12/07/2026
I learnt that one of the most outstanding dresses during the AMVCA 2026, was made by a designer who was not even in the country at that time,,
which means the designer’s team probably executed the job and they obviously did an amazing job despite the fact that the designer wasn’t physically present(allegedly).
Now, there are certain things budding fashion designers should try to put in place when starting/running their business, and one of it is having a structure in your fashion business,,
Meanwhile, people often mistake structure for sophisticated machines, beautiful offices😍, a lot of staff etc but having a structure in fashion business is far from all that,, it goes beyond aesthetic…
Structure is taking your business from an “ordinary tailor” mindset to an extensible brand mindset,
To be simply put, structure is having a system that allows your business to function perfectly whether you are physically present or not.
Imagine a set up whereby:
- every staff knows their responsibilities without being reminded,
- orders are delivered as at when due,
- your business does not depend on ur physical presence to succeed/survive
- your fashion business runs smoothly, even you don’t sit on a sewing machine etc, Thats structure!
Now, to put structure in place as a fashionpreneur, these few tips below might help,,
1. try and put down every of your operational processes(fabric sourcing, sketching,drafting, etc), this will make it easy for your staff(team) to execute their individual tasks predictably, ensure quality, and timely job delivery without having to ask you questions and even with little or no supervision,,
2. put down step by step process of how things are done from beginning to end,
Eg how clients are recieved(greetings, negotiation, measurements etc),
Quality control, a standard that must be worked with, and this must be checked and passed before any item(outfit) is delivered to client or put on the hanger(for those in rtw business). 3. Packaging and delivery: how the final product is presented to the client(ironing, labeling, packaging etc)
4. Digitize your operations, don’t rely on just paper works , WhatsApp etc that could get lost easily… you can use google workspace for spreadsheets for inventories etc
5. Ensure well defined roles, even if you have just few staff, they must be clear on what is expected of them and timeframe etc,, e.g quality manager ensures that the finished item/product meets the company standard, Cutter works on drafting and cutting,, Tailor works on sewing, joining of garments,,, Front desk/receptionist works on clients bookings, orders, inquiries etc…
6. Work on production limits: do not let any circumstance force you to take more orders than you can handle, which might eventually lead to low product quality which can negatively affect your brand etc and this can be done by Finding out your maximum daily or weekly product capacity eg how many dresses can you finish in a week, and working around that limit, until you have the capacity to take more,,
So as you are working on the aesthetic aspect of your brand, it’s equally important to also work on putting structure in place….
Happy Sunday dear sewmates💕💕
