My boyfriend, who's 36, has been carving out his path as an independent fashion designer for about five years now. He's had the thrill of dressing A-list celebs and rubbing elbows with big names in the industry (Queen Latifiah told us she loved our outfits at an event). But lately, he's hit a bit of a snag. Even though he started off making custom outfits, he's shifted gears to selling his designs online. The thing is, while more folks are asking for custom pieces, he's kinda tired of them—they eat up a ton of time and don't bring in much profit. He wants to sell his own designs, but he hasn't had many online orders. It's left him questioning his talent as a designer, even though he's had some major wins. Plus, a few years back, he got knocked down a peg after losing a reality TV design competition, and he's hesitant to put himself out there like that again.
On top of that, he's got this amazing, infectious personality that draws people to him like moths to a flame. But despite all his charm and talent, he's feeling a bit stuck. He's wondering if, at 36, he should be further along in his career, especially when he's got little savings and the orders aren't exactly pouring in like they used to.
Now, he's tossing around the idea of jumping into fashion marketing for a more stable income and some extra perks. And honestly, I'm all for it. It could be a great chance for him to learn the ropes of the corporate fashion world while still pursuing his own dreams.
As for me, I'm 30 and still in the early stages of my marketing career, with just a couple of years of experience under my belt. But I'm eager to use my skills to support him—I just know I need to solidify my own career and understand of fashion marketing a bit first.
Right now we are considering a social media rebrand since his business page (5k followers) looks more like a personal page than fashion brand.
We could really use some advice on how to keep his passion alive through these tough times. What have you done when your businesses hit a rough patch, and how can we apply that to his situation?
EDIT: Hi everyone, thanks for the questions/answers. Keep them coming.
I plan on scheduling a meeting with him this weekend to discuss marketing strategies.
What are some question that I should ask him?
So far I have
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What's your website traffic?
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Gross sales/ goals
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Distribution or license model?
My boyfriend is depressed over unsteady fashion business
byu/lisabonettwin inEntrepreneur
Posted by lisabonettwin
16 Comments
Why not charge a premium for exclusive custom design. So they can pay more if they want to be the only one wearing it, if they don’t, those designs can also go in to his catalogue.
does he have website? PM me…
Does he get a lot of traffic to his website? If people are buying his stuff then it could only just be a matter of volume
Also, with things like clothes, it’s a lot about status. Does he build a perception of status around his clothes, if people wear them will they feel like they have more status?
Does he advertise the fact that he worked with celebs?
I’m so curious who it could be as a watcher of fashion design competition shows 😅
Does he only want to sell directly?
Is he getting this products to the people who are interested in buying it. You can have a lot of traffic to your website but it isn’t quality traffic..
Okay I’m not pitching my services.. I’m saying that he needs expert marketing.. If you had the right knowledge in marketing the business would be a success.. Marketing might be the problem..
OK that’s wonderful of you
I sell merch on my socials for a living. While the designs do matter a lot, if the types and quantity of posts he’s making isn’t up to par, you won’t make much. I would suggest studying recent viral videos in the clothing brand space and trying to replicate those elements of the content.
Clothing design is a business that anyone can get into because the barriers for entry are so low. You need to do something which sets you apart from the rest. The fact that your BF gets custom requests is already a big deal. That should be his priority and that should be what is driving the rest of the business. Use that for publicity and marketing. That’s how you become a big name.
Adjust the pricing so it makes sense for your boyfriend to handle the custom stuff. Maybe even hire someone to handle the mundane parts of it?
My wife has a similar business (jewelry) and was feeling the same things a couple of years ago – if you want to reach out by DM to share his website/instagram, I’d be happy to chat and share some of the ideas that were effective in helping her grow (from around 300k/yr to 1.4M/yr, and I think 5-10M is not out of reach, but manufacturing in house and cash flow mean it will take a while to scale).
To be honest, she still has the same feelings and growth brings its own challenges. I don’t know if the things we did are one-to-one replicable; but I think the general principles will work as long as you are consistent with them.
For a designer led brand, I think mirror palais is who you should be looking towards in terms of content style. For someone who is energetic and charismatic, and has no problem being the face of the brand, I think there is a ton of room for growth or atleast developing a niche that provides a comfortable lifestyle.
Have you ever watched Project Runway? One of the things that’s emphasized on there is fashion vs accessible looks. To sell fashion on scale it has to be accessible to a lot of people. That’s the opposite of one off custom pieces for celebs and single buyers.
Shift gears on the looks. Make them more mass appealing. Get to it at scale.
1. Tell him to learn SEO & look at those AI-generated things on Etsy. You can rank for terms online. [Cody Schneider did a podcast on Startup Ideas](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP6ZsZMl81E)… you can watch a small bit [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veYXdmLP_AY) to see if u like it & it was a banger episode which I just finished. He gave incredible idea about AI-generated Shopify Pages that u can use to target FB Ads. He can build in this niche.
2. U can go viral on Instagram very quickly now. I’ve heard some growth hacking pods & follow some big names who say its even better than TikTok in terms of going viral. Gotta post reels 4x a day & prolly make [some incredible content.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7LAXtiyTyQ) This was made by Edward Sturm who is has world-class growth hacking channel.
3. I also saw Edwards’ BOF SEO where [he asked an influencer with 900k followers to post for $500.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0kMfsMnKVU) You can try that too.
4. I think you just need to [find old ideas](https://startupspells.com/p/steal-old-ideas) that grew that way using influencers & then get them to sell for you. If you can partner with an influencer, its much better. Some [10x your business overnight which is more money](https://startupspells.com/p/influencer-marketing-35m-in-12-months) than he’d ever need.
This is only one possibility out of a million but one question to ask is “What’s your target market?” Does he think he can make more selling bulk to the masses, or would he be better leveraging his previous successes and charisma (network?) and focusing on inidividual pieces for wealthy clientele, raising his prices to boot.
A few more pieces for A-listers under his belt he could create a brand and get junior designers to produce more masses-orientated stuff while he carries on doing the high-profile work.
Whatever route you take, depending on your financial situation you could get a few sessions in with a marketing/branding expert, which might be a good investment if neither of you have that expertise.
He needs to figure out from a business perspective how to make this worth his time.
Maybe make more static designs and fashion, charge higher for custom designs, etc etc.
Seems like he’s talented but maybe partnering with someone who’s more business minded would help him a ton.
It sounds like your boyfriend is going through a really tough time with his fashion business, questioning his talents and feeling stuck.
My Opinion?
First, could you remind him of all his past successes – dressing celebs and getting recognition from icons like Queen Latifah? Those wins prove he has immense talent that this rough patch doesn’t erase. Second, the idea of doing fashion marketing could be significant, letting him learn the corporate side while still designing. Tapping into your marketing expertise to rebrand his social media presence is brilliant, too.
When businesses hit slumps, it’s common to doubt yourself. But pushing through with strategies like rebranding, exploring new revenue streams, and finding a supportive side gig can reinvigorate the passion. I’d ask him about his website analytics, sales goals, and if he’s considered licensing models to supplement custom orders. Get him to refocus on his “why” – what drove him to fashion initially.
Most importantly, remind him you’re his biggest cheerleader. Your belief in his talents and offering guidance will mean so much as he weighs the next steps. You two can reignite his passion with patience, teamwork, and marketing savvy. Stay positive – this bump in the road is temporary.
If you’d like to send a DM I’m happy to share some thoughts & advice. I’m a multiple brand founder, product designer, and digital strategist. Similar age, similar ups & downs. Sounds like there’s a lot of potential, sometimes it just needs the right perspective.