Written By Sawani Chauhan
The label game: Real fashion comes from brands not businesses
The fashion industry has always been popular and one of the biggest markets worldwide. The Indian Fast Fashion market size was valued at ₹15.1 lakh crore in 2023 and is expected to reach around ₹45.3 lakh crore by 2032. People have always used clothes as a sense of expressing their feelings and emotions. With the change of trends over time various styles and patterns have been introduced and the trendiest of all was “to wear brands”.
Brands bring a sense of reliability, comfort, value, and even status too. But now with the rapid growth of the clothing industry, many clothing businesses are opening up and reclaiming themselves as brands.
In this vast market, new brands are striving and trying to survive by bringing their authenticity, focusing on high-quality products, staying ahead of trends, and building strong customer relationships. So, let’s dive into the real difference between a brand and a business.
Beyond the Label: Why Quality Outlasts Trends
In the world of fashion, the difference between brand and business is profound. Brands focus on various areas but their main focus is on their authenticity and product quality using sustainable materials like organic cotton, natural dyes, and handwoven fabrics. Their focus is to give the best to their customers while caring for their interests and needs. They emphasize timeless designs ensuring the current trends with sustainability in products as well as packaging, where each piece is curated with care and thought.
Many businesses today focus on mass production, often compromising on quality. While they may customize prints, the attention to making each product truly right for the customer is lacking, reducing its value.
As consumers seek brands that help them stand out and feel comfortable, it’s worth asking: Are you really investing in a quality brand, or just spending on a business without considering the real value? In a crowded market, choosing wisely makes all the difference.
Made with love: The power of Emotional Craftsmanship
Most businesses keep emotional connectivity with customers as an afterthought—or sometimes don’t consider it at all. Their main focus is to create products in bulk, hoping for larger sales. But is that enough?
The new generation of customers roots for brands that offer transparency and let them know where their products come from—what they are made of and where they are made. Knowing the story behind the brand often helps customers connect with it on a deeper level. Brands are striving to create a balance between the fast and slow-paced fashion markets to sustain their place as renowned names in the industry.
Unfortunately, many businesses overlook these connections and fail to express their stories. Their machine-made products can’t match the emotional depth of handcrafted items from brands that work with artisans to curate each piece.
Made just for you- Here's why unique products are loved more
In the business world, bulk production of clothing items is the norm. It is cheaper, faster, and more efficient for companies. However, this approach often loses the idea of uniqueness, as bulk production limits the ability to customize a product’s quality and material to the brand’s needs. When you’re producing the same items as everyone else, where’s the differentiation?
As trends change, people increasingly want to showcase their individuality through fashion. They seek distinctive and comfortable clothes that enhance their personality. Brands that offer consciously crafted fabrics provide that sense of warmth. Every detail, from the print and color palette to the material quality, is carefully discussed, tested, and refined before launching.
In contrast, many businesses opt for ready-made knit fabrics for convenience. This raises the question: if they don’t carefully consider the fabrics they use, how can they claim their product is of the best quality?
The Efforts Behind Each Garment: Brand Owner's Perspective
Co-founder of Fineapple, an up-and-coming homegrown brand from India that is centered around ethical fashion says “Starting a fast fashion clothing company is simple, whereas starting a genuine brand is more challenging. You can go to a wholesaler, choose from their colour options, order a small quantity, and print your designs on it. This approach is common among many new homegrown brands. While there’s nothing wrong with this approach, everyone is essentially getting the same garment specifications and composition, as they are all following the same trends. However, if these brands want to make specific changes to the garment structure, they face limitations since they are not involved in manufacturing.
Fashion is about experimenting with silhouettes, structures, and compositions, not just applying graphic designs to tees. Even though we are an up-and-coming brand with a smaller budget, we take the extra effort to produce garments starting from the yarn stage, specifying the exact yarn count, weight, wash specifications, and silhouette. This process can take 4-5 months just for sampling before moving into full production.
If you’re a new brand, invest time in finding a manufacturer who will construct the fabric for you. Learn about garment construction, not just design, to build a product that stands out and offers true value."
Follow Fineapple on Instagram @fineappleclo to get an insight into their BTS and Design approach.
1 comment
Nice