Promoting your brand involves creating professional and attractive marketing materials. How you present yourself in your website, brochures, samples, and sales materials will say a lot about your brand. Quality should be seen in every facet of your business including promotional materials, and your sales tools. You want to make working with you a pleasure, organized, informative and aesthetically pleasing.

If you have not already had a designer create a branding guide for you, please take this step first.  A branding guide consists of your logo and its acceptable variation use,  colour palette, fonts, and imagery style.  This tool will help you communicate clearly to any designer you hire to do any of the following projects for you and save you costly mistakes and time. If your brand could use a branding guide please reach out to Shopology Project to connect you with some of the best Winnipeg graphic designers.

 

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Ready to start creating your line sheet and/or lookbook?  Here are some things you will need to move your project forward smoothly:

1. AN INSPIRATION BOARD
Similar to the collages designers put together when you are designing a collection, an inspiration board for your photo shoot will help you communicate your vision. Pull images of models, places, colors, fabrics, and poses that you like and use this to keep focus and clarify your vision.

2. A PROFESSIONAL MODEL
Your product photography has the potential to capture interest or get quickly passed over. This is not the place to skimp on budget. Similarly, the right model working with a professional fashion photographer can make your look book, line sheet or catalogue stand out and help you get noticed. It is very important it is to set aside a budget for this. Swish Model Management or Panache Model Management are reputable agencies here in Winnipeg that have years of experience in the fashion industry. Ian McCausland is one of the most experienced fashion photographers here in Winnipeg, and can take both model and product shots that will showcase your brand competitively in the fashion industry.

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Do you think you are too old to be a designer?  That all designers are 20 or 30 somethings? Think again.  Like a fine wine, these designers became the best with age.

1. Giorgio Armani

After beginning a career in medicine, and then joined the army, he was 41 when he finally followed his love of fashion and launched his own ready-to-wear label, Giorgio Armani S.p.A in 1975 in Milan. Gis acclaimed to be known as the most successful Italian designer. Armani’s forward-looking style aesthetic included experiments with androgyny, softening the lines of menswear while simplifying women’s clothing. Branching out in his later years with perfumes, accessories, and luxury hotels, Armani turned his name into a worldwide style brand of elegance.

He also is credited with pioneering red carpet fashion and first to ban models with a body mass index under 18.

 

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Winnipeg Stitch Factory Ltd.
Phone: 204-942-5203
Owner: Julie Land

Winnipeg Stitch Factory is an apparel manufacturing studio that focuses on “Made in Winnipeg”, Canadian ethical production. They are all about community with a mission to sustain the on-shore industry. They offer product development and cut and sew programs to Canadian companies and local fashion designers.

Julie and her team can help designers develop their products through pattern making, sample making and manufacturing. With no minimums, the Winnipeg Stitch Factory can do one to thousands of units. With a focus on streamlining product development, Winnipeg Stitch Factory can help you create the clothing line, for wholesale or retail, corporate or anything you dream of.

Winnipeg Stitch Factory has worked with many local Winnipeg fashion designers such as:

     

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Like any other kind of shopping, a checklist will help to keep you on target.

Have you seen the movie “The Blind Side”? It’s the story of Leigh Anne Tuohy, a wealthy woman who becomes a legal guardian to a young man from the projects who goes by the moniker ‘Big Mike’. It’s based on a true story and if you haven’t seen it, it’s worth a viewing. There is a scene in the movie where Leigh Anne takes Mike to a shop to find some new clothes—a Big and Tall store because Mike is… well, big and tall. She says to him: “Well, one thing I know about shopping is that if you don’t absolutely love it in the store, you won’t wear it. The store is, where you like it best. So before you choose something, think of yourself wearing it and say to yourself: Is this me?” Good advice.

When you’re going clothes shopping, it’s best if you go with a goal in mind. Why? Because otherwise, the distractions are many and the rabbit holes are everywhere. If you’re out shopping for a new dress for a special event, stay focused. Don’t go into the Apple store to have a ‘quick peek’ at the new rose gold phone. Don’t run into the Coach store, to see ‘what’s new’.

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