Making clothing without knowing who it is for is like trying to pack for a trip without knowing where you are going, what you will be doing there, and how long you will be staying.
My husband and I recently celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary with a trip to Mexico. The day before we left, I packed all my clothes, shoes, and swimwear for the week in a carry-on. It was easy to pack because I knew what activities I would need clothes for, I had looked up the weather forecast, and knew the dates we would be traveling. With these criteria, it was simple to decide what pieces came and what got left in the drawer at home.
I knew what things were extra important to me to bring – like the dress I wore to our wedding reception. When we had to check our carry-ons due to a full flight, I added the highest priority items to my backpack just in case our bags didn’t make it when we did. These decisions would have been much more difficult or even impossible to make if I didn’t have a clear understanding of the purpose of the trip and of each item I packed.
In the same way it would be hard to pack clothing without knowing the occasion, it is hard to design and make clothing if you don’t know who it is for. Making something pretty isn’t good enough. Like the space in a carryon suitcase is limited, so is your customer’s closet and sometimes budget. Each item needs to fill a purpose, either practical or emotional, to justify taking up some of that limited space. Do you know what that purpose is?