fashionink
The Basics with Stacey Estrella

(laughs) Okay. Break it down for our readers who are not well versed with the fashion business lingo.

SE: The haute couture, or "one of a kind" pieces, generate limited income because they are time-consuming, expensive to make and limited to very few orders.

Standard ready-to-wear is "manufactured to inventory", which involves high cash outlay, high expense, large production, and high risk because you don't know which items will sell in advance and you lose money on the items that don't. In these early stages of my company, my production strategy is "made-to-order".

I make a collection of samples that customers can choose from. They select swatches and silhouettes, we take their measurements and make their garments.

There is no inventory risk because I only manufacture when the customer has placed an order. And my design integrity remains intact because I've invested in defining the silhouettes, colors, textiles, construction details, and trims, in advance.

In simple terms, one must balance their haute couture business with the other areas of their collection that are accessible to a wider audience in terms of design and price in order to build their business.

What are the common challenges you face, as a small business?

SE: Raw materials sourcing (finding the right trims, fabrics, zippers, buttons e.t.c), the challenge to differentiate yourself through style lines, silhouettes, fabrics, cuts and color scheme. The many hats you have to wear as a creator, salesperson, business owner, fundraiser, marketer and so forth. There never seems to be enough time!