My Clothing Line: Web Platform for Customized Fashion

The fashion industry demonstrates itself to be highly competitive and aggressive, making it difficult for fashion graduates to find work in the industry. Another customer problem is that fashion products do not ideally meet customers' expectations, whether it is through fit, design, etc. These two problems relate to the inefficiencies in the ideation and distribution channels of fashion. There is a lack of another outlet for fashion where products are different from what retail offers and fashion ideas can be shared. The two problems stated previously are byproducts of this. This research study and entrepreneurial effort of building a web platform will allow consumers, designers, manufacturers, and retailers (these target groups are also known as "customer segments" throughout the project) to work together to create a clothing product that not only fits the customer's vision, but also provides the ability for designers and small businesses to better establish themselves in the industry. The website was designed based on potential customers' inputs collected from a marketing survey, a competitive analysis, and the business model canvas. The website was developed following the systems development life cycle (SDLC) project management method. This was followed in order to make sure the website will be available on time, with all the required features, and within the budget. According to the survey analysis, most people do not make an effort to produce a unique design if a fashion product does not meet their standards. Instead, they will settle for an item similar to what was in mind and that already exists in-stores or online. However, further data analysis showed that this difference was apparent between men and women. Thus, the research finding was that the website would be targeting a niche market of college-aged women during the first launch. In order to reach the small target segment, different digital marketing approaches must be used to attract new users. To attract college-aged female consumers, the site must discover and sponsor "influencers" to authentically promote the website towards prospective consumers. To attract designers, word of mouth is best utilized: reaching out to design majors at Arizona State University, then other local schools, and expanding from there. To attract local manufacturers and retailers, a typical direct sales strategy is necessary by informing these businesses about the team and background, so that they feel confident in the partnership. The overall hypothesis of this project: the creation of a web platform that provides a network among consumers, designers, and local businesses will create jobs for designers, cause local businesses to build recognition, and allow consumers to create their own fashion product without design experience. This site is named My Clothing Line to make it feel as though each of the individual customers are logging into their own business site.