We’re all really excited to be a part of this. The NEWGEN alumni list reads like a who’s who of London fashion, and we’re happy to be able to contribute something to the ongoing success of these labels!

If products are delayed in getting to the customer, designers risk having them rejected. Conversely, if they deliver early, retailers are able to prepare their sale much better. This possibly leads to higher sell-through rates and larger repeat orders.

This highlights the importance of improving business skills among emerging designers. Design colleges do not seem to prepare graduates very well for running their own businesses.

What’s the best way of fixing that?

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 to increase offerings in shops. Risk taking also appeared to be back. Even labels in their first season seemed bullish.

It’s all anecdotal and I don’t have hard data to back it up.  SS ‘10 order books won’t closing for another couple of months. But if attendance figures at Pure in London (2 – 4 August) are any indication, there’s something to it. According to this report on FashionUnited a record number of visitors attended, up 9% from last year. Even more importantly, the number of buyers who returned to spend more than one day at the show was up 21%.

Just something encouraging to think about as you chase up buyers and fill up the order books.

Catwalk Genius is a venture that has set out to solve one of the toughest problems faced by emerging labels: funding.

With their Back a Designer feature, a label can put itself up for backing. It can showcase its designs and begin looking for supporters. Supporters can then pay £11 for a share in the collection being backed. Once 5,000 shares have been sold, Catwalk Genius pays out £50,000 to the designer.

The beauty of it is that casual fans of fashion labels can support their favourite designer with small amounts in a structured process. Meanwhile more serious investors can invest larger sums with an eye on potential returns. Labels commit to splitting any profits made, with 40% going to CwG (including 10% to their affiliate programme) – 30% goes to supporters and labels keep the remaining 30% of profits for themselves.

Another very useful service offered by Catwalk Genius is the online sample sale. Instead of lugging around samples to sell, designers can put up samples for sale with Catwalk Genius. They help promote the designers, giving them a passive source of income from old samples.

Meanwhile, Catwalk Genius keep you updated on the progress made by designers in raising funds on their blog.

Finally, its retail platform, which can help new designers reach large audiences. They do exclusive collaborations with designers and sell the lines in their online boutique. At the moment they feature a mix of recognisable names such as David David, Sinha Stanic and Tatty Devine along with newer labels Fred Butler and Aganovich. It’s well worth a visit.

I got a chance to catch up with Helen Brown, founder of CwG, and ask her some questions.

How did you come up with the idea of Catwalk Genius?

‘Crowd-funding’ particularly appealed after noticing its success in music, sport, politics and many other fields.

After exploring a number of industry sectors that appealed to us, we discovered that fashion was still in the early phase of embracing this approach. It made sense that we’d set up a platform that united designers and fashion fans.

What do you think is the most exciting new trend in the fashion business?

Now, as well as funding a label on Catwalk Genius in order to share in the profits, you can chat to your favourite designers on their blog or through Twitter and watch videos that bring a collection to life or give an insight into the label behind it.

I don’t think it necessarily follows that style is only desirable if it’s inaccessible and in my opinion, these developments make for a more immersive fashion experience.

What’s the biggest challenge facing emerging designers today?

The evolution of the blogosphere means that such commentators are no longer limited to editors of the glossies, but it still takes a good deal of investment and risk on the part of an emerging designer in order to be written about – regardless of their ability. We hope we’ll make it easier for more talented people to raise the funding necessary to get off the blocks.

But how do you figure out the best price for your products?

New eco friendly denim label Reco Jeans did an interesting experiment: They did a Dutch Auction for jeans, where bidders could suggest how much they’d be willing to pay. Then, 300 winners were chosen. Winners were those bidders who fell closest to the average between the highest and the lowest bids.

For some products this approach works very well. Radiohead released their 2007 album In Rainbows with the announcement that fans could download it for any price they wanted. About a third didn’t pay at all. Average price paid was £4, although some paid as much as £20 or more. The marginal cost of selling an extra album is near zero. Fashion is different. Production and materials require an up-front investment. You need to be sure that you can at least cover your costs.

How did the Reco auction end? Most of the winners ended up bidding $100-200, more or less the price range they had aimed for all along. In this FT column Vanessa Friedman speculates the reason for the surprising result is that Reco gave bidders information on competitors’ price points. These were similar and customers probably adjusted their bids accordingly. Thus, it’s very important that you put your brand in the right category, giving customers a clear points of reference when judging whether your prices are good value.

So beware of slashing prices just to please buyers who are hit by the recession. Pricing is as much a long-term strategic decision as it is a short-term one. Pricing is an integral part of your label’s identity. Consider the long-term repercussions before changing prices, and separate what is temporary (economic climate) and what will remain (buyers’ expectation of lower prices, repositioning of your brand).

This is not to suggest that you shouldn’t consider changing it. Just make sure you’re careful about it.

Capturing retail margins can do wonders for the cash flow of small businesses. Most fashion labels focus on expanding their wholesaling. This is of course the key to long-term growth. However, during tough times when buyers are cutting back, cutting out the middle man can provide a much needed cash boost.

Kioskiosk is located next to City Hall (sponsored by Boris Johnson as part of the Story of London festival) on the South Bank, near Tower Bridge.

Take a look at Kioskiosk.co.uk for more information.

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 doing more videos to promote themselves. It’s not an entirely level playing field; the buzz created by the release of these videos show that marketing budgets are important. However, smaller labels can make a big impact with viral video – much more cheaply than by forking out for adverts or billboards.

Let us know if you know of any good examples of viral video campaigns by smaller labels!

Below is a teaser of the Dior video:

And, for comparison, here’s the Chanel video:

That’s where Catwalk Genius comes in with an innovative proposal. It allows designers to crowdsource investment to bring their collections to life. This is how it works: A designer’s supporters can buy shares in that designer’s next collection. In return, they get discounts and – more interestingly – a share in the collection’s profits. See Catwalk Genius for more information.

The funding model has been applied to filmmaking, and it will be interesting to see how it works in fashion. In many ways in mirrors the way artists are funded. Early on in their careers many artists rely on their fans to sponsor and commission the work that will keep them going. The difference here is that if the designer a supporter believes in lives up to their potential, there is the possibility of good returns on the investment.

Whether you’re a designer or are a fan of a particular designer you’d like to support, look into it!

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 ASOS and the continued growth in online retail sales (WWD) it’s clear that going online is a good way to temper the impact of the downturn.

If the risk of holding too much extra stock, a good middle way is selling samples and old stock online. This could be done through your own website or third party sites like the brilliant Catwalk Genius. Catwalk Genius makes it easy for designers to put up stock for sale without the hassle of building their own shops.

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 to Dior CEO Sidney Toledano the markets that have seen the strongest growth are London (tourists spending driven by a weak pound), China (growth in the “double digits”), and South Korea (Japanese travellers spending strong Yen). Ralph Lauren CEO Roger Farah points out that the label’s recently opened Dubai store has done better than expected, while also planning an expansion to South Korea.

Executives are also talking about accounting more for geographical variations in customers’ wants. There’s often a trade-off between catering to very particular local markets (Toledano gives the example of Florida during the summer) and maintaining brand integrity. The recession seems to have made brands more flexible in terms of catering to local conditions. For consumers, that’s good news!

What’s the advantage of being a small label? First of all, there aren’t too many overheads to worry about. Alexander Wang points out that smaller labels have a great opportunity now. While the giants are struggling to keep themselves afloat, small labels can expand aggressively.

Finally, Isabelle Guichot of Balenciaga points out that the ‘crisis is a period in which we can gain market share and prove we’re amongst the players of tomorrow’.

So here’s our tip: survive the next year and prosper when things get good again!

Take a look!

In the eyes of the general public who look to the high street for good value deals, ethically produced good are to some extent seen as an indulgence. However, in the luxury market a marked shift is underway as pointed out in this article in the International Herald Tribune.

An ethically produced product has a big competitive advantage in the luxury arena: its pedigree itself is a source of pride. Presenting how a good is made has long been a part of luxury marketing. Focusing on how paying more for ethically produced goods is a sign of affluence is likely to win over traditional luxury customers.

Luxury buyers were turned off by blood diamonds in the wake of campaigns during the 1990s and the Kimberley Process. The question is whether other ethical issues are beginning to occupy the public consciousness in the same way.

It’s a thin line between inspiration and downright theft of ideas. It’s a line that is systematically overstepped a lot of the time, but the subjective nature of the industry often means that it’s not taken as seriously as it should. So how much does a fear of having your ideas swiped affect your willingness to share with other designers? I’d love to hear examples if you can think of any.

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 sticking with their old suppliers. Also, labels such as Invista, while they were present at the fair said that this was a year to focus on communicating directly with clients.

One way to boost sales in the face of cut retailer budgets is to offer a larger selection of low-priced garments. If you’re a new label this may be the only way to keep up with more established brands. In the article, Gaita Malla fashion director of Brazilian lingerie chain Scala was quoted as saying “we’re looking for less expensive, but good quality lines.”

What’s the key to its success? Free delivery to a large number of European countries on orders above a certain minimum, as well as a simple returns policy both ensure that customers keep clicking away.

Thanks to fashionunited for the tip.