure out the best price for your products?
New eco friendly denim label Reco Jeans did an interesting experiment: They [...]
Free retail space available for small fashion labels in London
Just spotted this article in Drapers announcing that the founders of Red or Dead, Wayne and Geraldine Hemingway, are offering small businesses free retail space from 2 July until 2 September this year. It will take place in a space that the creators have designed themselves, KiosKiosK. Based on the sketches on the website the [...]
Using viral videos to market fashion
First it was Chanel (with Karl Lagerfeld’s Fitting Room Follies video) and now it’s Dior with a soon to be released six and a half minute video directed by Oliver Dahard.
I’m surprised that it’s taken them this long to catch on to the potential of viral video. I’m even more surprised that smaller labels aren’t [...]
Funding fashion design: is the future in crowdsourcing?
Funding (or lack thehreof) is perhaps the biggest challenge faced by young designers and small labels as they try to grow. At the early stages selling out like Helmut Lang, Wolfgang Joop or Jil Sander is not an option. In most cases investors will not be lining up to get involved in the very risky [...]
Matthew Williamson to open an online shop
Matthew Williamson is stepping up the publicity effort for his Spring ‘09 collection by opening an online shop.
Going directly to the customers is becoming easier and cheaper than ever before for designers. The risk of investing in extra stock is offset by the potentially huge upside of getting retail margins. With the booming growth of [...]
What good has the recession done for fashion designers?
WWD has a big piece on the positives of the recession, seen from the perspective of fashion designers and managers.
Karl Lagerfeld is optimistic about Chanel, saying that they ‘did even better this year than last year at the same time.’ Clearly some labels are doing better than others.
So where is the growth? According [...]
WWD feature on young designers
WWD has just published a great feature on young designers, including Julian Louie, Matthew Ames and Joseph Altuzarra (among many others).
Take a look!
Sustainable, ethical luxury – the future of the luxury business?
A dictionary defines luxury as ’something that is an indulgence rather than a necessity’. Proponents of ethical fashion will dispute that ethical production is an ‘indulgence’, citing the need to safeguard the environmental future of the planet.
In the eyes of the general public who look to the high street for good value deals, ethically produced [...]
Jealously guarding your designs vs. sharing with the world. Which one is it?
Bucharest based designer Ludmila Corlateanu has a provocative article in the Herald de Paris arguing that designers can’t, and possibly shouldn’t, be friends since it’s likely to simply lead to the theft of ideas. The 10% of time that designers actually spend on designing (as opposed to logistics or business) will determine their success in [...]
What are buyers looking for in today’s climate?
How should you be selling with retailers cutting their budgets by about 20 per cent?
Today’s WWD has an interesting report from this week’s Salon International de la Lingerie in Paris. The main trend seems to be fewer foreign buyers, especially from the UK. Rather than crossing the channel in search of new talent buyers are [...]
Staggering growth in online retail amid recession
If anyone was in any doubt as to the future of retail, here is yet more proof that online may be – if not recession proof – then at least recession resistant. Mango ended 2008 with an increase in sales of 35% over the previous year.
What’s the key to its success? Free delivery to a [...]