The fashion industry essentials are trajected by the four pillars encompassing all its fields and sectors as the first and the foremost relates to the acquisition of raw material that is the primary propeller of the whole fashion industry. The other essential component is the production of the fashion items as per the trends in vogue, market dynamics, seasonal and regional considerations, and the consumer priorities. Production of the fashion items becomes pointless if these are not put on sale at the retailing outlets with well-thought-out planning and strategy. The last but not the least is the promotion campaign for the sale of the fashion products. Moreover, the fashionpreneurs should have the knowledge and ability to analyze the recurring history and predict the future fashion trends.      

HOW MUCH IMPORTANT IS SELECTING RAW MATERIAL?

The prudent selection and acquisition of raw material ensures quality, value and standard of the fashion industry items as its acquisition on affordable prices also ensures profitability of the fashion brands and outlets. The supply chain of the fashion industry is a complex but well-coordinated network with different tiers of businesses and services that articulate the ideas and concepts into tangible form of different items such as clothes and other finished products like shoes, belts, purses, jewelry, glasses, neckties and even fragrances. The fashion industry is largely concerned with the finished products like fabric, leather and other such material however, the ethical aspects of these products are also taken into consideration. The real time, robust and seamless communication among all the stakeholders is highly essential for consistent supply of the raw material for the sustainability of the fashion business. Which are essentials of the raw material selection and acquisition.

COST-EFFECTIVE:

The primary essential of the fashion industry’s sustainability and profitability is the acquisition of the fabric and other raw material on affordable and competitive prices.

QUALITY STANDARD:

The better the raw material is, the better the finished product is. It is compulsory essential of the fashion industry to maintain quality, standard and durability of the products and these objectives can be achieved through the quality raw material which serves as the foundation brick of the huge building.

SUSTAINABILITY:

Sustainability in acquisition of raw material is key to the smooth running of the fashion business as it should be acquired from the sources having no moral and ethical concerns ensuring that there should be no exploitive and environmental factors which may, at any stage, cause disruption in the supply chain mechanism.      

HOW MUCH ESSENTIAL IS PRODUCTION STAGE IN FASHION INDUSTRY?

 The production essential is the backbone of the fashion industry as the industry stands nowhere if there is no quality and well-coordinated production involving variety of professionals and experts. This essential has many stages such as;

CONCEPT AND IDEATION:

Designs first grow in minds with the innovative ideas and creative thinking. The designers conceive designs keeping in view the trends, market demands, seasonal considerations, occasions priorities and consumers’ behavior. The fashion designers conceive ideas, brainstorm with people, make sketches, prepare prototypes and give final shape to the designs.

MARKET AND TREND EVALUATION:

The workability and sustainability of the designs are evaluated through deep and practical analysis of the markets before they are put on the wheel of production. The in-depth study of the customers’ behavior, their priorities, market dynamics, competitor brands and other factors is necessary to judge designs’ suitability and marketability.   

SKETCHING:

 Following the ideation and market analysis, the design enters practical stage as the designers begin to give ideas a shape through the drawings, sketches, illustrations showing how the design looks like and the process involves stitching and seaming with the textures of fabrics. The process involves different patterns, versions and iterates with many variants before the design takes the final shape representing brand identity and value.

PATTERN PREPARATION:

The finalization of the design follows pattern making as two-dimensional sketches are prepared and templates of each component of the clothes are made. The skilled and expert pattern makers put together different pieces of the garments to show how actually the design looks like.   

SAMPLE MAKING:

The sample making is the final stage of the design before the production of the clothes begin. The manufacturers and pattern makers create the first garment as per the parameters and specifications given by the designer and pattern maker. The stage finally gives the real time picture of the garment and also provides an idea how this design may perform practically in the market. Following this step, the brands enter the production stage.

RETAILING ESSENTIAL 

The retailing is another important stage in the complex but coordinated tiers of the fashion industry. The retailing sector provides a bridge between the manufacturers and the consumers. It largely depends on 4Rs, as the right product should be put on display on right time at right place and on right price. The manufacturers usually develop dedicated retail stores to put their products for sale and also develop industrious fashion square for their products and business development. Moreover, the manufacturers enter into partnership with the franchisers and also develop business with other market players. The brands also develop online shopping portals and websites for the sale of their products. The social media platforms provide a robust and vibrant medium for the sale of fashion products.

 PROMOTION ESSENTIAL

The promotion essential in the fashion industry is necessary to create product awareness, attract customers’ attention and develop brand sustainability and marketability. It is very necessary aspect of the fashion industry as it ensures presence of the fashion brands in the long list of the fashion manufacturers. Fashion industry continues to witness changes in trends, market priorities, customers behavior, seasonal considerations and others and in this ever-evolving scenario, fashion industry has to keep pace with time through strong, dynamic, vibrant and efficient promotional strategies that also change with the changes in the fashion industry. The fashion brands use different tools to target the potential customers – both direct and indirect. The indirect methods are conventional tools such as magazines, newspapers, billboards, TV ads and others while direct methods provide more targeted and effective approach like messaging through SMS, email, WhatsApp, telegram. The social media platforms are also very effective tools of promotional strategy and its influence is getting enlarged day by day.    

• CONCLUSION

The fashion essentials are required to have a coordinated and robust system to work in a sustained and systematic manner. Many soft wares like Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and others are available for ensuring seamless production and marketing of the fashion items. Fashion industry goes through rapid changes and it becomes really difficult to market the fashion products before they turn irrelevant and obsolete. A comprehensive system is an essential component of the fashion industry to keep itself ahead of time and changes. The fashionpreneurship requires high level of vigilance with meticulous approach embracing the transformation with all openness and should have the ability to produce the fashion items matching the trends and customers priorities. It should also have complete knowledge about the past trends and their possible rebirth to be poised for adjustments and transformations.

FAQs