Behind the Brand "An inside look at building a fashion brand.": Designing a New Collection

When preparing for the upcoming season there is a lot of research that comes into play. You've got to go back to the drawing board and figure out what you'd like to create next. You've also got to ask yourself some very important questions. What worked and in some cases what didn't work in your current collection? What did exceptionally well? There's always room for improvement. What are your plans to make your next collection even better than the last?

Here are a couple of things to consider when creating a new collection:

-What styles/colors are the most popular in your current collection?

(If your brand is sold in a major retailer you can easily refer to your weekly sales reports provided by your merchandise team to asses this.)

-What pantone colors are predicted for the upcoming season?

-Begin sourcing materials and notions (zippers, buttons, hardware, lining etc.)

-Create a vision board that will help guide you in the direction you'd like to take your next collection.

-Begin creating rough sketches to give yourself ideas of where you'd like to take your next collection.

-The sample process can be very expensive, consider gathering a small focus group of your target customer to see if the ideas you have in mind gravitate towards them.

-Give yourself six months at the very least to go through the sample and production process to assure that you can meet deadlines and have your product sent out to stores & boutiques on time.