Funding fashion design: is the future in crowdsourcing?
Posted by Ari on May 7, 2009 | No Comments
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 world of fashion. Many designers scrape by with help from friends and family and rely on their sales for funding.
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!
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