How many fashion brands have you seen with the same minimalist branding, the same plain shirts with one-note designs, and the same general aloof attitude to their future clients? Countless brands, both big and small, fail to appeal to modern audiences because of laissez-faire approaches to their style and branding. The joy of owning your own business is that you can choose to go against the grain and really make your apparel brand stand out.
If you’re interested in turning heads and catching interest for your brand, check out these tips to make your brand fresh and unique.
- Cater to your niche
One of the most common branding challenges is not knowing who your products or services are for. Ironically, the one way to stand out from the crowd is to think twice before following that same crowd everywhere. Does your line of sustainable, artisanal fashion really need to make every fast and cheap accessory that goes viral on TikTok? You get the point.
While innovation and adaptation are incredibly valuable, it’s always important to remember who makes up your base and stayed with your brand from the beginning. Reflecting your core audience’s personality builds trust, and enshrines worthwhile values and personality in your apparel brand’s image. In a world where everyone chases trends without thought, having a brand stick to their guns is plenty interesting and unique.
- Engage and thank your clients
No brand exists without the approval of its main audience. Apart from just catering to your new audience, you’d want to show deep gratitude for those who stayed with you along the way.
You might think thanking them directly is tacky, but it isn’t–it’s endearing. Attaching something as simple as a handwritten ‘thank you’ note gives clients the impression that they’re not just buying a product, but buying into a relationship with your brand.
When you climb up the ladder, engaging with audiences on social media–whether from their simple complimentary comments, answering questions, or addressing concerns–also commits to a similar effect.
Never think that your brand is too big for a sincere and open attitude with clients. A strong community does wonders to radically build a brand’s image, but more than anything else, it shows that you appreciate those who have supported your brand. These are your people, and this is your community; embrace them!
- Stick to quality and service
On the production half, it’s important to understand how much quality affects a brand’s longevity. While it may be tempting to cut costs and prioritize short-term gains, either by using cheaper fabrics or outsourcing vital services without intense supervision, these can have massive repercussions in the long run.
Seeing the previous two tips, you’ll understand that personality brings a lot to a brand’s uniqueness. That friendly attitude quickly gets questioned when people start finding their products lacking.
To avoid this approach, keep your brand’s quality consistent and service stellar, slowly upscaling over time. Steadily investing in new fabrics, designs, and distribution patterns will also go a long way to make your apparel brand stand out over time.
4. Use unique materials and designs
If you have a solid client base, you might be wondering what else you can do to stand out from the apparel scene. This is where heavy experimentation comes in–if you’ve already established your brand character, how can your products continue to impress clients?
Expanding your current brand approach by testing out new materials and designs is an obvious pick. Note that changes don’t have to be (and probably shouldn’t be) drastic–the addition of new fabric shirts alone can improve your client base’s variety of options and make your apparel brand stand out significantly.
All sorts of unique fabrics have come in and out of fashion over the years, from stringy tulle to stretchy mesh to comfy cotton blend knits, and many are flexible enough to be given your brand’s signature shape and scope. Making something with a rare texture or feel can easily impress your average client if you arrange your cards correctly and do your market research beforehand.
Of course, having a signature look also helps in selling these clothes to others, as well. This is how many household streetwear brands got their start–bold designs with eccentric and out-of-the-box looks that catch people’s attention immediately as they pass down the sidewalk.
When it comes to either of these elements, don’t settle for any less than exceptional for your customers.
5. Put your own twist on new trends
Just because you’re consistent doesn’t mean you need to be out of the time. While some trends are just brief fads, the ones that end up being special both meet modern demands while still showcasing your apparel brand’s central core. In fact, sometimes the contrast of your competitors’ underbaked, trend-hopping designs can make your apparel brand stand out with its own eccentricities.
Let’s take the previous example of a sustainable fashion brand hopping onto a cheaply made, possibly unsustainably produced accessory–this could be a bracelet, a necklace, pins or anything else in that vein. If the brand’s main appeal is their long-lasting, anti-fast fashion sensibilities, instead of forgoing the accessories, they can create brand new ones with different or recycled materials, staying true to their core values.
Meanwhile, if a more artistic, graphic design-focused brand wanted to hop onto the same trend, they could stand out by creating customizable accessory options. Giving their creator-based platform opportunities to make their own styles helps their clients and builds a creative image for their brand.
All of these things brought together come down to two different aspects for a brand to feed into: character and experience. Crafting new apparel designs and executing marketing strategies can often be very time-consuming, however, and takes away from much-needed efforts in distribution and production.
If you’re ever overwhelmed by these demands, feel free to ring us at Shirtual, where we’ve helped hundreds of similarly-minded brand owners in bringing their apparel brand aspirations to life. Focus on standing out from the crowd–we can deal with the production heavy lifting.
GET IN TOUCH
