Change of the Fashion Supply Chain with the Demand for Digital Brands

The latest report “ The State of Fashion 2020” by Business of Fashion and McKinsey & Company highlighted an important point in the change of fashion consumer behavior. The customer needs for more convenient and localized shopping experience will make the big retailers to think of changing their retail model. The existing brick and mortar shopping centers will slowly be replaced by smaller format stores offering a more customized experience for the shoppers looking for the product out of the scope of mass consumption. 

The winning formula will feature in store experience and localized assortments in neighborhoods and suburbs beyond the main shopping thoroughfares. Limited collections, products that are the result of special collaborations or design coming from new and emerging artists will be offered to the customer with distinguished fashion taste. 

The fact that consumers are increasingly interested in unique pieces created by recently discovered up-and-coming designers who bring their personal story and commitment to their practice brings with it the idea of creating a space where this undiscovered talent can be presented to a wider audience. 

This trend will pull the complete fashion supply chain into redesigning the models of sourcing, manufacturing, marketing and communication. The digitalization will upgrade the existing fashion players and put new startups into the picture by giving them an opportunity to bring innovations in the industry and achieve unicorn status. The digital trend will go all the way to the garment manufacturers, who have to transform their production into easily adjustable, modular and remotely accessible.

We are witnessing the launch of numerous multi-brand stores offering various concepts to promote their designers. “NOT JUST A LABEL“, “WOLF AND BADGER“, “CURATED CROWD” and “FLYING SOLO” are just some of the platforms that offer different concepts for emerging designers.

As the authors of “NOT JUST A LABEL” note, every year there are about 4,000 fashion graduates from the best fashion schools and only 500 jobs, which is a strong reason why the platform gives more than 35,000 designers the opportunity to present their design work and create a community for the growth of their fashion business.

However, in an interview with The Guardian, Sarah Mower MBE (Vogue.com’s Chief Critic) says that “a huge skills gap is opening up”. Along with the growing hunger for emerging design, there is a growing demand for technical manufacturing skills, quality and business support along the way. “NINETEENTH AMENDMENT” recognized early on the need to support new designers and their platform extends the promotional services to include comprehensive support for the production, branding and valorisation of emerging designers through the popular fashion show concept “PROJECT RUNWAY”. 

“INDIE SOURCE” and “MAKEIT” are fashion manufacturers who can support emerging designers and fashion start-ups with production and minimum order quantities. Their production lines are modular and flexible and can produce a variety of fashionable products by adding many different operations such as printing, embroidery and fabric sourcing support. The fabric sourcing platforms “SWATCHON”, “DIGIFAIR” and “BSAMPLY” are a digital replacement for traditional fabric sourcing models and offer a wide range of fabrics and the ability to place small order quantities.

On the other hand, platforms such as “MARU”, “FOURSOURCE” and “SEWPORT” transformed the garment supplier searching process into a completely digital experience.

The upcoming trend for manufacturers and SMEs to step out of their traditional roles and sell directly to global consumers will create new players using cross-border e-commerce platforms.

As mentioned in “The State of Fashion 2020”, traditional trade fairs must respond to the increase in direct-to-consumer activity, the shorter fashion cycle, and digitization by taking on new roles and fine-tuning their target audience. In an attempt to differentiate themselves or even to survive, more of these events will add B2C attractions or new services and experiences to improve relationships with their traditional B2B audience.

The number of fashion tech players in this field has already reached a high level. “JOOR”, “ORDRE”, “NUORDER”, “FASHION CLOUD” and “THE BRAND SHOW” are some of the most recent digital B2B platforms and replacements for the fashion trade fairs where brands and retailers can build their business relationships throughout the year by elevating the product purchase, order placement and payment to a whole new digital level.

Following the multi-level need to lift the emerging design, we want to present our small startup with a big vision. FDNM – Fashion District NM combines the most important services from the life cycle of the fashion products to a one-stop digital platform. FDNM offers space for e-commerce and production support, but is also a community that connects fashion, creative, and manufacturing industries and provides a platform for sharing ideas and inspiration.

As a customer or retailer, you can browse our selection of designers and purchase their products. As a manufacturer, you can join us and produce the collections of our designers. As a photographer, you can work with us on exciting fashion projects and last but not least, any designer can approach us and seek support in scaling their fashion business. Give us your trust and simply watch how your sketch idea comes to life and reaches your customer.