Underlines welcomes Suzy Haber Wakefield to the Underlines team. Suzy has her own consultancy specialising in design, development and sourcing of lingerie, swim and lounge apparel but she has had an exciting and varied career. We are delighted that she is lending her expertise in a regular advice column ‘Suzy Says’.
Dear Suzy
I’m starting my brand with a garment idea. I don’t come from the design field, so I don’t have any idea of where to go or what to do next. Please help,” Betsey L.
This is probably one of the most fun aspects of the design process and also the most overwhelming because there are so many possibilities on how to take a concept once you begin. To battle the overwhelming and deliver on a fresh take to the market, it’s super helpful to create a North Star persona to follow. This can be a muse for your brand. Think Kim K for Skims, Dita Von Teese for her own brand or it can be a composite of many people expressed as the ideal vision representing the need or fashion sense you believe is missing in the world. Look at a company like Cos. There is no known face of the brand and at the same time without there being one they are very clear in who their target is and it shows in all their visuals. They utilize signature elements that speak to their target and travel through the shapes, fabric combinations, and accessory designs.
To begin this process for yourself, think your persona through. Who do they remind you of, where do they like to shop, eat, travel to, read, and so on. Build their persona in visuals – a great way to do this is to imagine their Instagram feed, what are they posting? After you’ve compiled the research, put it into mood boards that would include a brand guide too. For this one check out future posts.
Once initially solidified, these will be so useful. It not only helps you to understand how not to personalize too much (very dangerous for a brand) it will become the umbrella for everything from the designs themselves, to your fabric, fit, and color choices you make within them. It will also direct such aspects of development as the packaging and projection. You can also use them to show to anyone who needs to know what your brand is all about from your designer. It will be a living, breathing thing that gets updated and relooked at every year or so. Often enough to stay relevant while not so often that your persona lacks consistency.
TIP OTW- Take a look at some of your favorite brands across categories and analyze how they speak to their customer and how that language threads through all that they do.
And for even more advice to get you started on your exciting brand journey check out a link to our Brand Development Workbook
