Fashion Shows
Holding Promotional Events for Your Fashion Business
By: startafashionbusiness.co.uk
It’s all well and good to send out promotional items and appear at fashion shows, but if you really want to draw attention to what you’re doing with your fashion design business, you’re going to need to run your own events. These can be held for your business launch, when you bring out a new apparel collection, or in celebration of notable successes. They’re an opportunity for you to distribute promotional products and make an impression on the people who really matter.
Of course, the worst thing you can do is to invest a lot of time and resources in an event to which hardly anybody turns up, so it’s important to plan carefully and to advertise effectively. You can use the fashion press for this, but it’s also a good idea to advertise your event at trade shows and by sending promotional items to buyers, retailers and modelling agencies. When you’re more established it can be advantageous to make your events seem more exclusive, but as a new company you should invite people at all levels of the industry. Personal invitations are generally the most successful, and you should be sure to invite everybody whom you’ve directly done business with.
Putting on an Event
The first thing you need to get right when planning an event is the venue. Avoid the temptation to use your own premises, where there’s too much chance of valuable equipment and fabrics getting damaged, or to use your own home, which - unless it’s huge and spectacular - looks unprofessional. If possible, choose a venue with a bar, as most people in the fashion industry like to drink. By arranging a tab with the bar you can offer free drinks to the first few people there, always a good way to get the party started. Of course, as people get drunk they’re more amenable to persuasion, so this is a great opportunity to talk to them about your fashion designs. Needless to say, make sure you don’t get drunk yourself.
Make sure that some of the people at your event are wearing your designer apparel, whether they’re professional models or just good looking friends. It’s important to keep everybody’s minds focused on what the events is about, even whilst they relax and enjoy themselves. This also helps to create a bit of glamour. You can add to the effect by decorating the venue with large pictures of your work. Promotional products like catalogues should be easily available. Make sure there’s a photographer present so that you have some pictures of your event available for future use, especially if well-known people from the fashion industry attend.
You will usually be able to buy materials for your events, such as invitations, decorations and catering supplies, at wholesale prices provided that you identify yourself as a business customer. It’s normal to provide some food at promotional events, but a couple of plates of sandwiches will suffice, and you can always save money by making these yourself. Some venues will offer them for free.
Informal Events
Formal events are not the only way to draw attention to your fashion design business. Sometimes it’s beneficial to break the rules and use an informal venue to gain extra attention. Make sure you have permission to do this, especially if it’s in a public place, and tip off the press before it happens, but let it surprise the public.
Informal events are sometimes held in partnership with stores stocking a particular designer’s apparel, as they’re a great way to boost sales for everybody. They need to be glamorous, so get models involved. Impromptu fashion shows in unusual places are a great way to capture the imagination of the press and the public alike. Distributing free promotional products to the public will help them to remember what the event was about and will make them feel extra good about having been there, encouraging them to spread good word of mouth about your work.
Whatever type of event you go for, make sure that it looks good and that it feels fun to be a part of. For your own part, you’ll probably find it exhausting, but it can be a very effective way to put your new fashion design business on the map.
Using Fashion Trade Shows to Promote Your Designs
By: startafashionbusiness.co.uk
There are two sorts of marketing which most followers of fashion are aware of - selling directly to the public, and promoting high fashion designs on the catwalk. In reality, however, the fashion industry is largely structured around a third - the trade show.
Trade shows occasionally include catwalk fashion shows, but they are not open to the public and the press are rarely invited. They are aimed at bringing together designers and retailers to see how they can help each other. You’ll find trade shows advertised in the fashion industry press (different from mainstream magazines about fashion) and on the internet, and you’ll hear them discussed at networking events. Before you consider going to a trade show, find out which buyers are expected to be there. Booking a booth at a trade show costs money (anywhere from £15 to £200, depending on the size of the event), so you need to know that it’s likely to be worth your while.
Actual goods and money rarely change hands at trade shows. The aim, for booth holders, is to generate sales leads. Be ready to talk enthusiastically about your designs and make potential buyers feel welcome. If you’re lucky, you’ll collect some business cards with numbers which you can call the day after the show closes. Always make your calls promptly. Buyers will see lots of other designs at the show and if you’re not quick about things they may forget yours. If you have a card but can’t remember much about the person it belonged to, check the official list of buyers present and do some research.
Setting up a Trade Show Booth
A trade show booth is not like a stall in a marketplace. It’s unlikely to get crowded and potential buyers won’t be willing to look through lots of garments hung together on rails. The emphasis should be on display. There are several things you should prioritise:-
- Display the right items- Take just a few of your strongest designs - ones which look good together - and use mannequins to show them as they would look when being worn. Have a catalogue available for buyers who want to see more.
- Create the right atmosphere-Bring fabric to drape around your stall, covering up tables and hardboard walls. A banner featuring your name and logo will make you more memorable.
- Make your work look good- There are usually floor ports available for plugging in electrical devices, so you can use spotlights. If you can afford it, a plasma screen television playing a short advert for your work will really get attention.
- Have interesting things to take away-As well as your business card and promotional materials featuring your work, you can offer free sweets or small promotional items. These will help buyers to remember you and feel well disposed towards you.
Making the Most of Trade Shows
As well as giving you the chance to promote your own work, trade shows present a great opportunity to take a look at other people’s. Despite the high pressure environment, you’ll find that most people at trade shows are friendly and you may pick up some useful tips. At larger trade shows you’ll meet designers whose target markets are very different from yours, so that you’re not in competition, and they may be willing to trade business secrets. Trade shows are great for networking so do your best to be nice to everyone and collect business cards when possible - you never know when they might come in useful.
Attending a trade show can be a nerve racking experience, especially the first time you do it. Just remember that most people there will be feeling stressed too and will be trying to deal with last minute problems - at events like this, things rarely go precisely to plan. If you remain calm and ready to improvise, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t make a success of it. Many buyers go to trade shows specifically to look at the work of new designers, so you won’t be short of opportunity.
Things To Come At Indy Trend Designers!!!
Indy Trend Designers is a website created for Independent Fashion Designers to post and sell their designs. This will be a great online community for designers to expand their business to a larger group of consumers. While the website is under development, there will be blogs filled with info on how to get your business start, advice, great reviews on fashion shows and much, much more!
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