Layout 2 - The Fashion Designer Guide

Continued: Q. Expanding your collection and branching out in to new markets is a natural...?
I think that to you should always focus on maintaining a strong unique identity, no matter how much
your collections and business grow. Focus on what your customers know and trust you for and what
they expect from you.
Maxence Dinant, Senior Menswear Designer – High-end luxury
Q. What is the one piece of advice that you would give to new designers
who are thinking about starting a business?
A. Speak to people. Ask questions. Tell people about what you are doing. Conversations open up
relationships. It’s amazing to see the ripple effect you get when you just talk. I was given this advice
but it is taking me some time to really make it part of my day-to-day way.
Nicole Le Grange, Creative Director - Love Art Wear Art
A. Do not get started until you're sure you have something meaningful to say
Maxence Dinant, Senior Menswear Designer – High-end luxury
A. To me the greatest guarantee of success is not to be afraid of failing. Some great designers met
their expectations and are incredibly successful. Some others, probably as great as the first category,
may have failed at some point in their career, but kept the momentum and creativity to come back and
be successful again. I think it is important to keep faith and believe in your vision of how to design
great products, as there are no rules and there are so many different interpretations.
Failure and misunderstanding from others can happen and it is not the end of your world, it has
happened and will surely happen again even to the greatest designers. And there are so many
designers who are not after celebrity or personal success but who live in the shadow of renowned
people and still make this industry so attractive and make all these beautiful products come true.
Most of us are more likely to be these anonymous designers but it comes as a reward when we put so
much effort, passion and hard work in the products that people love.
So my piece of advice would be to believe in your strengths, your interpretation of what a great design
is, your creativity, your design process and techniques etc. and to learn from the greatest designers
you may be lucky enough to be in contact with or work closely with.
Pascal Nuzzo, Head of Design Leather Goods and Accessories - Temperley
A. I would think the best thing to be aware of is that no one gets it perfect the first time; starting a
business is always a learning process.
Saloni Sethi, Designer/Design Director, Independent, High-end luxury
A. I did not set up the business, but was brought in to make it into a profitable, well run operation that
had its products and the customer at the centre of its focus. Look after your cash, most businesses fail
because of lack of cash, burning it too quickly and running out, or not having enough to grow.
Cash is king. Julia Reynolds, CEO, Figleaves.com