Written by Elma Steven | Updated on January, 2024
Do you want to know how to create a streetwear company from scratch with no prior experience? Perfect. Why? Because in this book, I’m going to teach you step-by-step how to accomplish it even if you’ve never started your own company before. I realize this is a big promise. It is, nevertheless, a possibility.
But first and foremost, it is critical to accurately frame the situation in your mind.
There is nothing better than seeing people in your clothes, and there is nothing better than seeing people in your outfits. However, it is something you will only be exposed to around 10% of the time throughout your life. If you are not currently a professional, you will need to become one if you want to see any progress in your career. If you understand what I’m saying, then let’s not waste any more time.
Let’s go into the specifics of how to launch a clothing business like Supreme.
When it comes to starting a streetwear brand with no prior experience, there is a secret that no one tells you.
Even if you’re a big fan of streetwear but have no prior business expertise, you’ve undoubtedly already observed many of the levers that make streetwear unique, but you don’t completely get why it works.
Here’s the essence of it: the greatest streetwear labels are also the most expensive.
As a result, learning how to establish a streetwear business is really about learning how to develop a premium streetwear brand, rather than the other way around. In and of itself, this alters the internal dialogue you should be having with yourself. This is due to the fact that premium brands are not the same as normal brands.
Regular brands are distinguished by their focus on function, quality, and value.
Luxury brands are distinguished by their affluence, exclusivity, and scarcity.
This signifies that they are diametrically opposed to one another. It also implies that if you ever want to create a streetwear brand like Supreme, you won’t be able to mix and match the two. You must invest your time and resources into instilling prestige, exclusivity, and scarcity into your brand from the beginning.
To our relief, this isn’t a difficult situation.
The only thing you have to do if you really want to learn how to develop a streetwear brand is to follow the tried and proven approach that we’ll go over later on in this article. However, for the time being, you must do all in your power to establish a “distinct” brand.
Make Your Streetwear Brand Stand Out from the Crowd
If you work in the streetwear industry, you are also working in the fashion industry. This implies that you must identify your streetwear brand in the same way that you differentiate any other fashion brand.
The good news is that
You’ve already made a good start by limiting yourself to the streetwear genre.
However, this is insufficient.
It is possible to find hundreds of different streetwear labels, with the most well-known ones fully dominating the market. When it comes to streetwear, why would someone purchase anything from you when they can get it from Supreme?
Whatever you say, avoid using the word “price.”
When it comes to luxury streetwear brands, this is the one differentiation that you should never utilize as a differentiator in your marketing. The price is what establishes the level of exclusivity required.
What you can concentrate on is…
Colors and patterns that you enjoy are examples of the style.
Shoes and pants are examples of such categories.
Skateboard culture is popular among audiences.
Collaborations in marketing, such as some joint ventures
The place of origin, such as the manufacturing facility
And there’s more…
The trick here is to distinguish yourself as more than simply a high-end streetwear brand. To be the only streetwear brand in your category is a major accomplishment. To do this, experiment with various elements until you come up with something where the only place to acquire what you have is from you. Of course, when it comes to marketing the company, you want to concentrate on advertising a single difference rather than promoting all of them.
Regardless of what you do, stay as far away as possible from Printful and Printify. With POD, you’ll never be able to create a legendary streetwear brand.
Do you want to go into further detail about this? Anything written by Al Ries or Jack Trout is recommended.
How to Come Up With a Catchy Streetwear Brand Name
The names of streetwear companies are really creative. When it comes to clothing brands, you can typically tell by the sound of the name whether they are streetwear or not. However, don’t be misled by this statement. It is not necessary to be witty or innovative when coming up with a name for your company.
An important objective of a streetwear brand name should be to stand out from the crowd.
Consequently, after you’ve decided on your differentiator, you’ll want to compile a list of the top 10-20 direct rivals in your industry. Consider all of your rivals’ names and determine what distinguishes them from one another. Your objective now is to come up with a name that, if it were to be added to that list, would sound different.
You do this by developing a moniker that is based on your differentiator.
Ideally, this will be accomplished using analogies.
For example, if you want to target the skateboarding niche, you’ll target companies such as The Hundreds, Supreme, and Pop Trading, among others. Let’s imagine you’ve chosen that your distinguishing feature is that everything you manufacture is faded black, which you’ve dubbed “Black Out.”
That was just a brief example to start your thinking wheels rolling.
Here’s another illustration…
Even though the Amazon has nothing to do with trees, it is the best depiction of the term “giant” because of the sheer size of the genuine Amazon rainforest. The way you should think about your company’s name is as follows:
This may be the most enjoyable time you have when studying how to create a streetwear company before you invest any money to get started.
Promotional Strategies for a Streetwear Brand
The most thrilling part has arrived.
As I previously said, the most effective method to advertise a streetwear brand is to treat it as if it were a luxury brand. This implies a strong focus on social standing, exclusivity, and scarcity. In other words, if you’re just getting started, the smartest thing you can do is take advantage of your limitations.
DO NOT launch a large amount of material.
Instead, maintain your strength by remaining inside your category. Make use of the fact that you can’t afford a large number of SKUs by emphasizing their uniqueness and rarity. In reality, you may utilize the age-old method of “drops” to get the traction you need without having to depend on discounts to achieve your goals.
After then, it’s only a matter of spreading the word.
The good news is that the streetwear category is easy.
Collaborations/Influencers
Entrepreneurs in the streetwear industry are experts at collaborating with others and working with influencers. However, what the majority of people do not tell you is that this is a result of need. Collaborations and influencers are some of the most cost-effective methods to advertise your business to consumers who are already interested in street fashion. As a result, a marketing plan that does not include partnerships and influencers is really lacking ineffectiveness. You should aim to collaborate with an influencer at least once per quarter, but preferably at least once per month, to maximize your results.
Boutique Stores and Retailers
Selling clothes online is not the only option available to you. The economics that underpins it are just not designed for pure e-commerce. You’ll also need in-person retail sales to be successful. However, you are not permitted to just place your merchandise anyplace. Keep in mind that the keyword is “luxury.” Boutique businesses that currently sell high-end streetwear labels will be targeted for this promotion. What’s the greatest part? If you perform both content marketing and influencer marketing effectively enough to generate positive development, you can simply offer that evidence to a retailer and they will allow you to enter their store without any questions.
Content Marketing is a kind of marketing that uses written content to promote a product or service.
There are two primary reasons why content marketing is so important. The first is that it is basically free, particularly when you combine it with Klaviyo’s email marketing features. Because the economics of clothes are so tight, every opportunity to generate sales without relying on paid Facebook advertisements is a huge victory. Second, it attracts customers rather than pressuring them to purchase anything. When luxury firms are forced to continually promote their products and lower their merchandise, they cease to be considered luxurious. Instead, content marketing helps you to attract customers who are willing to spend full price for your products. It’s a win-win situation that most other techniques will not provide.
Everyone wants to be on Shark Tank, but following the advice provided above will ensure that your brand is long-lasting. Oh, and don’t worry about expanding your Amazon FBA business until you’ve sorted out the basics of the business.
How to Start a Streetwear Retail Business
You’ll want to open a streetwear shop at some point in the future.
This is the distinguishing characteristic of luxury brands since genuine luxury must be experienced. That’s quite difficult to do via the internet. In addition, doing so via a boutique shop is not really feasible due to the fact that you do not have complete control over the customer experience. Every real luxury company relies on their own branded shops to provide luxury experiences, which is why they are so successful. In the same way, if you genuinely want to understand how to establish a streetwear company, this is something you should keep in mind.
What exactly is the problem? Retail space is very pricey.
As a result, a streetwear shop is not something you should invest in unless the answer is a simple yes. To put it another way, you should wait until you’re a seven-figure brand before investing significant resources. Either that or you have secured cash from investors to cover the cost of the retail space.
The first stage, though, is to lay out a strategy for the shop once you have the funds.
Each and every luxury store offers a very basic, but upmarket, shopping experience, as you can see in the photos below. There are also sales representatives standing by to assist you. Finally, you’ll want to have exclusives in your shops to offer customers an incentive to visit them.
Now that you’ve gathered your components, it’s time to put them all together.
Of all, the goal isn’t to limit the number of stores to just one. Eventually, you’d want to extend your business into additional locations. As a result, don’t try to build a superstore like Sears. Instead, having a number of boutiques is a far better strategy.