“If you think Off-White is too expensive, that’s great! You’re supposed to make your own t-shirt brand. This project that was made, was made to inspire.”
Virgil Abloh
HOW TO START OUT
Starting out, you want to do some limited releases of graphic designs or uniquely sewed pieces. Use blanks to do that. Order as many as you need or have sold and customize them by yourself on demand. This way, you have only blank stock, and you can learn without a big financial investment. As you have built the first basis of your brand, you can step up your game and create your own custom garments. Now you have some experience and all the options at hand to produce your own pieces with Labwear in Portugal.
some advice from Virgil abloh
HOW TO BUILD YOUR BRAND
#1 Find a personal narrative to amplify your work. Give it an authentic identity.
#2 Have a wider skillset. Do not focus on one particular aspect of the business.
#3 Try to reverse-engineer garments. You will learn a lot about the construction and details.
#4 You should be able to take your brand identity and conceptualize it in different forms. (Like a house, a wallet, a garment.)
#5 Be able to elevator-pitch your brand where you can concisely summarize your ideas. So someone else can clearly understand it.
#6 The name of your brand should reflect all the elements and identity to it. You should try to stay true to these micro-elements.
HOW TO PRICE YOUR CLOTHES
You should position your brand in the accessible ready-to-wear segment, the sweet spot for up-and-coming designers. This segment is defined by clothes that are aspirational, high-quality, and a form of cultural affiliation and artistic expression. You want to elevate your brand from the mass market and avoid being compared with such brands, as large brands are dominating that segment. Your product should have an aspirational value the way luxury products have, but be obtainable for your customers.
EXAMPLES: jacquemus, acne studios, cole buxton, ganni
It makes a big difference whether you choose a cheap factory in Asia or have your clothes made in Portugal under ethical conditions in the same factories as the best brands in the world.
PARIS FASHION WEEK
VOGUE UA x LABWEAR STUDIOS
community
Get involved in building this community, connect with others, support others with your knowledge, get help from others, share your ideas and discuss hot topics.