Not every fashion label has its own design team. Especially in wholesale many brands and companies buy pre-designed clothing from China or other foreign countries. It is the more cost-efficient way, but do we lose our integrity by doing that? At Baciano we design in Los Angeles and even if there are some contradictions to do so, it is worth it. Here are the pros and cons of designing in the USA.
Cons:
Having an in-house design team can be more expensive than just picking out clothes from a catalog. Often an in-house design team is not only hired when it’s time to design the next collection but is working year-round on improvements, new design, and other things. This means a minimum of 3 extra salaries for your company.
Designing your own clothes take up a lot of time. If you only have a little team that is also involved in other parts of the business, this could cost you time for other tasks. This usually applies more to small companies without a corporate structure. Most family businesses are run like that.
Hiring an external designer might be more time efficient for you but can cost a lot of nerve. It can be difficult to pass on your vision. Every designer has their own vision and style as well and It can be almost impossible to bring both visions together to your liking. Both parties often end up stressed and unsatisfied. Compromises shouldn’t be an option when designing your next collection.
Once the designs are done, receiving the final samples usually takes a while as well. When the first batch of samples comes in, almost 90% of the time there will have to be alterations done on almost all of the pieces. It can take up to 3 runs until the final samples are good to go.
Pros:
Your designs are unique. You can be sure that no one else has the pieces you are selling which drives the value of your brand up a lot.
It’s a great feeling to accomplish things on your own without using work others did for you.
You have full control over everything including materials, colors, cuts, and alternations. It is important for a clothing brand to create clothing that is tailored to their target audience. Buying mass product usually doesn’t do that.
The USA still is one of the most powerful countries in the world. Being able to decorate your brand name with a USA label is a huge benefit. People trust the quality of your clothes more than if they come from Asia. It’s a great advertising opportunity.
By designing in the USA, you support the American economy by creating jobs. This should be especially important to you if you are an American company that is driven by a wealthy economy. The clothing business is very dependent on exactly this. If the people are not doing good and don’t have money to spend, they won’t buy luxury goods like high-quality clothes.
Working against exploiting workers in poor countries. Where you could argue that these people need jobs (and you are right), the way they are treated is against humanity. Not supporting this way of business might lead the way for the conditions to change.
American standards and other countries standard vary in most cases. What means quality to us doesn’t mean quality to them. Maintaining standards is an important part of a business.
