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How Clothing Merchandise Suppliers Help Bring a Brand to Life
Clothing merchandise suppliers can have a far greater contribution than just supplying clothes. For a fashion label, merchandise is much more than that it is how an idea can be realized as something tangible, that can be ‘visualized’ and worn by consumers.
The genesis of a collection can be as small as a rough idea/sketch or mood board or as big as an entire product. Taking that thought or idea into an actual product takes many decisions of fabric, colour, fit, branding, structure, production etc. Identifying the ideal factory can help bridge all these gaps.
Merchandise Starts With the Brand
The clothing merchandize should feel like it belongs. Everything reinforced the idea of the brand.
A streetwear brand might for instance develop a range based on big, baggy shapes, heavily styled fabrics and graphics, and true-to-label washes. A modern designer trend house, on the other hand, might lean towards tighter cuts, luxurious materials, and subtle logos.
Therefore, merchandise should not be regarded as a mixture of independent garments.
The items should make sense and hold together in some way, whether through the colors, fabrics, proportions, graphics or general visual quality.
Build a Collection Instead of Just Picking Products
Getting caught up in individual what to buy/what not to buy decisions, rather than thinking in the context of, do the garments here go together?
A more sophisticated way is to consider the collection as a whole.
For example, a brand might develop:
- A large, heavy hoodie.
- A relaxed-fit T-shirt
- One pair of cargo pants.
- A jacket or coat; a piece of outerwear.
- Matching accessories
We are happy that every items can hold their purpose and also stay in the same visual direction.
This, as well, has the purpose of encouraging customers to mix and match pieces from the collection, and…
Product Details Make Merchandise More Distinctive
Just a few small design decisions can transform a basic garment into something very recognizable.
These might include:
- Custom labels
- Embroidery
- Graphic prints
- Unique stitching
- Custom hardware
- Special washes
- Contrast fabrics
- Custom pockets
- Distinctive silhouettes
All of this is unnecessary and anything more than merely the bare minimum.
Small adjustments to fit, fabric, finishing can sometimes transform a product into something radically different from a typical garment.
Fabric Selection Changes the Character of a Product
The material you pick isn‘t just a question of comfort.
It can alter the weight, the flow and over all feel of the garment. It may also affect its structure and appearance.
Heavyweight cotton sweat will have a totally different hand from lightweight cotton blend, a washed material can be used to look well worn and used, where the opposite are a more structured material that can give a more defined shape to a jacket.
That is why brands should work with fabrics from the start of the product development process rather than it being something to decide once the design process has been completed.
Colors Should Work Across the Collection
A larger influence of color selection is felt when developing a few articles concurrently.
A collection does not always have to use the same hues for each piece within a collection. The colors can work well together.
Could for instance be a neutral base collection, using shades of black, washed-out gray, a shade of cream, and a dull green, with perhaps one bolder color incorporated in some of the products.
This then provides the collection with a cohesive visual vocabulary, but without making any two garments seem similar.
Samples Turn Ideas Into Real Products
With digital drawings and product sketches can also be presented the idea of the product but a real sample of a product can show a lot of things which we cannot see on a computer.
The sample allows a brand to evaluate:
- Fit
- Fabric
- Weight
- Construction
- Color
- Branding
- Proportions
- Finishing
As usual, for the first sample you will probably get the lead to something that need to be changed.
A sleeve may have to be extended. A fabric might seem too flimsy. A logo might have to be repositioned. A pocket might not look right.
This is part of product development, not a failure of the initial concept.
Merchandise Needs Consistency
At the time a brand produces several styles, it becomes more difficult to maintainit.
Can require different fabrics, patterns, factories and procedures. But once the final product is made, it should still somehow be shown to have come from same brand.
This is where it helps to have clear specifications.
Samples, measurements, fabric specification, colorway, artwork, and branding instructions can all be used to create the identical look across the collection.
Think About How Customers Will Actually Wear It
It should function in real life, not just be ideally suited for product photographs.
Imagine how the customer will wear these clothes together.
Would the hoodie work with the pants? Does the jacket comfortably fit on top of the sweatshirt? Are the proportions right for the styling?
As we develop, I think about these questions and build this collection towards satisfaction.
It also provides the brand with additional opportunities to develop a coordinated product photography and marketing campaign.
Seasonal Merchandise Can Build on Existing Products
The brand does not always have to reinvent all your collections.
The products that do well have the potential to be exploited as the base for later offerings.
A popular sweatshirt could possibly be brought out on new color ways. Another established T-shirt shape could potentially be made into various graphics. An existing jacket could be reinvested on a new fabric or seasonal variation.
This allows the development of more efficient products, while providing customers something they are familiar with for a different reason to buy.
The Supplier’s Role Goes Beyond Production
Right manufacturing partner might assist the process before bulk manufacturing.
Assist in fabric sourcing,development of samples and modification of patterns, construction decisions,branding andProduction.
This can be very useful if the brand has a very tight creative direction, but relatively little support from its own product development team.
The relationship functions well as long as the brand provides the vision and the factory supplies the expertise.
Choosing a Partner for Branded Merchandise
Regarding the manufacturing partner, watch out for performance, not how good they can make a garment.
Think about if they can cater the kind of collection you would like to build.
A brand that makes several customised styles might require a team that is capable of working with the same, broad, production relationship, but with various fabrics, construction techniques, branding techniques and finishing requirements.
Even the best manufacturing equipment can be completely undermined if the equipment is unable to communicate effectively and create the proper product.
Bringing a Collection From Concept to Production
The strongest merchandise often results from a reassuring link between the brand idea and the end product.
Identify the collection, determine how the pieces relate to each other, build up the key features, choose the materials to be used and use prototypes to perfect the designs for manufacture.
JiuvelWear For brands customizing garments in China, JiuvelWear is the apparel manufacturing business of Dongguan Jiuzuo Clothing Co.,Ltd. located in Dongguan, Guangdong. Its team is cooperating with brands on Designing, Customizing Garments, Sourcing, Sampling, Private Labeling, Branding, and Manufacturing Garments of various product categories.
Nurturing a good manufacturing relationship shouldn‘t rob the creative process of any of its personal touch. In the best case, it should allow a brand to evolve its prerogatives into a merchandise that appears unified, strategic and market-ready.