Steps to Production Series - Moodboards
Launching a brand can be overwhelming, where do I start? What steps do I take? In this blog series, Anna breaks it down in a simple step by step process to get your brand off the ground and into the hands of your consumers!
So, there seems to be a lot of confusion about the HOW in starting a line. It can feel overwhelming and there is not a ton of information on exactly the process, the actual steps to take. And at V.Mora I have launched 100s of brands through my 12 years of owning the company where we do the HOW for you, not just the idea of the how or simply to just talk about it.
I thought I’d start a series of blogs for all of you to clearly see the steps, one by one. If you follow these steps (I know everyone likes to do things fast, or skip things they think aren’t important) but I promise you this.. You WILL have a collection together at the end of it. How long you ask? I tell designers if they are working with a company like mine, a company that works IN the industry everyday (and for over a decade) that has the needed network already in place, it will still take 6-9 months. If you are hustling on your own, building the team of pattern makers, manufactures, fabric vendors, etc. plan 12-18 months ahead of your decided upon launch season. I know this seems like a lot of time, but be patient and through the steps I plan to provide over the next few posts, you’ll have a better understanding as to why it takes this long. So here it goes……
When you are sitting down to think about being a clothing designer, the fun stuff comes to mind, the runway shows, the designing, the fabric sourcing. But, before you do ANY of this be sure to do these next few steps first!
Curate Moodboards for your Brand
Style Board - This needs to include styles of what you are creating, are you making dresses, pants, childrens’ wear? Have some fun with this a build a board around what you’re attracted to. This will also be a landing point to come back to as you show people what you have created and they give their feedback like “Add pants” or “I love floral prints”and you may get confused in wanting to please everyone. While advice from friends and family can be helpful you have to remember you are not creating a line to please everyone or even most people. You are creating a brand of your vision, for your customer, so having this moodboard to go back to when this arises is helpful to keep you on point to your original idea. I always say to create a product the entire world loves, it would have to be so dull, that in turn they would also hate it.
Fabric Board After you have the storyboard of selected like styles and line ideas you can go into more specifics of colors, patterns, fabrics you would like to use in your line. It’s important not to get too specific here as you haven’t started sourcing yet and are limited to the availability of vendors that offer small minimums (more on this later). So, while I want you to have any idea of fabric, I don’t want you to get caught in the specifics of the exact content or an exact print, again this is a “mood” board and should be just that, the overall mood of the fabrics. Simultaneously, you will want to have an idea of the season you are launching according to my little note above about the timeline. Obviously spring/summer tend to have a different color palette and textures so you’ll want to be aware of your projected launch.
Brand Board - First impressions are everything. Whether you are developing, launching, or looking growing your brand, having a strong brand identity is important to stand out from your competitors. As part of your BRAND IMAGE, your BRAND IDENTITY is the first step in visually communicating the essence of your brand to potential and returning customers. This should include specifics to your line as it regards the brand itself. It should have the colors for your branding material (website, hang tags, linesheets, etc) as well as an overall feel for your brand. This can be created by pulling photos together that represent you and who you want to be a part of what you are creating. The branding will stay consistent throughout the first few years (hopefully) of your brand so unlike the other two, this one you do not do every season. Eventually before you launch you will need a more extensive brand book that we will go over at the time you need to do so as it pertains to the ordered steps but for now, have your color palette (with pantone numbers assigned) and photos for the overall feeling of your brand.
That’s it! That’s your first step (many more blogs to come) but if you are feeling lost and do not know what to do first, have some fun and create some space to get your ideas out of your head and onto some paper (or digital)
Resources for Mood Board Development