I

M

P

O

R

T

A

N

C

E

O

F

I

M

A

G

E

Importance of Image

The fashion industry thrives on image and talent. Not just brand image but how an actual collection is seen by the numerous market segments who are important (in unequal parts) to the success of your business : the customer, the retail buyer, the press. As you are probably aware by now, each segment of your reachable market influences each other to a greater or lesser extent. Your end customer/client the person who subsequently buys your product to wear may or may not be influenced by the decision of the buyers who choose to buy a collection for retail uptake, and sometimes retail buyers want the added 'insurance' of knowing that a designer has had favourable press coverage which may translate into eventual end customer recognition and therefore sales. That end customer may have become aware of your brand through the press who subsequently may have had a part to play in enabling the retail buyer to buy your collection for sale in their boutique (of course using keen buying skills) of their local boutique or department store. So, as a designer where do you stand in the image matrix?

As a designer grappling with the catch 22 of having a potentially desirable product and getting that product in front of the right audience, your collection has to have a 'benefitable' image payoff that will enable your three market strands to understand just what your collection or brand is about and most importantly enables to see themselves 'representing' your product either by buying to wear, buying to sell or authoritatively spreading the word about your product to your target market. Lastly customers have to see themselves in your collection. All of this means that as a designer you must have an idea of:

a) the type of person who you envision purchasing your products and, if you can understand their lifestyle, their buying motivations and just how a pair or shoes, a bag, a dress, a piece of jewelry will and therefore the customer as buying into the image of your brand.

b) the retail outlet who may be interested in purchasing your product for your target customer

c) the press your target audience (both customer and retail buyer) may have access to in the form of newspapers, magazines, certain credible blogs, trade associations, trade shows, websites

So what is image? Image allows the designer to create a collection whether that be jewelry, footwear, clothing, accessories in their own minds eye for their envisioned target customer. Added to this image are the intrinsinc 'core values' that will translate to a want in the buyers mind.

Of course actual design is key, taking care of the small details and producing beautiful items that customers will actually want to buy and wear is key.

Expressing Image

So how do you express an image that will show your collection in the best possible light:

Photographs & shoots
Digital representation
Press & PR
Advertising
How you present your collection to potential buyers
Textual Representation

Photographs & Shoots

Good photographs translate into good images. Good images and the 'story' or 'mood' you are trying to create can create good publicity and be used in a number of ways. Photographers and studios can be expensive, however a good image taken on a plain background with a little imagination is better than taking a picture using the kitchen door as the background.. As long as the photographs are as good as they can possibly be given your budget, the detailing and 'covertability' of your range will shine through.

Digital Representation

High resolution quality images are another way of ensuring that good image sells your product. Press and PR outlets will make a decision on who to cover or represent based on your images. Good quality digital images can be the difference between the press using your image to give you a nod or not showcasing your products because they do not have the time to re-shoot your product for their publication or they feel that the photograph sent in does not adequately respresent the product their readers will be interested in (mostyly though magazines will request a sample for shoots but will still want to see an image of your product).

Press and PR

Do your designs envision the type of products the press and PR outlets will be interested in championing? Are they represented by good images and artwork? Image is only part of the whole package, however in most cases it is the only representation of your product that will be on view - especially to press. PR representatives will be interested in the images of your collection but will want to see with their own eyes what they are going to be representing and therefore selling to the many sections of your buying audience. PR feeds the information flow about your product to the press, end consumers of the press, and potential retail buyers. The Press does the same thing the only difference being that the audiences are different, they will probably have got their leads from a PR respresentative following the buzz or carefully managed information push about you as a designer and your collection. Hopefully this information push will spark press attention which will spark attention from consumer and retail buyers and so on.

If PR respresentation is also your sales channel for retail buyers than part of the image package that will sell your collection is the credibility factor. Retail buyers (and consumers) have to be satisfied that you are a credible designer. Will they get their product once ordered, how much back up do you have in terms of production? Will you deliver? All of these issues your PR/sales agent should deal with on your behalf. If your PR representation solely deals with the publicity side of your collection than it is either down to you to work out how you will transmit 'credibility' to any potential retail buyer or find some one who can represent you in this matter. Taking part in a trade show gets your name and product out there. Potential buyers can see at first hand what you are offering and allayed with good press coverage and help from a PR agent (if affordable) can create a good first overall impression.

Advertising

At this stage in the game, your budget probably does not run to thousand for tradional advertising. Advertising is still important but usually you need to run at leat 3 - 4 ads in any publication to get through to potential customer consciouness. Choose your publication carefully. Sometimes advertising can be a waste of time, effort and money if there are no sales leads. There must be a clear link between what you are offereing and the potential customers who you are targetting. Putting a small ad in an upscale publication will cost you between £150 - £400 per issue. You will need to run at least 3 times and although discounts will be offered, its still quite a bit of money for a start-up. Better off gaining editorial via a sustained PR campaign which will cost you nothing but time if you choose to do it yourself and money if you choose to go with a PR representative.

Presenting Your Collection To Potential Buyers

Buyers want to see a number of things before they take the chance, and their time and money to 'back you' by buying from you. Clear images are key and having the various documentation that enables them to do business with you effectively makes it easeir for buyers to buy from you. At this stage a potential retail buyer may have seen any press attention you have have gained, be contacted either by yourself of press/sales representative.

FashionFinders Team