Starting out a new business can be hard for anyone. It takes a lot of time and investment to grow a brand, and it can be especially difficult in the clothing brand market, where competition is rampant and the field is oversaturated. Luckily, there are lots of tools out there to help you get the best chance of succeeding in your clothing brand. Here are some essential tools and websites for clothing brand owners:
- Ideas & Design Concepts
Every good business starts with a solid concept. Whether you’re printing your graphic art on tees or designing new garments from wholecloth, you need a lot of references to know what works and what doesn’t. There are two sites you can look for inspiration from:
Pinterest is a mix of a search engine and social media, giving you aesthetic images and inspiration for all sorts of things. It’s especially handy for garments since its ideas and suggestion tab immediately provides more specific search options along with images relevant to your previous searches.
If you look up ‘men’s fashion,’ for example, you’ll find a range of specific suggestions just below the search bar. ‘Casual outfits,’ ‘alt,’ ‘90s black,’ ‘streetwear’–these prompts are often a godsend for when you know what you have to make but don’t know what niche you should specifically fill.
None of them suit your taste? You can also scroll through their image catalog and save pins you like, then find related images close to what you’re looking for.
- Savee
Savee is similar to Pinterest with a specialization in design. It allows you to find new ideas, upload your own work, and create your own website from scratch. The website also has convenient options like teams and organization tools made to accommodate collaborative brand work, like yours.
- Design softwares
Computer-assisted design has been incredibly helpful for apparel designers over the years. You may already be familiar with some of them, but here are a few generally used tools and websites for clothing brand owners.
- Canva
Canva has become a staple design software over the years, thanks to its accessibility and ease of use. If you’re just starting out, many of Canva’s apparel templates can be a good way to accustom yourself to making mockups.
The browser app also has useful tools to adjust images, fonts and add unique-looking graphics to any kind of design. It’s a great all-purpose tool–you can even use it to create social media content later on.
- Pret-a-Template
Looking for something to help you sketch out designs on different body types and models? Pret-a-Template provides a vast array of templates for all kinds of apparel, from shirts and jackets to bags and accessories. It also lets you look at similar projects from other designers for more inspiration on how your final product would look.
While it’s a little more advanced, this tool is perfect for when you’re looking to create tech packs later on down the line.
- CLO 3D
Let’s say you want to test out a new garment. Something novel, something that doesn’t have any templates prior–what would you try to do? Sketch it from scratch? Create a sample prototype with the fabrics you have?
CLO 3D provides all the tools you need to do just that using its intuitive 3D garment modeling. Specially designed for clothing designers, this tool provides numerous references for different fabric types and how they’ll look on various models. It’s a great tool to pick up once you’ve upgraded your design skillset from the regular template or print-outs.
- Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator
These two tools are staples of the apparel industry, and it’s not hard to see why. Photoshop is an all-encompassing application for desing, perfect for illustrating and meshing concepts on mockups. Meanwhile, Illustrator is the most commonly used app when creating tech pack mockups and spec sheets.
If you’re looking for cheaper alternatives to these software, consider the following:
- Procreate: An Apple-based illustration software that’s very intuitive for making new print designs on graphic tees.
- SketchBook: An illustration software available on the PC. It has many similar functions as Photoshop.
- Affinity Designer: A vector graphics software with similar capabilities to Illustrator and a one-off fee.
- Marketing
- Hubspot
You may know Hubspot for its useful articles on various social media algorithms, including Instagram. The website provides various services to help you generate leads and expand your current audience, which is especially helpful if you’re starting out.
Even if you’re not interested in their services, though, a cursory look at their blog can inspire numerous future marketing campaigns for you. Always nice to look around.
- Print-on-Demand & Merchandising
Finding ideas, making designs, marketing, and branding–these are some of the toughest issues any brand owner has to face when running their clothing brand. Distribution and production feel like completely separate beasts in comparison, and it can be hard to get on top of it all.
Shirtual’s merchandising services take care of all your production and distribution worries, focusing on the ever-growing Southeast Asian market and shipping your products all across the globe.
Trying to find the right manufacturers for your brand? Deciding between different samples? Not sure what type of embroidery or garment would suit your newest line? Shirtual is a one-stop solution for figuring out all of these with a team of experienced, award-winning professionals.
- Printful
Printful is a print-on-demand service that offers customization and graphic apparel services for small businesses. It’s well-known for its wide array of product options, as well as its ability to adjust pricing schemes to suit your needs.
- Shopify
Shopify’s universal services have come in clutch for numerous businesses over the past few years. It’s easy access to social media, analytical tools, and affiliate links have made it especially useful, since they’re designed to keep your branding active and online.
Want to find out more about different tools and services you can use to enhance your clothing brand? Feel free to contact our experts here at Shirtual to find out more.
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