What You Need To Be ready
Fall Apparel 2020 market opens this month for many categories in fashion. This is when the buyers come to see the fall collections and are ready to plan their fall buys. Are you ready to show your line? The following list is what you need to have in order for you to have the most successful season possible.
- A well designed collection – Mediocre doesn’t cut it anymore. You need to insure that your line is the best it could possibly be. Do you think your product looks exciting? Does it make a statement? Is it modern or dated? Do you have styles on your line that are less than wonderful and pull down the impact of your line? Is it balanced or does it all look alike. These are questions you need to ask yourself. Look at your line and be ruthless. Make sure all your styles look as good as they can.
- All samples need to be correct – Nothing is worse than having samples that are different from production. I have seen lines where the salesperson shows things in the wrong fabric or wrong colors or have changes on the details. When a buyer sees this it is a red flag. Chances are they will want to wait to see the collection when it is right. Of course once you miss the opportunity it is difficult to get to see them again.
- Samples must be in good condition – Try to make the fit as correct as possible. The seems need to be smooth, buttons well attached, zippers that don’t buckled and steamed so that there aren’t any wrinkles.
- Have all the product information – The more product knowledge you have the more interested your customers will be. Especially if you can give them the features and benefits of the fabrics and styles. If the buyers know the story behind the collection and why you designed what you did they become more engaged and excited about what you show.
- All garments should be tagged with appropriate information. On the tags you should have: style numbers, fabric content, length of garment, colors available, and sizes it will be made in. This makes it easier to present the line as the top questions your customers will ask is all in one place.
- Line sheets – You must have line sheets. No maybes. Everyone expects it and it will increase your chances of getting an order. Keep in mind that this is what your stores will use to place an order so all the information needs to be there. I always suggest a cover page with the logo and name of your company, address, telephone number, email address, website address, name of the season, delivery dates, fob point, and terms. The next pages should have pictures or sketches of each style in the order you will show your collection. Include the style number, wholesale price, MSRP (optional), sizes, colors, body length, fabric content.
- Swatches – Unless you have every fabric and color (and sometimes even if you do) made in every style, you need color swatches in every fabric and every print to show your buyers how they make up. But, please, make a swatch card that looks nice. I have seen ripped up little pieces of fabric stapled to a card that was not only difficult to visualize but looked unprofessional. That is not the image you want to portray.
- Look books if possible – I like look books because they give the image of the brand. This gets buyers excited about your product. It gives a clear picture of what you are about and how a customer might wear your pieces. I like lookbooks that are somewhat aspirational.
- Before you start to show your collection contact all the stores you do business with as well as the target stores you wish to do business with to entice them to come see you. I recommend a combination of emails, postcards, and phone calls until you hook up with them to get them to see your line.
Whether you are a new brand or have been in business for years having a polished and professional presentation will go a long way in getting orders from people you wish to do business with. Having all the tools will increase chances of your success. So spend the time getting ready for the Fall Apparel 2020 market Good luck with your new season!
