The fashion designers of tomorrow are studying the profession of their dreams. Many who wish to get into the fashion industry often want to be women’s wear designers as the variety of styles is abundant and ageless. However, there are different market segments within women’s wear to focus your talents on. Learn how to tailor your designs to a specific market for a more focused design image.
Choose a Broad Demographic
Your starting point should be with a broad demographic of women. This can be based on nationality, culture, social standing, profession, etc. Just pick one of two of these broad demographics as your starting point and begin to narrow down from there.
Research Your Demographic
Once you have one or two demographics pinpointed begin researching them. If your choice is Italian business women, research the country first. Then research the economic and employment sectors of the nation. Find out the percentage of the workforce women make up and find out what age groups are prominent. To take it a step further you may want to research which profession is most saturated with females or which profession has the highest salaries.
Review Your Research
Gather all of your research together and review it. The ultimate goal for your review of the data is to narrow down your demographic to a small niche. Using the same example of Italian business women, you can use industry, age, and income as your determining factors. For instance your choices could be “Female Italian Art Curators” ages 35 – 50 with an income of approximately $75,000USD. This narrowed down demographic is what is known as your Target Market.
Target Market Research
Your research is not finished yet. Once you have found your Target Market you need to research it further. Find out the activities your Target Market likes to engage in, what events that are geared towards them, even what political views the majority of them hold. Information such as household data, religious views, and vacation trends all work together to bring your design concepts into focus.
Forecast Trends
Once you know the characteristics of your Target Market you can begin forecasting what trends may spark their interest for upcoming seasons. Things such as major elections, economic changes, and industry changes will affect their attitude and purchasing power. If you see economic turmoil on the horizon focus your designs on bringing things back to basics with added touches of glitz in accessories. If all areas are experiencing positive growth focus on luxury and vivid designs that convey a sense of new life and vitality.
Creating a Target Market for your design focus is one of the elements that help create your brand identity. While fashion is a form of art and is functional, it is also good. Goods are sold, so make sure your goods are sellable by finding a Target Market to focus your designs on.
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