The Growing Market For Streetwear Trends in 2019

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blogging, bold branding, brand consultant, Cropped out, fashion biz, fashion blog, fashion brand, Fashion Business, fashion consultant, fashion designer, Gingham Gone Wild, Going Military, growing demand for streetwear in 2019, Neutrals, street fashion, street wear trends, Streetwear, Streetwear trend spotting, The hoodies

Now that we’ve put major fashion events behind us, it is time to get back to business as usual!

One common theme that stood out at Fashion Weeks this year is the adaptation of streetwear trends and motifs into what is typically high-end or luxury fashion. For example, Miu Miu experimented with colors that are usually considered outdoor. Around the globe, streetwear is translating into more than just athleisure, and in keeping with that, our November blogs explore how streetwear can be adapted into clothing lines.

Why? Because, from Louis Vuitton to H&M, everyone is going to the streets. Streetwear is highly adaptable, which is what makes its appeal so universal. And, streetwear is a way to make a powerful statement.

Remember, when it comes to influence as strong as streetwear, it is best to choose one or two elements and incorporate them into clothes than to go all out and design something that can only be worn to a Zumba class.

Photos: Phil Oh – Vogue

Without further ado, here are five streetwear trends that we are absolutely digging, both for their aesthetic value and for the business value they bring to the table.

1. Neutrals: Let’s start with some color or the lack of it in this case. Traditionally, streetwear has usually been dark, with bright accents in the form of a pocket patch or a bright shoe. However, in a nod to the high-flying millennials who are always on the go, streetwear is manifesting in colors such as whites, off-white, beige and tan. These colors are not just inconspicuous, they’re also easy to carry straight from a walk to a meeting.

In keeping with this trend, explore bomber jackets and loose pants in muted colors. We also recommend giving sweaters in these colors a try for those cities that need protection from all year long.

2. Bold Branding: This is the year of prints, and not just any prints. Brands that have a reasonable standing are making the most of fully printed outfits. The essence of streetwear is bold, loud expression which stems from a need for acceptance and a sense of community.

How can new brands leverage this trend? For one, out your logo front and center. Another aspect to explore in design is using your brand’s standard colors in your clothing as well. Be very careful while adapting this trend, as no one likes to be a walking billboard for someone else. However, if the end product looks stylish, people will lap them up this season.

3. Going Military: Some prints and styles just keep making a comeback every few years. In a way, these trends and pieces are timeless and add value to everyone’s collection. In streetwear, military prints and colors take the cake. Camouflage is not everyone’s cup of it, but it definitely makes a very bold statement.

A general rule of thumb when adapting trends like these is to remember that such prints usually attract a very niche audience who like, or have experimented with, these trends before. If you want to sell to a larger group, think in terms of fragmenting the trend a bit. Explore tank tops with camo detailing on the side, or a semi-formal shirt with camouflage prints at the collar and cuffs. Likewise, diversify the colors in the collection a bit with olives, muted blues, and even flat whites.

4. Gingham Gone Wild: Gingham, in its broadest interpretation, is checks. No one would look at the classic red and white prints and think of them as streetwear, but think of a checked shirt, and you know you’re on the right track.

Checks from the street are getting a fresh new upgrade with full outfits being designed in these patters. Think a formal peplum skirt, but with green and white checks. A dinner jacket with bigger checks ticks all the right boxes for a semi-formal event. In fact, we’re just waiting for the big entertainment events of the year to see some of these trends in action on celebs. After that, becoming mainstream is just a matter of time.

5. The Hoodies Are Back: Love them or hate them, there’s just something so comfortable about a hoodie! Summers scream for sleeveless ones thrown over, while winters could definitely use some detailing and bulk. A hoodie is the quintessential hip-hop costume, along with ankle boots. This year, the hoodies are in fashion again. Go bright with the colors, or do even bolder ones in varying lengths and cuts.

Everyone is buying a hoodie, so do you have enough options and colors to please all of them?

6. Cropped Out: When ankle pants made a splash a year ago, we knew that cropped ones were just a matter of time. Cropped pants were a huge hit on men at all fashion week street edits, and nude and earthy tones are here to stay. You can design cropped pants that don’t make people look like a hobbit- think clean seams and a slightly relaxed fit.

These are some of the streetwear trends we see being adapted into casual and formalwear for all genders this coming season. How many of these did you anticipate? Which of these surprised you? Tell us in the comments below.

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Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion. She is a Freelance Fashion Designer and Brand Consultant helping fashion brands to create great products from idea to launch. Fuel4Fashion social links: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram

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The Big Hits And Glaring Misses From Paris Fashion Week Spring Summer 2019

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#fashionstartup, couture designer, Elie Saab, fashion biz, fashion blog, fashion blogger, fashion brand, Fashion Business, fashion designers, fashion entrepreneur, fashion label, fashion trends, Fashion Week, fashion world, Givenchy, Hermes, Issey Miyake, Louis Vuitton, Miu Miu, Paris Fashion Week, Valentino

We’re finally winding up the whirlwind of fashion events that seem to have occupied our collective attention over the last two months. As the last show of the season, expectations ran high from Paris Fashion Week. Some of our favorite designers didn’t disappoint, while others did just that, and glaringly so.

In today’s article, we discuss the seven designer collections we absolutely loved- both for their vision and easy adaptability. We also present a few misses.

1. Elie Saab: Summer is coming in nice and bright, and Elie Saab at Paris Fashion Week is proof of that. We love the lace details that make summer dresses that much more elegant. Take special note of the use of several different fabrics and accents- a sign of the demanding times to come in fashion. Are you ready to design both workwear and off-time casuals?

2. Givenchy: Givenchy has set new standards for how formal wear must look. Those suits are the very definition of power dressing. We particularly love the use of the silhouette itself to design clothes- it has been a long time since every piece of clothing has not been designed for a mannequin. High waist, big belts, ruffles, full sleeves- all, check.

3. Hermes: The famous fashion house’s Paris collection has received mixed reviews, to say the least. We, however, think the collection has a huge adaptability factor. The jackets and overcoats are almost ubiquitous in nature, and we love ourselves a leather pair of shorts. Whether you like the collection or you don’t, you have to admit that a niche choice of fabric has never been this stylish and universal.

4. Issey Miyake: Miyake is not known for being shy about self-expression. From the villages of Japan (if they still exist) to the modern cities, this year’s collection draws inspiration from every corner of the small yet influential country. The clever choice of colors and fabric lend themselves well to the theme- you know that green coat is meant for the cities. We’re also glad to see flowy pants making a reappearance. God knows we need more of them.

5. Louis Vuitton: Shockingly, LV has received negative to mixed reviews for their Paris Fashion Week show. While we’re disappointed with the general lack of novelty and the brand playing it too safe, we do love some of the dresses. The blue one, for example, starts off as street-style and ends with a clean hemline. Surely an inspiration for designers to try something a tad bit different with their collection.

6. Miu Miu: Formal wear is all set to look different, and Miu Miu is leading the revolution. There’s no denying the fact that this collection is not meant for the faint of heart. But then again, the average Parisienne is not known for being that! Miu Miu has experimented quite elaborately with animal prints, sheer and denim, and we love their use of fabric in so many different ways.

7. Valentino: Most of Valentino’s dresses look like the inspiration for next year’s Met Gala, and that isn’t such a bad thing. For retailers, the key takeaway would be the use of pleats to create form without making them overtly obvious. For everyone else, there is the sheer gorgeousness of the dresses to look at. We can envision some of them as separates- they’d fly off the shelves for sure!

Unfortunately for Paris, it wasn’t all roses. Chanel’s collection came under severe criticism for sheer lack of originality, and we can’t help but agree. Balmain, taking inspiration from a theme they probably didn’t quite understand, tried to go Egyptian and instead ended up all over the place. Perhaps the most disappointing of all was Stella McCartney. After receiving huge media attention post the royal wedding, she couldn’t find a way to make the spotlight work for her and try something new.

But with all misses, we are grateful for these too, because they teach us even more about the consumer’s expectations and how we can stand out.

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Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion. She is a Freelance Fashion Designer and Brand Consultant helping fashion brands to create great products from idea to launch. Fuel4Fashion social links: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram

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The Home Of Haute Couture: Design Highlights From Milan Fashion Week Spring Summer 2019

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Christian dior, couture designer, design house, Dolce & Gabbana, Emporio Armani, fashion biz, fashion blog, fashion blogger, fashion brands, Fashion Business, fashion designers, fashion forecasting, fashion trends, Fashion Week, Fendi, Gucci, Max Mara, MFW, Milan Fashion Week, Missoni, Moschino, Roberto Cavalli, runway fashion, Salvatore Ferragamo, Sportmax, Spring Summer 2019, style, Versace

Move over New York and London- Milan has just made its most iconic fashion splash yet. There’s something about the spunky vibe of Milan, on and off its runways, that has made this the destination to watch when keeping an eye out for the bigger fashion houses. We think there’s a lot to be learned and implemented from the Dior and Versace of the world, and being one-of-a-kind is just one of them.

Here’s a compilation of designers and clothes we loved the most at Milan this year. Designers with ambition, take note.

1. Gucci: When Gucci makes a statement, heads turn. Almost singlehandedly, Gucci took clothing from overtly suggestive to plain old, yet standout styles. One look at the whites and tans paired with signature motifs shows us that some fashion houses are more about subtle experimentation than others. The sleeves are the ones standing tall this time around.

2. Christian Dior: When Dior’s in love with mesh, we know that the trend is here to stay. Casual is the name of the game for SS19, and what better way to do it than with one element in each outfit that grabs attention? We particularly love the understated elegance of the models themselves, allowing us to see outfits as they should be. We could take that blue top right there and think of ten different bottoms we can pair it with, using items already in the wardrobe. Now, that is versatility.

3. Fendi: Fendi is one brand that knows how to have fun in the subtlest of ways. The Milan SS19 runway was full of looks ideal for the workplace, and even better for drinks after. These are clothes you can take to meetings and to holidays with equal panache. Peplum gets a new definition that the world will soon come to love, and we’re not complaining about the very versatile handbag/ phone holder/ fanny pack accessory either. In fact, give us just that.

4. Emporio Armani: Armani gets a bit of a ‘not-so-couture’ rep, we think, because of the number of cheap fakes doing the rounds the world over. Imitation is the best form of flattery, so it is safe to assume that everyone adores this label. One look at the shiny jackets that imitate everything from animal skin to a backpack shows us that Giorgio Armani has the uncanny talent for drawing inspiration from just about everything and turning it into some gorgeously wearable works of art.

5. Missoni: It was a relief to see Missoni on the runway, partly because of the dresses that are everyday-casual, and mostly because of the mesh detail done differently. When you’ve had too much mesh, turn to Missoni for some fashionable relief. The careful placement of prints and flowy silhouettes are made for the modern day Bohemian.

6. Roberto Cavalli: What’s with the free-spirited vibes, everyone! Fashion labels always channel the mood of the season, and going by the Cavalli designs, 2019 looks like an excellent year for travel and exploration. Mirror work is not a Middle-Eastern trend alone anymore and can be adapted in the most diverse of ways. For those looking for more subtle statements, foil prints are in, too.

7. Max Mara: Add Max Mara to the list of formal wear collections we absolutely love. The pants are getting shorter, keeping in mind the very diverse jobs that women today hold. These outfits are meant for action in the boardroom. The frills, the colors, the polka dots, the statement belts…we could just go on and on with the little details from this collection that everyone can find a way to adapt into their designs.

8. Moschino: As the ‘LOVE MOSCHINO’ bags prove, this is one label that is not afraid to stand out every single time. And so it is with the Milan Fashion Week Collection. Why say jackets need to be held together with buttons alone? That red dress is going to make a lot of red carpet appearances soon, and a bralette in lace? Yes, please! Moschino’s prints are so commonplace yet so hard to replicate. Standing out and blending in, both are done right in this collection.

9. Versace: Swearing allegiance by florals, Versace has a whole new take on them. Out go embroidered flowers, and in they come in black instead. A base of bright colors adds a significant contrast to a collection that otherwise risks fading out. Versace is known for exploring a woman’s sensuality like no other designer ever can, and the lace camisoles and thigh-high slits, artfully covered in long jackets, prove that point once again.

10. Sportmax: A trip to the Hamptons next year is going to be woefully incomplete without at least one piece from the Sportmax collection. These clothes are what you wear when you head off to a game of golf, or lounging by the beach. Some of the elements like the sleeves are clearly drawn from Scuba gear, while others are more suited to cocktails and sunset. Either way, being outdoors is not going to be the same anymore, and you don’t have to play a sport to be part of the game.

11. Salvatore Ferragamo: The colors of the outdoors are well-represented in the SS19 collection from the house of Ferragamo. These are beiges and tans that have been carefully chosen to represent the outdoors in as understated manner as possible. Paired with tropical prints in similar shades, it works magic simply by complementing the wearer’s skin tone beautifully.

12. Dolce & Gabbana: Occasion wear has been done right with D&G once again. Here’s one design house that is loud, and unabashedly so. Operatic themes are evident, as are carnivals. Suits in gold and silver are most definitely gothic, as are doodle prints with lace. Channeling a bit of the dark side are the corsets and fringes, both of which remind us of Hotel California. With that collection, D&G takes a bow like no other house managed to this time around.

Which of these designers did you absolutely love? What are some details that you’ll be taking away from Milan and into your collections? Tell us in the comments.

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Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion. She is a Freelance Fashion Designer and Brand Consultant helping fashion brands to create great products from idea to launch. Fuel4Fashion social links: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram

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Bootstrapping Your Fashion Business? Let These Seven Tools Help You

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bootstrapping fashion business, business tools, fashion, fashion biz, fashion brand, Fashion Business, fashion business owner, fashion entrepreneur, fashion label, fashion software, fashion startup, fashion tech tools, fashion tool, successful fashion business

Choosing to start a business of any kind with no external funding can be a daunting task. If you’ve chosen this path, well, bravo! We’re here to help you succeed. And in today’s work environment, we know that success is directly proportional to the degree of automation we can create.

Here are seven tools that our team uses and approves for running a successful fashion business.

1. Pixlr: Pixlr is a photo editor for those with minimal photo editing skills. Pixlr’s advertised USP is that it has over two million free combinations to try out and it doesn’t disappoint. If you’re looking for something beyond a photo editor and need a tool that can help with design, look no further than Pixlr. A host of icons, illustrations, and base templates almost ensure that you always find something that you need.

2. Pexels: We all know that stock images are costly, and while we may splurge on them for branding, a free photo or two ensure that your campaigns are not held up for want of a beautiful image. This is where Pexels comes in with a host of stock free images that are easy to find with the right keyword. Another tool you can try is PixaBay.

3. AwesomeScreenshot for Chrome: Those who use a Mac probably don’t need a screenshot tool because a keyboard shortcut and the Preview app are quite sufficient. For everyone else, there’s AwesomeScreenshot. This Chrome extension allows you to take screenshots of virtually anything on the browser and even provides cool editing features.

4. Calendly: As a businessperson, you will now be meeting and interacting with a lot of people. You want to ensure that you don’t miss an appointment and that you’re adequately prepared for each one. This is where Calendly helps. Just send a link to the people you’ll be interacting with and schedule them into a time slot. Gather their email address and phone number, and call them proactively. Another handy way to use Calendly is to incorporate the link into your email campaigns.

5. Google Drive: A paid cloud subscription is almost irreplaceable now that you’ll be gathering a lot of raw data. Sign up for one of Drive’s paid plans and store all of your data safely, prevent losses and share what you need to easily.

6. Noisli: It’s okay to admit that our days are often filled with distractions. The Noisli app is just what you need to put a hard stop to these distractions and do your best work. What better way to do it than with music and white noise? Still, have doubts? Give it a try- you will not be disappointed.

7. Zoho One: Many entrepreneurs call Zoho One their own personal assistant. And why not? With over forty app integrations that work seamlessly with each other, it covers the whole gamut from sales and productivity to finance, and people management. And the price will really, really surprise you.

Which of these tools would you like to try for your business? Also, have you taken a look at our article on Design Tools for your business yet?

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Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion. She is a Freelance Fashion Designer and Brand Consultant helping fashion brands to create great products from idea to launch. Fuel4Fashion social links: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram

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Start-up Fashion Entrepreneurs Are You Looking For Some Inspiration? Look No Further Than Design Tools

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#moodboard, fashion biz, fashion brand, fashion business owner, fashion designer, fashion label, fashion software, fashion startup entrepreneur, fashion tools, inspiration, pantone colors, startup fashion brand

Inspiration can strike at the oddest of times, as every creative professional knows. Long gone are the days of using notepads and colored pencils to jot down ideas. Today, ideas have a new, virtual home. What’s more, these homes are that much prettier and detailed, and at any given point, you can access them from any device in the world.

As you may have discovered by now, we are huge fans of online tools and applications. Call us geeks, but once you take a look at the list of these design tools, you will wonder why we didn’t swap notes sooner!

1. Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop: No designer’s arsenal is complete without these tools. Adobe tools are to a designer what a sketchbook is to an artist. Some start-up fashion entrepreneurs opt for a crash course to learn the basics and then develop skills on their own. Give them a try!

2. Sketch: Sketch is a simple, easy-to-navigate alternative to Adobe InDesign, as its Facebook Ads rightly claim. Grid guides are especially helpful for those with no eye for design except knowing that something looks good. You can also use Sketch for free for a while to see if you like it and create your basic garment sketches to share with the design team.

3. Ideaboard: GoMoodboard is an excellent way for startup fashion entrepreneurs to gather their ideas and design a professional mood board. The best part is that they come with pre-designed templates, so it is easy for a novice designer to get started with. Tools like this allow you to gather and share your ideas with the design team, primarily if you’re working remotely.

4. Pinterest: No article on design tools is complete without a mention of Pinterest. The original inspiration board is also a source of relevant pins. Create your own board and share with your external design team, or curate ideas from around the Pinterest globe to get started with. Pinterest is also very intuitive in that once it learns your search patterns, it begins to show you a lot of relevant content that you can also pin.

5. Coolors: Why generate a color scheme from scratch when a machine can do it for you, and perfectly at that? All you need to do is lock in one color after another until you are happy with the palate. You can then export this palette in a variety of formats such as SCSS, SVG, and COPIC without losing an inch of the precision. Again, for teams that are coordinating virtually, this tool is an invaluable resource to ensure that everyone is on the same page.

6. Pantone Color Finder: This is every designer and color enthusiast’s bible. Just enter the color number and see how the shades translate to your specific requirement. Even better, just enter a color name to see all suggested variants in one go. The beauty of this color finder is that everyone who accesses it and searches for a specific code sees the same exact color.

7. Canva: For the start-up fashion entrepreneurs, Canva provides templates, illustrations and thumbnails to be used in a variety of different contexts especially your social media marketing. The paid version unlocks many more features. Canva for Business allows you to standardize colors and use it for all of your communication needs.

Which of these tools have you already tried? How would you rate them in terms of ease of collaboration? Share with us in the comments.

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Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion. She is a Freelance Fashion Designer and Brand Consultant helping fashion brands to create great products from idea to launch. Fuel4Fashion social links: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram

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Why You Need A Business Plan For Your Fashion Business

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brand consultant, Business goals, business plan, cashflow management, emerging fashion brands, fashion biz, Fashion Business, fashion consultant, fashion designer, fashion entrepreneur, fashion startup, inventory management

 Many people falsely assume that a business plan is only for those businesses that want to raise funding or make an investor pitch. There’s no easy way to say this- the first person who needs a business plan, and will most likely use it extensively, is you!

As the adage goes, ‘failing to plan is planning to fail.’ So, a business plan is not just a spruced-up, fancy document that you rarely take out. It helps you determine exactly how you run your business, right from using your cash well to managing inventory.

Mind mapping ideas before creating a business plan

Here are some goals, apart from being an investor document, that a business plan serves.

1. A Communication Tool For Your Team: A business plan is a great way to show your team precisely what each person needs to do to achieve a very defined set of goals. Without a plan, most people don’t know where they’re heading. Worse, you’ll end up paying all of your resources without grasping why you aren’t getting any results. So, use a business plan to communicate your ideas to your team.  

2. A Ready-reckoner Of Goals: Having a business plan means putting down goals and objectives in as granular a manner as possible. You can always go back to your plan and review if you’re meeting goals. If not, the plan serves as a guide to see what went wrong- was it your strategy, or was it execution?  

3. A Flexible Calendar: One thing that all businesses, and young business, in particular, should remember is that no plan is set in stone. A business plan serves as a guide and allows you enough leeway to make adjustments based on the market from time to time. This is one key reason why a structure is essential. It is always good to make changes to a base template than to throw ideas around and let them stay amorphous.

4. A Guide To Inventory: In the first year of your business, when you have no past sales data to fall back on, a business plan serves as a projection tool to decide how much inventory you need. As you know, holding too much stock can block up your working capital, and having too little can cost you a sale. Projections obtained from a business plan are an excellent way to assess just how much inventory you need.

5. Cash Flow Management: Retail businesses need cash to procure inventory, to sell and to keep up sales channels, as well as to pay employees. In fact, a continuous supply of liquid money can decide how far you go into retail. Having a sound business plan helps you decide which months/years involve more spending so you can cut down on other costs proportionately. Likewise, a plan also enables you to determine how much of your profits should go back into the business, and under which head.

What does a good business plan involve? Broadly, it contains your executive summary, your vision and objectives, market potential and implementation plan over both the short and long runs.

As you can see, the headings in themselves are simple enough. However, filling them up with workable solutions is the real challenge. Most of the new fashion brands either turn to mentors or consultants to help give a proper shape to the plan. If you already have experience working in the fashion industry, consider seeking help in those areas that you are not yet entirely comfortable with.

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Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion. She is a Freelance Fashion Designer and Brand Consultant helping fashion brands to create great products from idea to launch. Fuel4Fashion social links: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram

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