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Fashion Designing Skills + Entrepreneurial Strategies = Successful Fashion Entrepreneur

Your fashion designing skills are outstanding, and all your creations are sold like a hot cake. You think out-of-the-box, ahead of the times, and global fashionistas love your collections. Your last runway show was a big big hit. Your dream of becoming a prominent fashion designer is now a reality. Motivated by all these achievements you’re currently planning to make a label and venture into entrepreneurship. You want to be revered as a successful “Fashion Entrepreneur.”

But wait!

Do you have the qualities of a true entrepreneur? Can you bear the brunt of fierce competition in the fashion world? Are you well-versed with your niche? No? Don’t fret! You are at the right place at the right time. Because here you’ll learn some sure-fire ways to own super successful fashion enterprises.

Focus On Your Market

Just like in every business, the customer is God. For you, your clients are your almighty. Know who your customer is. Who is she? Where does she live? What’s her age? Get a complete understanding of the market you’re planning to focus on. Whenever you’re creating something for her, make a buyers persona and stick to it. It’s like a rule-book that you got to follow at every stage. Never ignore her personality, interests, likes, and dislikes as she’s the one who’s going to give your business. She’ll be the reason for your success, so never neglect her.  Also, pay attention to quality and on-time deliveries.  The wining process starts from the moment you start designing your collection and ends when it’s sold in the shops.

Forget Profit-making

When you’re a fashion entrepreneur, profit takes the backseat. There’ll be times when you’ll have a terrible business. But if you have got a brilliant brand value, your hard work will pay off. That too substantially!  Make the most of photo shoots and try to leave an indelible mark on the minds and hearts of your target audience. Showcase your creations as much as possible and take advantage of all forms of social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

All in all, it takes perseverance and persistence to make it big. Add designing proficiency, accuracy, and entrepreneurial know-how, and you’ve one maverick fashion entrepreneur right in front of you. Keep motivating yourself by the inspirational stories of Indian and global fashion entrepreneurs. One day you’ll pass with flying colours. It’ll be the day when all the budding entrepreneurs will read your success story.

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A Secret Formula That Turns Fashion Designer Into An Entrepreneur

Running a successful fashion business is super-easy!

Sounds like an oxymoron?

No. It isn’t, Period.

You can always start, supervise, and survive in a fashion designing industry if you have these essential entrepreneurial skills. Your creative abilities can contribute to a promising start. But your great entrepreneurial techniques will lead to your survival in the fierce fashion world.

If you know these strategies, you can manage and supervise everything like a maverick entrepreneur. It’ll not only lend a hand in paying your bills, mortgages, or buying a house but also setting up an appealing fashion label that catches them. So go on, beat the odds by holding on to these fool-proof strategies and rule the fashion world like never before.

Discover a Right Niche

Find a well-suited area where you can focus and flourish. Decide how you want to build a sustainable business in the long run. Is it a fashion you’re centering upon? Or you’re directing your attention towards an affordable label? It’s difficult for designers to create a niche in high-priced merchandise. So if you’re opting for it, make sure to concentrate on the highest of quality and have a unique selling proposition. As the number of consumers who can afford high fashion is less, your idea needs to be top-notch to catch their fancy. So before everything else, discover a corner in which you can excel and expand.

Focus

In every business, the focus is the key, and the same goes for a fashion entrepreneur. Make a point of emphasizing on all the essentials. From the way you design your pieces to the marking approach you opt for selling, every step has to be directed. Keep your eye on day to day fashion updates. Regularly research the market and keep an eye on every move of your competitors. There will be zillions of distractions in the journey to a thriving business. Entrepreneurs move beyond them. They have a clear vision and keep reminding themselves about their goals. Sometimes, things are impossible, but they persevere and stay focused.

Make the Most of Social Networks

Be a go-getter and never miss an opportunity to showcase your collection. The times have changed. You’re no longer restricted to runway shows. There’re many avenues to flaunt your collection. Shoot a look-book or create an online portfolio. There’s the big-giant – Instagram to flaunt your masterpieces. Then there’s Facebook where you can create your page, launch or display a fashion line. Reach out to people on LinkedIn and crack great deals. With these marvelous avenues, owning a successful fashion business is extremely easy.

Get the good times rolling, you “the Great Fashion Entrepreneur”!

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A Fine Line Between Fashion Designer & Entrepreneur

Are you confused who a fashion designer and how it’s different from a fashion entrepreneur? What all qualities you need to be a successful designer or an entrepreneur? How can you be one?

There’s a fine line between a fashion designer and entrepreneur. Both of them have a unique set of responsibilities in their jobs. Some fashion designers work independently that means they design garments while playing the role of a designer. At the same time, they use their entrepreneurial skills and run an independent company or enterprises. While a fashion entrepreneur may or may not have the capabilities of the designer. His job entirely revolves around planning, managing, marketing, and surviving the fashion business.

Who is a fashion designer?

A fashion designer has technical skills earned through a degree or diploma from a fashion designing college. In about every assignment, one employs different designing techniques that one has learned. She or he undertakes complete research on the fashion world and is always aware of the market trends. This is the reason they know what’s passé or what’s popular. A fashion designer is also responsible for fabric or fibre construction and pattern making. She or he develops an enticing colour story for making a garment as striking as possible. A designer creates fashion illustrations using their in-depth knowledge of the different elements and colours. Plus they also play an essential part in surface ornamentation, computer-aided designing and apparel merchandising.

As per many successful designers, you have to make tech specifications for factories creatively. Setting up a quality photo shoot of one’s collection and collaborating with other designers or brands are among the added jobs you do to make it big in the fashion world.

Whoa, Fashion Entrepreneur is?

A fashion entrepreneur runs a fashion business. They may or may not be the designers of the collection they’re selling. An entrepreneur plays a significant role in planning, setting up, and surviving in the business.  One has to find a niche, focus on customers, develop a brand, and create brand awareness. Even after this, you can’t refer yourself as a fashion entrepreneur.

To add success before these two words, they stay determined and passionate for their work. There’ll be zillions of violent storms to break them down. Fashion community may, and customers might despise the label. They persevere, keep themselves motivated, and never stop trying. We all know that success doesn’t come easy. Every successful fashion entrepreneur faces a lot of hardships and struggles for leaving an indelible mark in the fashion industry.

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JOY OF GIVING

October’s second week was appeared a lot special as International College of Fashion celebrated ‘JOY OF GIVING WEEK’. All the students teamed up and went to the different organizations and orphanages to celebrate this moment with a lot of essential stuff. They organized Art Competition and other few activities to make this event even more interesting. All the students donated stationary items, their clothes, funds and obviously the sweets for the kids. We even noticed that how much enthusiastic our kids are and have the urge to learn more.

The people handling those organizations deserve a salute from us for creating an energetic youth for the country. These organizations and day led us see the reality of life. Seeing them enthusiastic, our students became excited too and they loved to support and help them. The Joy of giving Week made us realize that we do not require any special occasion to help anyone or bring smile on anyone’s face. We can do it wherever and whenever we realize it.

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Sarojini Fashion from Sarojini Nagar

On 3rd October, 2018, We the students of BBA(F.E.) first semester visited the Sarojini nagar market to do a market survey. We all reached the place around 11 in the morning, which is usually the time when the market opens. We all collected as a group in front of a store called Big C, which is a popular showroom of clothes in the area. Then to effectively work as a team, we all divided ourselves into smaller groups and began searching through what the market had to offer.

The Sarojini nagar market is a fairly huge market to cover as a whole in one day, with shops offering the latest off-run branded clothes. These are clothes which are rejected from high rise showrooms like Zara, Versace, Tommy Hilfiger, Mango, United colors of Benetton, etc. just due to a minute production defect which cannot be sold at the prices and clothing standards such brands offer. Such clothes then trickle down to markets like Sarojini, where they are sold for a lot lower prices but are totally wearable.

Apart from a large number of large sized showrooms for various international and local brands, the crux of the market is formed by street side shops which sell accessories such as footwear, belts, jewellery and garments of all sizes, designs, and colors. In fact, the most famous Export Bazaar/Market for clothes is located in the backstreets of the Sarojini Nagar market. It is surrounded by 3 markets –Subzi Market, Central Market and Mandir wali side. This place is a hub for the trendsetters of colleges, from students with a tight budget, to bored housewives, tourists from other Indian states and even from abroad– they all converge here.

When it comes to shopping in budget, Sarojini Nagar undoubtedly stands to be the perfect destination! It is one of the Delhi’s famous and imperative markets and off course, a fashion destination for every girl who hunts for trendy clothes at killer prices. Right from designer bag to fashionable clothes, Sarojini Nagar never disappoints. And yes, what’s the madness behind shopping without the healthy dose of bargaining? There is no other place that can be as cheap as Sarojini Nagar.

Moreover, the concept of bargaining can be very well experienced at this place. Have you ever thought of purchasing a Mango or Zara apparel at 1/4th of its original prices? If not, then I have to suggest you to visit Sarojini Nagar. Furthermore, it will always stun you with the latest fashion trends, may it be in terms of cuts, style or color – Sarojini Nagar will turn out to be a mindboggling destination. It is always a win-win situation for you and if you’re looking for accessories, belts, clothes, shoes, sling and many more things just at the cost of your pocket money!

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Abhilasha sharma

BBA-FE(2018-21)

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WHAT’S NEW IN JANPATH…

We all know that we live in world which changes around us every second and in fashion, every micro second. Our way to explore is not only caged up with the internet, we like to roam around. And that what we we did in Janpath, in all the shops till our feet got pain and box of mind got full of ideas. We moved to the handloom house there and saw the kanthas, phulkaris and many more works with their history and process.

The people told us about the region it belongs to, their work, and the role of our textile ministry in it. When we ever move to the street markets like these, we never feel the help of our internet to know trends. We saw a lot of accessories and handloom with vibrant colors blooming this year in the market.

Janpath itself taught a lot about the mix and match and tricks of the communication that sellers use. Following the trend from last year, this time as well we could see  a lot of mustards, turquoise, blues, neutrals and pastels appearing in the markets. Basket weaves, tucks and pleats in a-lines, straights with the ruffled and bishop sleeves mostly will make this year colorful and elegant and that’s what Janpath market’ told us that day.

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Ritika Raj

BBA-FE(2017-20)

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AMAZON FASHION WEEK

Talking about this week, yes it’s special. Infact, very special. The India Amazon Fashion Week is happening so who wants to attend the classes! Barely anyone! So we all headed up to the fashion week and attended almost every possible show we got to grab all of it.

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The world out there is another dimension in itself where every character is unique and has its own style of complimenting the society. Every season, this week creates a lot of employment as well. It’s not only about hitting the ramp, but there are a lot of hopes, excitements, enthusiasm, creativity, efficiency, rebel and confidence. I am different and many more moods just appear together in this week.

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The social media gets crazy with the postings and uploading. A lot of people, who cannot make up to the event, wait eagerly for the images to get uploaded on social media so that they can see their admirer in beautiful attires at the earliest. Every celebrity, entrepreneur, socialist, models, journalists and what not, you meet every possible person you ever wanted to meet out there.

The hard work of the designers shows the dedication of what people will like.

Ritika Raj

BBA-FE(2017-20)

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INKTOBER

Here comes October or I should say ‘Inktober’! In 2009 Jake Parker started Inktober, a popular annual celebration of ink drawing during the month of October. In 2014’s Inktober, over 100,000 inked images were tagged on Twitter by participating artists. Inktober continues to be a popular social media phenomenon in 2018, with people appreciating the positive drawing habits and creativity that the concept of Inktober brings out.

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INKTOBER RULES…

1) Make a drawing in ink (you can do a pencil under-drawing if you want).

2) Post it online

3) Hashtag it with #inktober and #inktober2018

4) Repeat

Note: you can do it daily, or go the half-marathon route and post every other day, or just do the 5K and post once a week. Whatever you decide, just be consistent with it. Inktober is about growing and improving and forming positive habits, so the more you’re consistent the better.

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VIJAYA ASWANI

Vijaya Aswani is an illustrator who belongs to Bangalore. She is a great observer yet creates a pun in her every illustrated art. This Inktober, Vijaya participated in an exhibition in Bangalore where she came up with her creations like bookmarks, stamps, cards, and many more. Vijaya has an ability to just observe the people and illustrate its funny side instead of portraying them. She has her Instagram account named @spreefirit and owns a website www.spreefirit.com with 6,850 followers following her.

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She says that, ‘Spreefirit is the heart child of Vijaya. She expresses feelings and emotions through her weapons of mass creation viz. pencils and E-eccentric sense of humour.

Her aesthetic celebrates our idiosyncrasies and imperfections, making quirky drawings of feelings the real portrayal of humans, free from all existential dread.’

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According to Vijaya, an illustration is a way to express oneself with a pun in it that makes it attractive and expressive. People like Vijaya Aswani have taken art to another level. Inktober is a time of year where all the ‘arty’ people participates and celebrates it with the INK.

Ritika Raj

BBA-FE(2017-20)

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Alliances: The vision of future fashion industry

In an industry known for its aggressively viable and fast moving spirit, designers, retailers, brands and manufacturers need to welcome collaborations in order to stay alive.

Alliances through high street retailers, as per WGSN report, has been a stimulating way for brands to strike into modern fashion – or a celebrity’s fashion statement of the time. So why do the industry biggies so resist a collaboration both at the fore front or the back-end of the businesses?

Alliances will always impact businesses on the whole from day one. From merchandise, sources, practices, trades, philosophy to maintaining the business. At every phase of the existing workflow, it becomes critical to look at more spontaneous, imaginative and collective interpretations for the teams involved.

The need for partnerships arises at the initial stages, where style and inspirations unite music, art, photography and consumer-led muse with marketing acumen, business practice and not to forget the ‘gut feeling’ for the magical mishmash: freshness and salability.

Brands that have methods or structures to enable partnerships build ethos of adding up and empowering effortlessly – finally resulting in the quality of merchandise. When players are given noticeable prominence, and have easy ways to collaborate, the way that merchandise created is well-organized and driven, with energies and facts brought to line and allocated promptly.

More so, the capacity for brands to buy merchandises that actually sell and do not end up on sale or in landfills, is a critical issue. Figures shown in various reports talk of brands like H&M destroying £28M of stock in FY 17/18, or the $38Bn dead stock projected in the US every year reveal the real costs.

Hence, there is a rudimentary prerequisite for organizations and alliances around the stocks utilized – currently, right from designs, samples, or even yarns etc. are stacked away into distinct divisions and saved as compendiums or records.

What is being overlooked by the industry by not creating its own ingenious partnerships, allowing the coordination instead of perplexing or protecting their own assets?

This organically takes us through an imperative and crucial want for an enduring evolution of the way we work and how have our past systems influenced on the sustainability of the fashion industry. Procedures that have steered the production means and yields have created havoc, not only on the climate but also transversely towards societies overhauling the fashion industry. Only if the digital age today has educated us on something, it is how much more answerable we have to be with the tangible resources that we have, along with the valuable means it takes to create them.

This subject has always been in question in the past on whether or not the end customers worry on how the reserves are utilized – Thank god it’s beginning to change. We all recognize that it is not for the user to choose how the industry works – it is for the industry to be preemptive and make mindful choices that will revolutionize the effect and after-effects of our ways of work. Fashion however is a global business that has always worked through pool resources at some point or the other. The potential of the Fashion industry is hinged onto the industry to take inter-business alliances to new statures – with new ambitions.

Gulbash Duggal

Associate Dean, ICF

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Fashion Trends for guys 2018

Dressing up for college can either be a simple procedure for guys out there or can be a nerve-racking process depending on your preferences. On one hand you have those who’s daily choice of clothing depends on what is on the top of the shelf or in some scenarios what is the item which smells the least. On the other hand, you have those who put it a lot of effort into their clothing because they want their clothing to portray their identity. It not needs to be an attire but a statement.

Now why does the person in the first scenario not put in any effort in dressing and why does the person in the second scenario put in so much effort? These are not questions we are trying to answer here. We believe that no matter what everyone should have a chance to express themselves through their attires and should have a good time doing it.

So here are a few tips to make it easier for you dress up on days when you don’t want to think a lot about your dressing and at the same time make the statement you want to be making:-

  • Class it up

The next time you reach for you daily t-shirt wait for a minute and ask yourself whether this is what you want to be your statement. In place of the t-shirt try and reach out to the polo shirt right beside it as could be a classier option with its clean cuts and form fitting shape.

  • Dark denims (clean)

There was once a time when jeans which were extremely distressed in terms of fabric and the rips were the order of the day. Luckily (or not) those days are past us. Today the statement you should be making is clean, calm and composed and it is a bit difficult to do that wearing jeans in which your knees are popping out. So, get yourself a pair of dark denims which will go well with almost everything in your wardrobe.

  • Statement socks

The simplest way to make your ankles look pretty. Before you say anything, yes, they do need to look pretty. Statement socks are catching on fast and it isn’t something we can complain about. So, ditch your basic drab socks and jazz up your ankles.

  • A slick watch

Checking your phone for the time is so not cool anymore. Watches speak a lot about the wearer and it is something you should be paying attention to. Your choice of options too are many. Smart watches, fitness watches, chronographs there is a choice for every person.

  • Shoes

Most often the most ignored article of clothing but it does say a lot about you. Ditch those lazy sneakers with everything and start wearing specific clothing with specific looks. Well designed shoes will go a long way.

So, the next time you don’t want to think a lot before dressing yourself maybe take a few hints from the list above and make the statement you want to make in college.

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