How to Start a Swimwear Line Business

A swimsuit, bathing suit, swimming costume, swimming suit, swimmers, tog, bathers, or cossie (short for "costume"), or swimming trunks for men, is an item of clothing designed to be worn by people engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, water polo, diving, surfing, water skiing, or during activities in the sun, such as sun bathing. Different types are worn by men, women, and children.

A swimsuit can be worn as an undergarment in sports that require a wetsuit such as water skiing, scuba diving, surfing, and wakeboarding. Swimsuits are also worn when there is a need to display the body, as in the case of beauty pageants or bodybuilding contests. Glamour photography and magazines like the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue feature models and sports personalities in swimsuits.

There is a very wide range of styles of modern swimsuits, which vary in relation to body coverage and materials. The choice of style of swimsuit is dependent on current fashions and community standards of modesty, as well as on personal preferences.

Women's swimsuits are generally described as one-piece, bikinis, or thongs. While they go through many trends in pattern, length and cut there is not much modification to the original variety of suit.

If you want to explode into the world of fashion swimsuit design, do something outrageous. Rudi Gernreich catapulted himself from unknown designer to late-1960's fashion stardom by designing and displaying the monokini -- a women's bathing suit that was essentially topless with the exception of two suspenders that covered nipples and little else. It was outrageous enough to attract the news reporters, and just modest enough to skirt the pornography laws, allowing pictures of the suit to be shown on television and in magazines. The result was fashion fame and fortune.

Instruction:

Step 1

Create your signature look that fills a niche need in the marketplace and sets your line apart from other swimsuit lines. Filling a niche might include fashion swimsuits for large breasted women or swimsuits with special decorative effects.

Step 2

Manufacture samples that convey your signature look. They can be samples of your entire line or just examples of what you want to design and manufacture. Use these to market your designs to stores, manufacturers, wholesale sportswear distributors and potential investors. Take model shots and create promotional copy for a public relations campaign that will get you noticed.

Step 3

Contact manufacturers and wholesale distributors to learn how they operate and what they will charge for manufacturing and promoting your line. If they see something in your line that they feel sure will be an instant success, they may even finance the production of your launch.

Step 4

Write your business plan describing in detail your company, design vision, target customer, product lines, manufacturing operations, current retail activities, fulfillment, marketing plan and financial projections.

Step 5

Seek funding for your enterprise from friends, family and local banks. Use your business plan to present the value proposition of investing in your swimsuit company.

Tip

One way to promote your swimsuit designs is to convince a celebrity to recommend or wear one of your suits during an event, in a movie, for a magazine picture or other publicly visible situation. You may have to offer the celebrity a share of your profits, and the apparel you give will certainly be in the form of a free gift, but persistence pays off with excellent publicity that can be used to further market your products.

Warning

Even if you don't get funding to produce a full swimsuit collection, don't stop marketing your vision and swimsuit samples to local boutiques, at street fairs and flea markets, in beach resort hotels and online via eBay.com or your own website.

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Saturday, January 10, 2015