This is not a sponsored post. It is a first-hand experience of our team member when she was setting up her own brand.
Fast fashion is a well-known term that constitutes a significant part of everyone’s life. However, after the Covid-19 pandemic began, many changes have been taking place in each industry and line of work, including fashion. The masses are slowly discarding fast fashion due to its adverse effects and the damage it causes to the environment.
People are moving on to adapt sustainable, affordable, comfortable, and handmade products. Fast fashion producers use synthetics, toxic textiles dyes, and harmful substances like lead, mercury, etc. It also has an enormous carbon footprint for both its production and disposal. Another problem in addition to this is that fast fashion brands exploit overseas workers to maximize production and profits.
To effectively counter the demand and production of Fast Fashion products, young entrepreneurs have started developing their idea of homegrown, sustainable brands. I am also one of them who came up with my little homegrown brand. But here are a few pointers that I had to look out for when starting:
Vision
This is the most essential thing as it will be the very foundation of setting up your brand. You need to be sure about what you believe in and what you will represent to the world through your brand, product, and the people you’ll be working with and working for. The vision is the very foundation of a brand, and all further construction stands firm when it’s executed with the idea kept in mind.
Line of Products and the team
Next up is deciding on the products/services you’ll be catering to. This is your spotlight to shine on, so discover your hidden talents, know yourself and understand what you’re good at.
For example, my start-up caters to clothing and accessories. Being comfortable with words and communication, I try to do the maximum interaction whenever required. I am good at hand painting, so the portions where this is needed are my responsibility. I am not the best with social media algorithms, so I took help from brilliant people. Hand stitching is not my niche, but I want to sell hand-stitched products. So I would reach out to artisans who have been working in this field for years.
You are nothing without a team so bring people on board from different areas of work who’ll help grow your brand.
Brand name, logo, story & tagline
This is my favorite part out of all the details; deciding on the logo, color scheme, tagline, and how to tell your story. Decide on a color scheme that matches your persona, the aura you give out in a room full of people. My start-up is all about black, white, and shades of peach.
The next thing you need to decide upon is a befitting name and a logo. Your brand name and logo must be a powerful and accurate representation of your vision. The name of my brand is StylenAttitude. I solely chose this because I aim to make people feel confident about themselves and walk out in the style and attitude of being their best version.
The tagline is ‘Of Everyone, for Everyone,’ representing inclusivity. A tagline must be short and quirky to be able to grab attention in a jiffy. My logo follows the pre-decided color scheme and theme of the whole idea behind it.
Visuals
This is your top priority while selling online—great visuals of your products are captured in different ways. You can always use aesthetic backgrounds; for example, I use satin cloth and solid colors for the background. Maybe add minor elements in and around your product and click! You can use fairy lights, wooden pieces, etc., that add a touch to your photo.
Capture your products indoor or outdoor in aesthetic locations as we call them. Audio-visuals are very effective other than photos. So you could use a little help from people who are good at these, or you are just perfect to go with your phone!
Channels
Next in line is where you will showcase your line of products and how. The obvious answer is social media as the pandemic has grown upon us for a very long time. Digital clicks and impressions are the most vital aspect when it comes to online business.
The most popular platform is Instagram for you to start with your homegrown brand. Others include Facebook, Pinterest, and probably a website of your own if you feel ready to take the big step. For instance, I try to maintain a polished and clean Instagram feed instead of opting for random posting.
I maintain color schemes, use spacers, post at regular intervals, use relevant hashtags for more visibility on the platform as the algorithm suggests, use different tools available on the platform, and name my line of products in some cases. For example, I give individual names to the designer blouses that we sell. Instagram reels and the IGTV is a convenient feature on the app. So make sure that you make the most of the platform you are using to showcase your products.
With fast-moving times, every day something new is coming up. There are various ways to represent your brand in your way on multiple platforms. Make sure to use the resources available to you entirely. Baby steps are the pavement to building a whole fortress. So take them one by one and live your dream through your homegrown brand.