The Fashion Designer Survival Guide: Start and Run Your Own Fashion Business

The Fashion
Designer
Survival
Guide
Revised and Expanded Edition
Start and Run Your
Own fashion Business
Mary Gehlhar
Contents
Foreword
Preface
One Piece of Advice
1 • Before You Start
The Reality
You Survived the Bad News
2 • The Fundamentals
The Plan
Elements of the Plan
Setting up the Business, by Melanie Jones
3 • The Money
How Much Do You Need?
Where to Find Money
Factoring, by Tim Moore
4 • Product Development
Know Your Customer
Have a Point of View
The Trends
The Collection
Signature Items

The Quality Standard
It Must Look the Price
Commerciality and Show
5 • Fabric and Materials
Learn First
The Challenges
The Sources
Once You Order
6 • Production
The Production Plan
Sample Production
Tips and Considerations When Hiring a
Patternmaker, by Sally Beers
Production Options
Production Management
Factory Management
7 • Marketing and Branding Materials
Be Your Brand
Logos
Press and Sales Kits
Other Marketing Materials
8 • Sales
The Financial Realities of Selling
Where to Sell
Selling to the Stores
Cold Calling, by Rachel Shechtman
The Appointment
The Order
Getting Paid
Customer Service and Supporting Sales

Who Should Sell the Line?
Trade Shows
Making the Most of the Shows, by Barbara
Kramer
9 • Press and Public Relations
Good News/Bad News
The PR Strategy
Dressing Celebrities, by Roger Padilha
Who Should Handle PR?
10 • The Runway
To Show or Not to Show
Producing a Runway Show
Sponsorship
11 • Copyrights and Knockoffs
Fashion Design and the Copyright Laws by
Jason Gabbard
12 • Expanding the Business
Licensing
A Second Line
Partnerships/Consulting
Creative Direction
Investors and Partners
Acknowledgments
Notes
Resources
Index
Foreword
When I began my business in 1972, I wish a
book like The Fashion Designer’s Survival Guide
had existed that I could have turned to for advice

on how to launch a fashion business. Fortunately,
Mary Gehlhar has provided such an invaluable
tool for today’s generation of designers. Reading
this guide brought me back to my first days as a
designer and my own journey.
New designers often ask me what the key to
success is when starting a business in fashion. My
response is simple: you must first understand who
or what you want to be. What is your vision? For
whom are you designing clothes? It may take
several months to figure this out, but once you do,
the rest should come naturally.
Secondly, work with an experienced designer.
Many of today’s most successful designers worked
as apprentices or assistants to established
designers, which serves as a great opportunity for
gaining exposure to the business of fashion and
establishing industry contacts with suppliers,
factories, editors, and retailers. I, myself, worked
in a printing factory in Italy before I decided to
design and launch my dresses.
Finally, never hesitate to seek help.
Organizations such as the Council of Fashion
Designers of America (CFDA) off er support and
assistance, scholarships to design students,
mentoring of emerging talent through the CFDA/
Vogue Fashion Fund and other programs, and
ongoing panels with industry experts on the
business of fashion. The CFDA is committed to
working hard on behalf of the fashion industry to

help designers succeed. As president of the
Council of Fashion Designers of America, I
represent all designers, new and experienced, and
believe in sharing all I have learned with emerging
talent.
I leave you with this: a good designer must
recognize that there will be ups and downs in
one’s career and must be prepared for constructive
criticism by press, buyers, peers, and so on.
Always remain confident yet grounded, embrace
advice and criticism, learn from your mistakes, and
do not hesitate to ask for help.
I did not know the mechanics of how to start a
company, but I managed to do so because I was not
afraid to ask. You should always ask and seek
answers for what you do not know. Many of these
answers lie within the pages of The Fashion
Designer’s Survival Guide, a great resource for
new and established designers.
Fear is not an option…Go for it!
Sincerely,
Diane von Furstenberg
Preface
This book was originally published in 2005 and
now, three years later, the proposition of being an
independent fashion designer is as exhilarating as
ever. Few industries move as fast as fashion, and
opportunity abounds as the competition increases
and the playing field changes daily.
Driven by celebrity obsession, fashion

television, and the Internet, fashion is in hot
demand. New designers are benefiting from an
increased interest by retailers, editors, stylists, and
even investors wanting to discover fashion’s
greatest new hidden talent and off er shoppers a
diverse selection. Consumers are more interested
in what’s new than in big brands.
Economic forces are also at play. The deflation
of the dollar against the euro is leading American
buyers to cut their European purchases and seek
new, U.S based sources, and Europe is becoming
a viable market. Accessories are booming as
consumers willingly invest in high-end bags and
shoes that don’t fluctuate with their weight. New
markets are available to designers as mass
marketing and low-end design gigs at large chains,
such as Gap and Target, have gained acceptability.
At the same time, the market is more saturated,
more sophisticated, and more challenging.
Fashion’s increasing role as part of pop culture has
put more pressure on designers to be a personality
or star and to differentiate their products to
compete against the inexpensive, trend-driven fast
fashion from chains such as H&M. More
celebrities are launching their own labels,
scooping up shelf space and licensing
opportunities. Stores are less loyal to their
designers as they look over their shoulder to
welcome the next new name with buzz. The jaded
say that starting your own label is really just a

short-term strategy to getting a high-profile design
job at an established label.
At the end of day, there is still a great need and
desire for true innovation and creativity mixed
with strong business acumen.
Few resources are available to help prepare
designers for having their own labels. Fashion
school will teach you about patterns, draping, and
trend forecasts. It can prepare you for a successful
career as head designer and even off er classes on
bookkeeping and business plans. But running your
own business is another matter.
This book is designed to help new designers
successfully set up and run a business, benefiting
from the pitfalls, mistakes, and triumphs of other
designers who are doing it themselves. This
second edition includes new sections on financing
and private equity, sales and cold calling, and
partnerships and consulting opportunities; an
update on the extensive efforts to protect fashion
designs legally; photo examples for branding and
product development; as well as extended sections
of quotes from entrepreneurial designers who are
in the trenches facing these challenges every day.
Through the course of writing the book, I’ve
spoken with more than 100 designers and industry
professionals about their specific areas of
expertise. I have gained valuable insight from the
innovative thinkers and great business minds who
have generously shared their experiences. Among

the buying offices, editorial departments, fabric
mills, factories, and financial institutions, there is a
passionate crowd rooting for the next generation of
designers.
These pages will demystify the world of young
designers and reveal the tough parts while
providing the knowledge and tools to carry on. It is
a collective summary of what it takes to survive.
The advice is not sugar coated, and it’s not always
what you want to hear. But knowledge is power
and should not discourage you.
The book is intended to help designers in their
first few years and lend guidance to those who
have been operating for much longer. It was
written to increase the odds of success. Here’s to
the next generation.
One Piece of Advice
If you could give today’s young designers one
piece of advice what would it be?
John Bartlett
“If you want to start your own line I would do
one of two things . . . I would commit myself
to working for another designer company for
at least four years to really learn from their
mistakes . . . or I would concentrate on one
product category, like t-shirts or shoes, and
focus all of my energy developing the best
possible product. Too many designers get
caught up in doing a whole collection and
doing shows. Shows are for ego, product is

for survival.”
Tommy Hilfiger
“Being a successful fashion designer is about
more than just making great clothes. It’s about
running a business, and that means having a
combination of diverse skills—you need
creativity, business acumen, social skills,
management skills, and most importantly, you
need dedication. I started out in this business
with $150 and a dream. there were many
years, challenges, and lessons learned before
getting to where I am today. The best piece of
advice I’d give to a young designer is to first
dream big and believe in yourself, and then
approach fashion from a holistic point of
view. You have to start with a great product,
but you also need the right vehicle to get that
great product into your customer’s hands. Th
at means planning, researching,
merchandising, building great relationships,
having a great marketing plan, and being able
to execute all of those things in a carefully
thought out way.”
Donna Karan
“There are three things you absolutely must
keep in mind: Realize that in the end, it’s all
about the customer—your customer. You need
to decide who she is and then really get to
know what she’s about. That single-minded
focus is the way you create a strong,

consistent message. Make sure the people
behind you are better than you and that you’re
all on the same page. Lastly, never believe the
good press because that means you have to
believe the bad. Be true to yourself.”
Richard Lambertson of
Lambertson Truex
“Stay true to your design ethics and try to be
different, but don’t follow the trends. You
can’t be everything to everybody. I also can’t
stress enough that the more practical
experience you have the better. Everyone
wants to work for the big names but you can
get even more experience working for a small
house.”
Christian Louboutin
“As a supposedly established designer, I
regret to say that I have very few words of
advice to give to the emerging talent. The
reality is that I continue to learn every day
about my work. But, if I may give one word of
advice, it would be this: leave, and always
leave, your imagination above everything
else; technique should always serve
imagination, and not the opposite. To be a
good technician is only a help, but should
never be a priority. Why? Because technique
can shrink your creation, and creation is
everything, and the rest should gravitate
around this. The more you are free, the more

your design will reflect this sense of liberty,
which is after all, one of the essences of
fashion. Fashion tends to represent different
points of view and meaning, and at its best
should reflect individuality, eccentricity, and
wit.”
Cynthia Rowley
“Coming from a free-thinking art school that
encouraged creativity, I very quickly learned
about the constant battle between art and
commerce and had to find the balance to
survive. There are many ways to find your
own balance and to learn both sides of the
business. Once you learn the rules, I think it is
very important to take chances and push the
envelope as a designer—sometimes ideas
work; sometimes they don’t, but the most
important thing is that you roll the dice. The
fashion industry is forever evolving and so
much of being successful is changing and
adapting while remaining true to your vision
and maintaining your integrity.”
Richard Tyler
“I started when I was 18 by opening my own
store. There’s nothing like it for finding your
own niche and it ensures your survival. You
show your clothing to the world the way you
envision it. It’s healthy to see what people
admire and what they can truly wear. When
you get to know your client, they keep you

balanced between designing what drives and
interests you and designing for the person
who is wearing your clothes.”
Diane Von Furstenberg
“The important thing is to believe in what you
do. Have a big dream and take small steps.”
“One piece of advice from the
up and coming labels.”
“Be passionate and have a vision that you
stick to. Always be humble—In fashion, success
can be short-lived.”—Jane Ko, Nervenkitt,
jewelry
“Start with a very focused niche, just one
product such as a very special jacket or shirt,
and off er just 10 styles. Use just one fabric, one
factory, do it from home, and with as little cost as
possible to maintain a 30 percent margin. then
grow slowly, very slowly.”
—Robert Geller, menswear
“Be true to yourself—you will get a thousands
comments on what you should do—if you take
them all into account you will be too
scattered.”—Kristen Lee, shoes
“Be ready to work—A LOT! Build a good team
around yourself.”—Tina Hernaiz and Nike
Clausing, Ingwa; Melero, womenswear
“Do it however you can. there are many
different ways to start and they all can work. It’s
important that you do it in a way that suits you,
or you may never do it at all.”—Lily Raskind,

Sunshine and Shadow, womenswear
“Focus on what you really love to do—not
what you see in the street or in the
industry”—Gustavo Cadile, eveningwear
“Know exactly what you are doing and who
you are doing it for.”— Ana Beatriz, Lerario
Beatriz, womenswear
“Learn how to run a business, whether you
partner up with someone who has the know-how,
or you learn yourself. Make sure you have a very
solid foundation beneath you; a high-quality
product, a unique sales pitch, and most
importantly, funds to cover production, the
upcoming season, and the myriad of mishaps
which may happen along the way.”—Alison
Kelly, womenswear
“Learn your market. Analyze your product. Be
clear in your brand, perform to your best, and
reach for the sky.”—Diego Binetti, womenswear
“Learn patternmaking. You can save a lot of
money”— Annie Lewis and Helen Cho, Lewis
Cho, womenswear
“Never lose site of you! No matter what
successes or downfalls come your way stay true
to yourself.”—Jessica Alpert-Goldman, World
According to Jess, accessories
“Planning is the most important thing for
anyone starting a clothing line. Specifically, I
would focus on design and vision, sales and
financial planning. Problems in any one of these

areas will inevitably lead to problems in the
other areas as well. Although you can’t avoid all
problems, you will save yourself a lot of
headaches down the road by doing your
homework in the beginning.”—Romain Kapadia,
menswear
“Work in the industry, network, gain
experience and knowledge. When you decide to
establish your company partner up with someone
who has a strong background in
business.”—Brian Wood, menswear
“Use amazing fabrics. there are a lot of
fantastic, gorgeous fabrics out there and it’s
important that your clothing feels great on and
off.”—Chloe, Samantha and Caillianne
Beckerman, womenswear
“Be humble. the fashion world is very small
and you should treat everybody nicely and
equally with respect.”—Grace Sun, womenswear
“Surround yourself with smart, dedicated
people, they make all of the difference. Oh, and if
you have a partner, make sure and have a
partnership agreement!”—Jada Simons, Marie
Marie, womenswear
“It doesn’t happen overnight. You have to love
it enough to keep going when it’s not glamour
and designer-y all the time. You have to have
tenacity and patience of a doorknob. Like fishing,
you have to work hard and throw as many hooks
out as possible and some of them will work out.

It’s a process and the one that sticks around will