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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.
Getting your Fashion Designs Featured in the Press
By: startafashionbusiness.co.uk
When you launch your fashion design business, you’ll need potential customers to know about it, and the best way of getting through to them is to get your work featured in the press. Coverage in fashion magazines can be hard to arrange, but guarantees that you’ll get noticed. Fashion magazines are the number one way most people keep up with fashion trends. You can also do effective style marketing using blogs and internet news outlets. With strong photography and astute writing, your designs can go far - but how should you go about approaching the press in the first place?
Many fashion designers go through a period when they dream of getting spotted. They believe that if they work independently for a few years, someone from a fashion magazine will notice them at a fashion show and they’ll be snapped up by one of the big fashion houses before they know it. Unfortunately, real life doesn’t work that way. Such stories are vanishingly rare, which is why they’re big news when they happen. In the real world, if you want to get noticed, you have to get out there and grab some attention.
Preparing a Press Release
Your first tool in marketing your fashion designs to the press is the press release. Press releases stick to a very simple format. If you deviate from this to try and look interesting, your press release will get thrown in the bin. Fashion magazines and news outlets have to go through hundreds of such documents every day, so be nice to them.
The best press releases are single sheets of A4 printed in 12 point Times New Roman. It is acceptable to include further sheets, but if you do so they will often get lost, so try to say what you need to say concisely. At the top of the page you should put your business name or logo. Under this, in capital letters, write either ‘FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE’ or ‘FOR RELEASE ON…’ giving the date when you want articles about the press release to appear. You should then write one to two sentences summing up what you have to say, and after this should come your contact details - name, telephone number, email and address. Always provide an individual point of contact, not just your business name. Next you should provide a headline - a single sentence announcing what you have to say - and then the location and date of sending (e.g.: ‘London, England, 1st January 2009′). Following this should be one to three paragraphs containing the information you want to put across, then another two line summary which repeats the release date, and then web link to images which can accompany and articles written to go with the release. Space out the items on this list as much as you have room for.
It is usual to provide two to five images to accompany a fashion magazine press releases. These may include your logo and a portrait-style picture of yourself. All images should be at least 200 dpi. Needless to say, this photography is essential to successfully marketing your work, so it should be high quality and should show your designs to the best possible advantage.
Be Seen
The second most important way to get press coverage for your fashion designs is to make sure they’re seen. Find out when major fashion events are happening and turn up outside with models wearing your most striking designs. Attend art shows and film premières, even if you can’t afford to get in - anywhere the press are likely to be interested in what people are wearing. If possible, get celebrities to wear your clothes by offering them for free.
Television talk shows are always looking for guests and can be a great place to get free publicity. Contact them every time they plan to feature a subject related to fashion and appear there to show and (if possible) talk about your work. Always be friendly to journalists, even if they give you short shrift, as friends in the press can give you an enormous advantage. Be relaxed and accommodating.
If you get the chance to be interviewed about your designs, do your best to remain calm throughout. Decide what you want to say beforehand and stick to it. Don’t try to please the interviewer, but take the initiative and respond to questions in the way which is most useful for you.
Dealing with the press can be intimidating for a beginner, but with practice you’ll soon get the hang of it. Pro-active, energetic press strategies which give the fashion magazines just the material they’re looking for will assure your designs good coverage.