5 Issues Factories Have With Fashion Startups, And How To Avoid Them.

5 issues factories have with fashion startups.

There's no doubt that launching a clothing line is tough. It takes dedication, knowledge and time. Many of my clients find dealing with manufacturers the hardest part. It can take a while to find a good fit for your product, and the sampling process can feel laborious, so making sure you've got your process streamlined will help.

Make yourself a desirable startup client.

Often start-ups take an unconventional approach with factories, because they don't know any better and this sometimes leads to frustrations from potential suppliers. In turn the startup can feel deflated, deterred and not sure how to move forward. Learn the processes involved and educate yourself in the stages of manufacture.

I've put together the top 5 issues factories have with fashion startups and some tips to help you avoid these.

1. Lack Of Technocal Design Information

One of the biggest time wasting approaches I see amongst start-ups is contacting a prospective manufacturer without any tangible information in the form of completed CAD designs, tech packs and size specs. You might know what you want to launch in your fashion range, however a collection of photos, rough ideas and a vision is not going to cut it with a factory.

At best you'll end up with some cobbled together samples that don't represent your ideas. At worst you'll come across as unprofessional, a newbie they'll have to hand-hold and probably someone they don't have time to coach.

This raw information is what you should discuss with someone like myself - a designer, not a factory. It's tempting to be pro-active and find a factory early on, but you have a much better chance of striking a professional relationship with a potential supplier if you can hand over factory packs for each style.

Create professional factory packs for each style

2. You Don't Speak The Fashion Language

Understanding the correct fashion terminology will help you extensively when discussing your designs with a factory. Take some time to find out the relevant vocabulary that describes your styles, whether that be the fabric quality, the types of trims being used and any special details that make up your design. This information should be itemised in your factory packs from your designer, but make sure you can converse with your supplier in the language of the industry and understand the details. If you can't then use a fashion consultant who will have your back every step of the way.

Use an expert in fashion to help you

3. Having Unrealistic Expectations For Your Clothing Brand

Being aware of minimum order quantities versus price per unit is incredibly important. It's great to have target prices that you hope to produce something for, but if you only want to produce something small like 50 pieces per style then the price is going to reflect that small order.

Equally so, your small MOQ may have an affect on how many colours you can order per style, how specific you can be with base fabrics and how much it will cost to produce anything specific to your brand such as branded hardware.

4. Having Unworkable Timelines For Your Fashion Brand Launch

When you hand over your designs for manufacture, the samples won't appear instantly. Your prototypes will take less time than your bulk production, however you should always allow enough time for re-sampling, allowing for your factory's workload and general turn around time. Each factory will have a different lead time, often booked up weeks to months in advance depending on the time of year. Just because you're ready to go doesn't mean you can dictate timescales for your suppliers. Utilise a realistic fashion calendar to plan your critical path.

Be realistic with times and expectations

5. Unwillingness To Compromise

It's great to aim for that gold standard with your collection but sometimes a little compromise goes a long way. It may be your factory can't source the exact composition of fabric specified in your tech pack, however if they have an alternative does it also do the same job? Sometimes your need for small MOQ's might dictate what you can do in terms of design for branded items like buttons, badges, labels and trims. You may have a better chance at getting what you're looking for by using an available quality and branding that.

Understand where to compromise.

In summary the main takeaways here are:

1. Prepare your designs in a professional manner with all technical and sizing information in place.

2. Do your homework and liaise with your designer to understand what it is you're asking for.

3. Research MOQs.

4. Be realistic with your timeline.

5. Compromising will get you a long way.

If you need help launching your fashion brand then get in touch and we can discuss your needs - info@thefashionexpert.co.uk

Michelle Ramsay - The Fashion Expert®

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5 ways my e-book will help you launch your fashion startup.

Fashion Startups' Guide To Apparel Manufacture

If you're a budding fashion entrepreneur trying to navigate your way through the minefield that is the fashion industry, you might be feeling a little lost as to what happens next.

You're probably feeling in the dark to the steps needed to launch your brand, such as design, sampling and manufacture. How do you start to take that raw idea and get it manufactured?

If this sounds like you and right now you're lacking a plan then you're not alone. Finding good, reliable information about the fashion industry can be really difficult for startups and those trying to break into it.

That's why I wrote The Fashion Startups Guide To Apparel Manufacture. and here are 5 reasons it could be well worth your investment.

1. You'll gain insider knowledge instantly

Working with start-up brands for over 5 years now I know exactly the things you're going to ask before you've asked them. With this in mind I've created an easy to understand e-book that takes you through each stage you'll find yourself at on your journey from idea to manufacture. You will start to understand the processes, the terminology, and the language of the fashion industry, as well as key expectations a designer, manufacturer and supplier will have of you.

2. Your confidence will triple

Armed with this new found knowledge, you will be much more at ease knowing what should happen next. You will be able to start formulating your plan of action and strategies for your brand in terms of design, sampling and manufacture.

Fashion Startups' Guide To Apparel Manufacture

3. It'll help you get ahead of your competition

Without a clear plan of action it's easy to make mistakes. It can be tempting to jump on into the dark and have a go, but unless you learn your craft you'll never get it right. Take some time to invest in this new venture, learn your stuff before you plunge in and get ahead of the competition with proper guidance and information.

4. You'll save money long term

I see a lot of disasters! Clients that come to me to mop up a previous mess where they have spent a lot of time, and worse still, hard earned cash! When you don't know the correct processes you should be following, it's easy to get duped by false promises. Sometimes it's not always the fault of the factory. They can only produce based on the information you give them. If it's light on professional content, and lacking in skilled detail, you're likely to get a sample that reflects the poor input. This guide will show you the protocol of design, techs and specs, as well as walk you through sampling and production. Getting things right first time round means a more cost effective outcome. Suddenly a small initial investment seems like a game changer!

5. You'll become a more desirable client to a manufacturer

Unfortunately fashion startup brands are not the most desirable clients for a clothing factory. They've seen the unprepared brands asking them to make a garment based on a photo, and realise a lot of these clients need to be guided or prompted which sounds like a lot of hard work for them. Unsurprisingly, a lot of initial enquiries are ignored. This e-book will teach you everything a factory needs from you to successfully manufacture your collection. If you follow the steps in the guide, you'll be a much more desirable client through your organised approach and professional attitude.

If you'd like to start off your fashion launch the correct way then you can buy the guide here.

The Top 5 Mistakes Fashion Start-ups Make And How To Avoid Them.

Working with fashion start-ups every day means I see clients making the same mistakes and repeating the same patterns over and over again. In this article I'm letting you in on the secrets of the top 5 mistakes fashion startups make, and how to avoid them.

1. Approaching a factory with a rough sketch.

Time and time again, I get clients through the door who have already approached factories without the right information. And guess what? Each client has invariably spent an awful lot of time and money learning from their mistakes the hard way.

At best, factories will deem you as completely out of your depth, inexperienced and won’t entertain you as a client. At worst, you’ll make mistakes the expensive way.

Getting inaccurate attempts at samples back from factories is very disappointing, not to mention disheartening, but when you haven’t provided them with good quality, exact instructions to follow, then it’s really not so surprising.

What’s the solution?

Professional tech packs, CADS and size specs are what factories need and expect from you in order to give you accurate quotes and, more importantly, good quality samples. If tech packs and design are something you need help with then you can see more information here.

2. Getting a graduate or graphic designer to design your range cheaply.

To some, this may sound harsh, but in a nutshell, cheap is never best. Graduates need to start somewhere, and there are millions of amazingly talented graphic designers out there, but neither is qualified as a fashion designer. Graduates and designers from other disciplines do not have the experience and knowledge to advise you on what will work with your garment design, and more importantly, what will not! This one is super important when you have your own skills and knowledge gaps as a first-time founder. How can an inexperienced designer advise your factory on what machine they need to use to finish an armhole if they've zero knowledge of apparel construction? Do they know the difference between a run-and-fell seam and a french seam, or are they just producing images that look pretty? A tech pack is more than just an illustration; it's a blueprint for anything you want to manufacture and should have detailed technical information for the factory.

What can you do?

It takes time to build up this professional knowledge, and if you're a fashion start-up without a fashion background, you need to trust a professional, qualified designer who can help you make the best job of your range. Look for a designer with at least 5 years of commercial experience in your product field. Invest in this initial stage, and the benefits you’ll reap will far outweigh the costs of professional services. If you need help creating production-ready tech packs, explore my tech pack design service here.

3. Making your range too large.

I spoke with a client last week who wanted to produce 50 different styles in their initial launch range with very small order quantities. Immediately, alarm bells rang because if you’re lucky, you’ll find a factory that will produce 50 pieces per colour per style. Maybe you want to produce 3 colourways per style. Multiply this by 50 styles, and you're looking at 7500 to start off. This is all very well and good if your budget allows, however, if you're like most start-up brands and budget is tight then maybe you need to reconsider your collection size and if you really need all of these options.

What is the alternative?

There's an art to putting together a commercial collection, so get some expert advice on range planning and review your styles together in a consultation. Look at what you need in your range to start with. Perhaps you can cut colourways or styles to only include the important pieces. Over time, you can build on this and keep investment risk to a minimum.

4. Having an unrealistic launch date.

Launching a collection takes time - more time than you think. Most fashion designers work 2 - 4 seasons ahead, so trying to launch for spring when it’s already winter is a big ask. There are so many things to source, approve and co-ordinate. Whilst it’s fantastic to be ambitious and driven, you must be realistic.

How can you do this?

Factor in extra time for mistakes, let downs and mishaps. Do not commit to anything with big financial commitments like a photoshoot until you have a definite delivery date of samples, or the end is in sight. When I work with clients in The Fashion Startup Academy one of the first things we do in Milestone 1 is define timelines. How long is this going to take, which season will you launch in, and how can you plan your timeline so things go smoothly?

5. Spending money with suppliers prematurely.

One of the sad parts of the job is meeting clients who have paid for services by factories, suppliers and sometimes designers, only to find the goods are not delivered and the trail goes cold. It is hard when first starting out, as you need to build up relationships and you often have no history to go on. But there are some things you can look out for.

Always try to interview your designer and make sure you have an agreement in place. Look at feedback from other clients to gauge the reputability and make sure they have similar products in their portfolio.

Visit manufacturers if you can, either at their place of work or at a trade show. Look over their ranges and see what other customers they have. Try to negotiate payment terms you're comfortable with. Invest in a contract and make sure to stay in contact for regular updates. If something seems too good to be true, it usually is.

Most fashion startup mistakes happen because founders try to piece everything together alone. Inside the Fashion Startup Academy, I guide founders through a clear, step-by-step framework so you know exactly what to focus on at each stage of your launch. If you need hands-on support with design and production, I also provide professional tech pack development and product design services, ensuring your collection is production-ready and industry-standard.

Ready to Launch Your Fashion Brand Properly?

Launching a fashion brand isn't about guessing your way through samples, pricing and production. It requires structure, commercial awareness and the confidence to make the right decisions at the right time

If you're serious about building your brand the right way, then your next step is below.

• Join the Fashion Startup Academy – A structured step-by-step mentorship programme guiding you from idea to professional launch.

• Explore Tech Pack & Product Development Services – Professional, industry-standard tech packs and CADs to ensure your collection is truly production-ready.

• Download the Free Fashion Brand Launch Blueprint – A clear roadmap outlining the essential stages of launching your brand.

About Michelle Ramsay

I’m a fashion designer and startup mentor with over 20 years of experience across womenswear, menswear and activewear. I help ambitious founders who aren’t from the fashion industry design and launch their brands properly, without wasting time, money or second-guessing themselves.

I’m also the host of The Fashion Startup Podcast, where I share insights, founder stories and industry expertise to help emerging brands build momentum the right way.

If you're starting a clothing line and want to do it properly from day one, you're exactly who I work with.