The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Dear BoF Community,
Back in 2007, right at the beginning of my BoF journey, I learned very quickly how little information was available for entrepreneurs looking to making their mark in the fashion industry. I wrote a series of articles called 'The Basics: How To Set Up A Fashion Business From Scratch' and very quickly, they became the most popular pieces on the site.
More than a decade later, the series is still one of our top reads and entrepreneurs continue to form a significant part of our global community. As a result, our team here at BoF is regularly thinking about how we can serve this part of our community, as well as industry professionals who want to bring entrepreneurial thinking to their day-to-day roles.
Today, we are pleased to release Start-Up School, a 7-chapter resource composed of detailed practical advice on topics ranging from fundraising to finding product-market fit to planning an exit; along with a supplemental kit of tools, templates and frameworks.
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[ Chapter 1: Define Your Business ModelOpens in new window ]
[ Chapter 2: Fund Your Business for GrowthOpens in new window ]
[ Chapter 3: Find Product-Market FitOpens in new window ]
[ Chapter 4: Identify Your Target CustomerOpens in new window ]
[ Chapter 5: Build Your Culture as You GrowOpens in new window ]
[ Chapter 6: Scale Your Business CarefullyOpens in new window ]
[ Chapter 7: Plan Your Exit StrategyOpens in new window ]
Please also explore our Entrepreneur's Toolkit with practical frameworks and tactical guidance to help you with your new fashion business.
Start-Up School is part of our ever-growing library of BoF Education content that comes with our annual BoF Professional membership. Sign up today.
Imran Amed, Founder and Editor-in-Chief
Designer Carly Mark sparked conversation about what it takes to make it as an emerging designer in New York when she announced she was shutting her ready-to-wear line and moving to London. On Thursday she held her last sample sale.
To stabilise their businesses brands are honing in on what their particular consumer wants to buy, introducing new categories and starting conversations.
That’s the promise of Zellerfeld, a 3D-printing partner to Louis Vuitton and Moncler that’s becoming a platform for emerging designers to easily make and sell footwear of their own.
With a new heavyweight backer in Italian firm Style Capital — which helped Zimmermann secure a billion dollar valuation — the French contemporary womenswear brand has ambitions to go global. But it sits in a competitive and hard-to-crack category.