Guide to Fashion Entrepreneurship ─ The Plan, the Product, the Process

Guide to Fashion Entrepreneurship is for students and fashion professionals seeking information on how to develop, market, and sell their own product lines as independent labels or brands. Readers will expand their knowledge of the ready-to-wear process in order to successfully identify market opportunities, execute product differentiation, and market a new product/brand in the retail environment.

Beyond practical direction, this book guides readers in understanding the underpinnings of the process of starting their own brand or creating a product through a comprehensive analysis of the fashion industry. It examines how products are planned and developed, and the interrelationship of allied industries with perspectives on consumers, manufacturers, retailers and the international markets. With guided steps to understanding how to create a product/brand, this book effectively equips readers with fundamental information on how they can develop a plan, create new fashion products and channel them to the ultimate consumer.

With the emergence of artisans and brand entrepreneur as an economic force, students and aspiring fashion professionals learn how to think like an entrepreneur and launch a fashion brand.

Melissa G. Carr is Assistant Professor and Apparel Merchandising Director in the Department of Apparel Design & Merchandising at Dominican University, USA, where she is largely responsible for the curriculum of merchandising classes.

Lisa Hopkins Newell is an Adjunct Professor in the Fashion Studies Department at Columbia College Chicago, USA, and the Apparel Design & Merchandising Department at Dominican University, where she has taught across the curriculum from courses in Introduction to Fashion Business and Fashion Product Evaluation, to advance courses of Introduction to Marketing the Arts and Merchandise Management.