Fashion Blogs

Once you order the fabric it takes a while for the order to reach.  This delay is called lead time. This can depend from supplier to supplier.  There will be some early deliveries for certain fabrics.  But if the fabric is not in stock delivery could take longer.  If you have ordered special products or buttons or trims or zippers that are not available with the supplier, the lead time will be longer.  Remember, the supplier will always prioritize bigger orders.  If your order is small expect longer lead times and then some more time.  Keep this in mind before you draw up your production schedule and allow some buffer time for such delays.

Before ordering the materials, decide your budget and stay within it. There may be a tendency to go beyond budget in the quest of creativity, but remember this will eventually increase the cost of your line and the selling price. Be sure your product is priced where your target customer can buy it.  Moreover, the cost of the materials should be in balance with the design and the target customer.  You can buy expensive material if your target is the discerning person who understands quality of material. The design can be intricate, the embroidery can be delicate, the zardozi could be real gold thread, the gotas could be handmade and the price could be astronomical! If you use expensive materials but keep the design simple and the embroidery sober the selling cost will still be high. But if you are making products for the market where the final look of the product is more important than the fabric or delicacy of design then you have to buy material with the keep the cost of the product low.

While creating your design try to use the same fabric for many designs.  Keep the fabric variety on the lower side. This smart decision will bring profits sooner. You can change the design and use the same fabric in your collection.  For instance, Max manufacturers shirts and dresses from the same material. But the appeal of the design is so great that the customer sometimes ends up buying both.  Buy material as much as your production requirement.  Don’t stock up fabric and material that you don’t immediately need.  It’s a money block.  And later if you try to sell the material you will recover only fraction of the price you have spent on it. On the other hand, if you are expecting future orders for the same collection, then you will have to keep some stock of material, so that you do not spend more on ordering the same fabric again and again at varied prices.  Once you have confirmed orders from the buyer, you can go ahead and order the materials from the supplier.  Before you order, negotiate on the price, payment terms, delivery period, and lead time and so on.  Document it.  Send a formal order form specifying the price of the materials, the quantities required, the colours and other details.  Some suppliers may want a deposit for the materials ordered.  This term of payment is called cash before delivery.  Some suppliers will be fine with cash on delivery. While some will give you credit.  Payment and delivery terms will improve after you have dealt with the same supplier for many collections.Fashion Designing Institutes helps you to make some designs where you will need to acquire material from the international market.  While doing so make sure the invoice is raised in a currency you want to deal in.