Last night I had a casual chat with two young women on the
subway both ( as it seems everyone in New York is) were “indie” designers. Inevitable the question cam around as to how
whether or not they were moving product and what was the best way to do so! One
adamantly insisted that social media was the best route, that it was simple upload your images and have friends comment
and share. Of course I asked about their success. Which elicited the usual, “response
has been great!”
When asked how much were you making!
The inevitable response, “we weren’t actually selling!”
There is “Product, content and audience.” Designers sell
product; Bloggers monetize content and audience… social networkers monetize
audience with other people’s content! Social media marketing agencies as
supposed to help brands sell product by increasing their audience! It is gauche
to ask about salaries and profit… a great wall of secrecy that supports what I see
as the abuse of young dreams! I am The Fashion Editor of the Calabar magazine
so I justify it as professional curiosity!
So how much is does a
designer have to make to be successful!
The challenge is cutting cost so that they can see a profit! Designers
who have gone through our program do! Many without even fully adapting the
program! Brooklyn Designers can gross six figures and above annually! To which
one young designer replied not in your first year! It can and has been done…
in the first year!
Which led me to do two
things
- complete the response to Macala Whight’s article "Fashionably Late to the
Social Media Party?"
- Open up our program to designers who want to show a collection in February
so that they can sell and see a profit simply use our contact form and inquire
about our apprenticeship program
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