Talk like a fashion entrepreneur

Apparel — any form of clothing or garment

Business incubator — an organisation or programme that gives new businesses the support and resources they need to grow and become successful

Draping — the process of positioning and pinning fabric on a mannequin to create prototypes of new clothing designs

Entrepreneur — someone who starts their own business

Entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) — an individual’s confidence in their own ability to create a successful business

Merchandising — the methods used to promote and sell products to customers

Pattern drafting — the process of using body measurements to create pattern pieces which become the foundation for designers to create garments

As humans, we can all feel the need to express ourselves, to share our feelings with others and to show the world who we are. Some of us find expression through playing music or painting pictures. Others express themselves through the work they do or the relationships they have with friends and family.

One of the most vibrant and versatile forms of self-expression is fashion. Clothes and accessories can provide the colours, textures and patterns that we need to express our personalities and interests. From a t-shirt promoting your favourite band to a colourful pair of mismatched socks, you can use fashion to help you find and fit into your community, or to celebrate your individuality and stand out from the crowd.

Around the world, people also use clothing and jewellery to express their heritage and celebrate their cultural identity. Blending traditional items with modern fashion trends can help people find their own unique style. This process of curation and creation can be empowering. Designing bespoke garments, creating new outfits or altering unwanted items can help you take control of your identity. For some people, designing and creating clothes is more than a passionate hobby, it is a career aspiration.

However, starting a fashion business is not easy. Budding apparel and fashion design entrepreneurs face stiff competition from high-street brands and online retailers. To succeed in the world of fashion, these up-and-coming entrepreneurs need more than just a steady hand and a good fashion sense; they also need business skills and support from others in the industry.

This is why, at Southern University and A&M College in Louisiana, Dr Samii Kennedy Benson has established the Fashion and Apparel Business Laboratory (FAB Lab), where she hopes to help fashion students gain the skills they need to run their own businesses.

What is the FAB Lab?

The FAB Lab is a business incubator to help up-and-coming fashion entrepreneurs. Specifically focused on fashion design and apparel entrepreneurship, it provides a nurturing environment in which Samii’s students can develop their fashion skills and hone their business ideas. “Business incubators are important because they help budding entrepreneurs turn their ideas and concepts into a viable enterprise,” explains Samii.

Why did Samii establish the FAB Lab?

As an assistant professor of apparel, merchandising and textiles, Samii teaches students who are interested in fashion, design and entrepreneurship. “At the beginning of each course, I always ask my students what they hope to do after graduation,” she says. “Overwhelmingly, most say they want to start their own fashion business.” Samii established the FAB Lab because she wanted to give her students the knowledge, skills and tools they would need to become successful entrepreneurs and run successful fashion businesses.

“The FAB Lab is particularly focused on supporting women and minority entrepreneurs,” says Samii. “In addition to the difficulties that come with running a business, they often face unique challenges, due to racism and gender bias, that can get in the way of their success.” While current trends indicate there is a rise in entrepreneurship among people of colour, minorities still make up just 15% of small business owners in the US.

Many factors contribute to the lack of entrepreneurial activity among women and people of colour. “One significant factor is a lack of entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE),” explains Samii. “This refers to an individual’s level of self-confidence in their ability to succeed in creating a successful business. If someone has low ESE, they may not believe that creating and owning their own business is a realistic option for them.” Evidence indicates that entrepreneurship educational initiatives, such as the FAB Lab, can help to improve ESE among people from minority backgrounds. Samii’s goal is for the FAB Lab to instil confidence in her students, leading to greater diversity and representation among fashion entrepreneurs.

How does the FAB Lab train its entrepreneurs?

The FAB Lab runs four schemes, which not only support university fashion students, but also provide fashion and business training for local middle and high school students and community members. FAB Fellows are students enrolled in the apparel, merchandising and textiles degree programme at Southern University and A&M College. Each year, five FAB Fellows are supported as they develop their own fashion line or apparel business. This support comes in the form of mentorship, financial aid, access to design spaces and equipment in the lab, and the opportunity to market and sell their products at a local boutique retail store.

The FAB Fellows also help to lead the summer camp for FAB Youth. Each summer, ten local middle and high school students from minority backgrounds attend the 4-week-long camp, where they learn practical textile and fashion skills, as well as entrepreneurship skills, which give them an important head start as they embark on their journey into the fashion industry.

Any students or community members interested in fashion can become FAB Entrepreneurs. The FAB Entrepreneurs programme offers workshops, short courses and networking events to promote and support fashion entrepreneurship in the local area. These events include lectures and panels featuring guest speakers from the fashion industry, fashion showcases (where students share their collections) and portfolio reviews. To ensure the programme is accessible to the wider community, events are held in the evening and at weekends, as well as during normal working hours, with some events also accessible online. FAB Entrepreneurs can formalise their fashion training through the FAB Certificate, a series of fashion design and apparel entrepreneurship courses for which participants can earn college credits, covering topics such as the fundamentals of fashion entrepreneurship, creating a business plan, and digital communication and marketing.

The wealth of opportunities available through the FAB Lab provides budding fashion entrepreneurs with the skills needed to turn their talents for design into a viable business. These include design skills, such as sketching and making mood boards to spark new ideas, creation skills, such as sewing techniques, pattern drafting and draping to bring their creations to life, and entrepreneurial skills, such as business planning and brand development to share their designs with the world.

What successes has the FAB Lab had?

The initiation of the FAB Lab has been a great success. The first group of FAB Fellows helped to establish the FAB Lab by assisting in the design of the lab space and helping to select the new equipment. These students then worked in the lab space to perfect their business concepts, create samples for their fashion lines and conduct market research for their new fashion brands. “Two of these FAB Fellows have already launched their fashion brands and have begun selling their clothes to clientele!” says Samii.

“This summer, the FAB Lab hosted its first FAB Youth summer camp for middle and high school students,” she continues. The campers learnt entrepreneurial skills, including what characteristics they need to run their own business, as well as fashion design skills, such as sketching and sewing. “On the last day, participants took part in a fashion show to display the clothes that they made during their time at the camp.” Through the FAB Lab, Samii is inspiring and supporting the next generation of fashion entrepreneurs.

Dr Samii Kennedy Benson
Assistant Professor of Apparel Merchandising and Textiles, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, Southern University and A&M College, Louisiana, USA

Field of research: Fashion Entrepreneurship

Research project: Developing a business incubator to help fashion students gain the skills they need to successfully run their own businesses

Funders: US Department of Agriculture (USDA) – 1890 Institutional Teaching; Research and Extension Capacity Building Grants (CBG) Program, Grant Number 2021-38821-34718

About fashion entrepreneurship

“Small fashion and apparel businesses represent what’s new and innovative in the fashion industry,” explains Samii. While famous high-end fashion designers and large-scale high street bands might dominate the scene, small fashion businesses can be more creative in their marketing and designs as they have more freedom to ‘think outside the box’.

How can small fashion businesses address the challenges facing the fashion industry?

“Smaller brands are leading the way when it comes to social responsibility and environmentally sustainable practices,” says Samii. The negative impacts of ‘fast fashion’, such as the poor working conditions of people working in textiles factories and the huge amounts of waste caused when poor quality cheap clothing is worn a few times then thrown away, are beginning to take centre stage.

Small fashion businesses can promote ethical and sustainable business models, helping to tackle the fashion industry’s greatest issues. “I enjoy encouraging students to not only think creatively about fashion, but also to critically analyse the fashion industry’s ethical issues,” says Samii. “These include labour practices, environmental concerns, lack of diversity and the promotion of an unobtainable beauty ideal.”