How to Start a Clothing Brand: The Full Guide

If you’re into fashion but also have a flair for business, starting your own clothing brand might just be the perfect next step in your personal and career growth.

But before you make this important decision, it’s essential to gain as much information as you can on the market, proven best practices, marketing strategies, and more.

In the following sections, we offer a step-by-step guide on how to start a clothing brand.

Key Facts About The Fashion Niche

The fashion niche in the UK is one of the most competitive market segments. This is completely natural as fashion is all about self-expression and identity – two everlasting components of human life. 

In fact, the UK’s clothing industry is the third largest market worldwide, valued at £57.92 billion.

This competitive fashion industry inspires Brits to spend nearly £45 billion on clothing and textiles.  

These numbers are extremely attractive, motivating business enthusiasts and fashion gurus to join this thriving environment. 

Starting Your Clothing Brand: Step By Step

When exploring how to start a clothing brand, it’s important to understand that the process requires a structured approach and a step-by-step implementation.

Below, we share everything you need to know about getting started and reaching your desired results.

Market Research and Strategy

No matter whether you want to start running a small business or intend to make your clothes turn into one of the stand-apart fashion trends in your area, selling your own clothes requires a clothing line business plan.

A business plan is essential both for you and potential investors. Regardless of whether you sell basic t-shirts or highly artistic and visionary clothing pieces, this must-have document can help you plan, predict, and execute. It can also allow you to present your business idea in front of investors, potentially attracting future funding. 

But to be able to create a reliable business plan, you’ll need in-depth information about the market.

Identify your target market

Start with identifying your target audience. This will help you plan out the most appropriate clothing types, styles, colours, and more. 

When assessing your target customers, think about factors like age, gender, interests, income level, and hobbies. All of these insights will help you understand their preferences in detail, enabling you to create clothing products that resonate with potential customers. 

Conduct market research

Apart from your audience, you’ll also need to acknowledge market trends and specifics. The main goal of this part of the process is to get a grasp of what the existing market has to offer, what makes it attractive, and ultimately – what can potentially be improved. 

Some of the core market factors to consider include:

• What are the most popular clothing items (t-shirts, dresses, jackets, or others)? 
• Where do most consumers prefer spending money on clothing?
• Are there any clothing trends related to sustainability?
• How are competitors pricing their clothing products?

These are just a few examples of the things you should be on the lookout for. However, the list can be as extensive as you wish. Overall, the more information you gather, the more informed your decision-making will be.

Develop a unique brand concept

Once you’re aware of the market, it’s time to craft the brand concept behind your own clothing brand. 

Running your own fashion brand in a competitive market undoubtedly demands positioning yourself in a specific niche and forming your own brand identity. For example, you could choose niches like print-on-demand, dropshipping, manufacturing in bulk, or do-it-yourself. In addition, you can select a wide range of clothing types to specialise in.

Take all of these details into account when creating your clothing brand name, colours, fonts, tone of voice, and brand style. Make your clothing brand stand out by being unique, authentic, and consistent across channels.

Design and Production

Bringing your clothing line ideas to life also demands planning in terms of design and production. 

To get started with your new clothing line, make sure you take the time to sketch, design, source quality materials, and partner with reputable manufacturers.

Create initial sketches and designs

Whether you prefer to work with an experienced fashion designer to produce your pieces or would rather rely on your own clothing designs, you’ll need to work with sketches and designs that can later be physically produced.

Crafting different versions of your sketches can be a powerful way to get valuable feedback from friends, family, and even potential customers. This process will allow you to make improvements where possible and to create eye-grabbing, hard-to-resist final designs. 

Source quality materials

Keep in mind that one of the common challenges for clothing designers and fashion brands is that local clothing lines often use the same fabrics and materials for the manufacturing process. It’s easy to understand why, given that certain resources are more accessible and affordable in specific locations.

However, when building your own clothing line from the ground up, consider alternative options that can help you stand out from the crowd. 

When ordering material samples, check for:

• Durability;
• Defects;
• Visual aesthetics;
• Ability to successfully use these assets for clothing production.

Make sure that the fabrics you set your eyes on are both high-quality and at a reasonable price for your business model. 

Find reliable manufacturers

Partnering with reliable clothing manufacturers is also a must to ensure a smooth and stable clothing production process. You can either invest in your own equipment or work with an existing clothing manufacturer. In some cases, you can merge the two. 

Overall, the most popular garment manufacturing options include Cut, Make, Trim (CMT), Full Package Production (FPP), and Print On Demand (POD).

Each one of these alternatives is associated with different manufacturing costs, processes, and peculiarities. Before choosing, ensure you’re aware of all of the pros and cons of each option and strategically select an option that works best for your business model. 

Branding and Identity

Your clothing brand identity is your secret weapon to creating lasting connections between your business and your customers.

It’s also an effective way to intrigue and attract new customers.

Develop a cohesive brand identity

Start by establishing a brand identity that differentiates your company from all other clothing businesses in your space. 

To grow a successful business in the fashion world, make sure you outline your mission and vision statement and present it to your audience in a clear, easy-to-understand way. Tell your potential buyers what you’re here to do, what your values are, and what your ultimate goals are.  

Craft a compelling brand story

The next step for a clothing brand is to create an interesting and emotionally-provoking brand story. 

If you analyse some of the most successful fashion brands in the world, you’ll notice that each one of them has a unique story to tell. Whether it’s related to making an environmental impact with sustainable practices or a mission of uniting different cultures through fashion, each one of these companies offers value beyond clothing.

Legal and Financial Setup

So far, we’ve mostly discussed the creative and business growth-oriented sides of how to start a clothing brand. 

While they’re essential, it’s also key to consider the legal and financial sides of the equation.

Register your business

Before you can start selling your clothing pieces, it’s fundamental to register your business with Companies House. To get started with the process, you’ll first need to select the most appropriate business structure for your goals. 

Your choice of business structure will influence your tax planning, liabilities, and control over your company. Some of the most popular choices of business structure for clothing brands are sole proprietorships and Limited Liability Companies (LLCs). 

For example, with a sole proprietorship, you’ll be in full control of your business. However, personal assets, like cars, homes, and others, could be at risk in case business liabilities need to be covered. In terms of taxes, business income is reported on the owner’s personal tax return, where profits are taxed at the owner’s personal income tax rate.

On the other hand, LLCs can be owned by one or more members. In this case, members are not personally liable for any business debts and liabilities and taxes are paid by the corporation rather than the individuals owning the company. 

Set up business bank accounts

Ideally, when setting up your clothing brand, make sure you open a business bank account. This will help you keep your personal and business profits and expenses separate. 

When selecting the right bank to host your business account, gather information on any monthly taxes, customer service, and other important details that will ensure convenience, affordability, and undisrupted business operations.

Understand tax obligations

One of the most important things to keep track of when running your own clothing brand is taxes. As noted above, your tax obligations will depend on the type of business structure you’ve created.

For instance, as a sole trader, you’ll be obliged to pay income tax on your profits via a Self Assessment tax return. In addition, you’ll be subject to Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance contributions based on profits.

On the other hand, as a limited company, you’ll need to pay corporation tax. 

In case your clothing brand has a turnover that exceeds a certain threshold in a 12-month period, you’ll be required to register for VAT with HMRC. If this is the case, as a company you must charge 20% VAT on your sales and file VAT returns every quarter.

Set up payment methods

Before you start a clothing line, it’s also key to make sure your clothing company can accept all of the popular and preferred payment methods. The must-have payment methods will vary based on the platforms or channels you use to make sales.

However, in the UK, some of the most frequent payment methods customers use include Google Pay, Apple Pay, debit cards, and credit cards. 

Partner with a reliable payment provider who can provide a seamless and secure way to accept payments, offering unmatched convenience to your customers. 

Marketing and Promotion

Another crucial aspect of starting your own clothing brand is creating a results-proven marketing and sales strategy. Without a marketing plan, the chances of falling into the pattern of creating stunning clothing designs that nobody sees are high.

Here are some of the most popular marketing strategies you can implement. 

Build a professional website

For starters, ensure you have your own website.

If you’ve never had an eCommerce store in the past, you may need some time to get to know the basics of successfully growing traffic, converting users into buyers, and making sure everything operates at maximum capacity. 

To create your own clothing store online, you’ll need to purchase a domain, buy a hosting plan, and build a grabbing website design. 

Growing your own online store also demands understanding fundamental SEO practices that will help you rank high in the search results of popular search engines. As a result, you can boost your visibility, attract more users, and ultimately – generate more sales. 

Use social media marketing

In today’s highly connected environment, social media channels are true game changers for any type of business. Clothing brands are no exception.

Invest time and effort into curating reliable social media strategies for different channels, like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and others. Focus your energy on the platforms that you know your customers use and create engaging content that can make your brand memorable. 

The best part is that you can also make use of social media advertising as a quick and guaranteed way to see results. 

Create engaging marketing campaigns

Moreover, we strongly recommend creating quality, creative, and strategic marketing campaigns.

Regardless of the channel you choose to promote on (email, paid advertising on search engines, social media, or physical marketing materials), it’s key that your promotional assets trigger interest. The most certain way to achieve this is to play around with striking vials, using trending colours, shapes, fonts, and other elements.

Don’t forget to carefully plan your marketing budget to make sure that your campaigns don’t break your bank account. 

Sales and Distribution

The next phase of starting a clothing brand is dedicated to sales and distribution.

Throughout this stage, it’s important to select the right sales channels, distribution networks, and implement practices that will ensure your clothing pieces reach the right audience.

Set up eCommerce platforms

The good news is that there are plenty of eCommerce platforms that can help you make your online clothing business easily discoverable.

For example, a large portion of businesses grow their clothing line online via platforms like Shopify and Etsy. 

These solutions will provide you with the ability to set up your online store and sell your products to buyers. They’ll also equip you with a rich arsenal of tools and instruments that are specifically designed to help businesses like yours grow and thrive. 

Explore retail opportunities

Based on the business models you’ve explored and the structure you’ve selected, you can also assess different retail opportunities.

For example, there are plenty of online retail options you can choose from, in addition to physical opportunities for brick-and-mortar retail.

These could feature online boutiques, pop-up shops- department stores, and others. 

Implement effective sales strategies

Always prepare your sales strategy before putting your clothing items up for sale.

Establish your Unique Value Proposition and where possible, create a powerful combination of different sales channels and approaches. 

For example, invest in SEO, social media commerce, brick-and-mortar presence, and wholesale and retail partnerships. Make sure that your pricing is competitive, positioning your clothing lines as an accessible, yet quality offering. 

Operations and Growth

Next, think about the aspects of ensuring smooth operations and growing your fashion business to new heights.

Manage inventory effectively

A successful clothing line also requires adequate inventory management – a delicate process that can oftentimes prove to be more challenging than expected.

Although clothing doesn’t have an expiration date (like food products, for example) it does have a lifespan as trends dynamically change. Make sure that you’re fully aware of what’s in demand and what’s not, tweaking your manufacturing and creation cycles. 

This will allow you to sell your items quickly and prevent situations of storing inventory that you can’t get rid of. 

Provide excellent customer service

As a clothing brand, you’ll benefit dramatically from excellent customer service.

Paying attention to your customer’s concerns and offering solutions and timely answers will help you build customer loyalty. This is a key asset in the world of fashion, where clothing brands compete aggressively for market share. 

Make sure that you have the capability to quickly respond to queries, handle negative reviews, and address problems.

Analyse sales data for growth opportunities

Finally, implement data collection processes from the start to gather essential data, like revenue by product and channel, units sold, conversion rates, Average Order Value, Customer Lifetime Value, and others.

Weigh these gains expenses like production costs, storage costs, shipping, and more. Analyse the wholesale price and retail price you’ve negotiated with partners and identify areas for cutting costs and increasing profits. 

Final thoughts 

Overall, starting a small clothing business can be an extremely rewarding venture, gradually turning into a large and reliable revenue stream. 

By following this step-by-step guide on how to start a clothing brand, you can quickly position yourself in front of the right audience, create attractive products, and stand out from competitors. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you put your own label on wholesale clothing?

Yes, in some cases you can put your own label on wholesale clothing. However, it’s essential that you’ve informed the wholesale producer in advance and have agreed to this practice. This process is called private labelling or white labelling. In short, it enables you to purchase wholesale clothing from a supplier, brand it, and sell it.

Are there any licences that I’ll need to start my own clothing brand?

Yes, starting your own clothing brand may require obtaining certain licence and permits. For example, you’ll need to get a standard business licence but may also need permits for things like operating in certain locations, using specific materials, and more.

How much does it cost to start a clothing brand?

The cost of starting your own clothing brand will vary dramatically based on the business model you’ve selected, the types of clothes you intend to create, your production expenses, and more. At the very minimum, you’ll need at least £2,000 to get started in the UK.