Collective | ASV

Jenny Holloway: Paving the Way for Ethical Fashion Manufacturing

Aga Segurana — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 08:00:56 +0000

At ASV, we’re making it our mission to share as much information with our incredible ASV Collective as we possibly can. BUT we can’t do this alone, so we’ve roped in some amazing female entrepreneurs to help us out, offer advice, and provide some inspiration to all of us.

This week we have reached out to Jenny Holloway, founder of Fashion Enter and Fashion Capital.

A few months ago, we held our first ASV Collective panel talk, which focussed on funding and scaling a fashion business. One of our incredible guest speakers was Jenny Holloway, who offered some completely invaluable and inspiring advice for our group of female fashion founders.

But with such good advice on how to reach out to buyers, how to write funding proposals, and how to sustainably and ethically scale production, we didn’t think it was fair that other fashion founders missed out.

So we reached out to Jenny, who kindly agreed to summarise some of the points discussed at the event.

Where did the idea behind Fashion Enter and Fashion Capital come from?

I had lost my brand after ten years hard work to an unscrupulous fashion person who I had foolishly trusted. I ended up losing everything – including the house that was tied into the business. I felt a complete fool! I vowed that I would help designers to not make the same silly mistakes that I had made and hence FEL was born in 2006. FashionCapital.co.uk was actually created in 2001 and was my first job after I had lost my brand. I was working for the Government and supported new designers by creating a site that would provide all information free of charge to help creatives.

You’ve had over 25 years of experience in the fashion industry. How do you think the industry has evolved over that time?

These last two years have been a dramatic transformation towards digital technologies – everything is changing at pace, and it’s important to embrace the new ways, but remember that skills are still so important such as pattern cutting and stitching.

And where do you think the fashion industry is heading?

Definitely, I’m seeing a major step away from mass consumerisation and far more concern regarding who made my clothes and if they were ethically made. Recycling and upcycling is now a major growing area, and seeing designs in 3D technologies before making final samples is increasing in popularity.

With your experience in buying, what is the number one mistake designers make when approaching buyers for the first time?

Being unprepared to give “absolute” and “full” information. You need to go into that meeting to know what price you want to sell at and what price is your absolute minimum. Also, not being prepared to know the buyer and their full range of responsibilities.

What advice would you give to designers who are reaching out to manufacturers?

Go and visit and feel the factory. Do you have a good buzz from it? Trust your instincts here.

What are the main things to focus on when increasing production size?

Are you really going to sell each size and quantity? Reduce to a minimum, then fast repeats. Cash flow is King!

How important do you think it is for designers to keep sustainability in mind when increasing production? And what would your advice be for this?

It’s totally imperative to know the ethos of your brand, and heritage, and this means ethics as well as sustainability. It’s absolutely fine to say the ranges are made from end-of-rolls or deadstock fabrics, but don’t be something you are not. Think about how the consumer perceives it, and watch your grammar!

What would your advice be for fashion founders who are looking to secure funding to support their businesses?

Absolutely go for everything you can and go for the max. This is where you need to review your ten-point plan and have a variety of USPs to understand the business tools such as Boston Matrix and 7ps of marketing. Be on it. Live and breathe your brand.

What would be your number one piece of advice to fashion brand founders?

You need to be the master of all trades not the jack of all trades, and be resilient. This is a tough journey ahead, but it can also be so rewarding. Believe!

A huge thank you to Jenny for taking the time to answer these questions so thoughtfully. We hope you found our interview as inspiring as we did!

For more inspiration, be sure to follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our newsletter.

Speak soon,

Your ASV family xx

The post Jenny Holloway: Paving the Way for Ethical Fashion Manufacturing first appeared on ASV.

Collective Conversations: Scaling and Funding a Fashion Brand | June 23

Aga Segurana — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 13:28:42 +0000

Ever wanted to scale up your fashion brand but were unsure where to start? Think you need funding to take your business to the next level but don’t know how to obtain this? Well, we have the event for you, scaling & funding a fashion brand!

Get ready for a powerful event moderated by Aga Segurana, founder of ASV, and our esteemed panellists, Phoebe English, the mastermind behind her namesake brand and Jenny Holloway, CEO of Fashion Capital, who will be on hand to provide invaluable insight into how they’ve built their businesses to where they are today, the challenges of scaling up a sustainable brand and securing funding as a woman.

There’ll be time to ask questions, so whether you’re just getting started with your fashion brand or ready to take it to the next level, our panel talk will provide you with a deeper understanding of how you can too grow your brand by learning from the best in the biz.

Key Details

Topic: Scaling a brand and finding funding for your fashion business
Speakers: Phoebe English and Jenny Holloway
Date: Tuesday 27th June 2023
Time: from 7 PM until 8:30 PM (doors will open at 6:30 PM)
Location: Southwark, London, SE1 (full address will be sent with ticket confirmation)

Limited spaces, so don’t let this be the one that got away.

About Phoebe English

Phoebe English is a recognised sustainable fashion designer who is included in the British Fashion Council’s Positive Fashion collective. Her brand was founded in 2011, and she has since become a regular at London Fashion Week, showcasing her designs that aim to explore less extractive fashion systems. In 2022 Phoebe won The Marie Claire Sustainability Award for Best Sustainable Designer Brand.

About Jenny Holloway

Jenny Holloway is a former buyer and fashion entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in the industry. For almost ten years, Jenny was Director of her successful business Retro UK Ltd which included retail boutiques and wholesaling to major retailers such as John Lewis, Principles and independents. In 2000 Jenny commenced a consultancy business and was approached to be an Industry Advisor on Government funded initiatives.

About Us

Founded by Aga Segurana, ASV Collective is a community founded to create a space for female fashion founders to come together and support like-minded women. We know how isolating running a business can be, so we are dedicated to providing opportunities and resources for female entrepreneurs to help you run and grow the brand of your dreams.

Part of the ASV Collective Event Series

The post Collective Conversations: Scaling and Funding a Fashion Brand | June 23 first appeared on ASV.

Collective Minds | January 23

Aga Segurana — Sun, 01 Jan 2023 10:20:48 +0000

January 26th at 7PM

Warren Centre, Basement 1-8, Northumberland House, London, W1T 5JU

Ready to solve all your business problems? Then this event is for you

Ever heard the saying “two heads are better than one”? Well, we have too, which is what inspired this event…

A coming together of female fashion founders to share their problems and work together to come up with new and exciting solutions. Because two (or twenty) brains are surely better than one!

Key Details

Thursday 26th January 2023
From 7PM until 9PM
Warren Centre, Basement 1-8, Northumberland House, London, W1T 5JU

Join us on a very powerful evening filled with creative solutions and inspiring women talking about anything and everything to do with the fashion industry.

If there’s one thing we can promise you, is that you’ll leave feeling inspired and ready to take your business to the next level.

Because when women support women, beautiful things happen.

Limited spaces, so don’t let this be the one that got away.

Part of the ASV Collective Event Series

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The Collective Breakfast | Nov 22

Aga Segurana — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 10:05:24 +0000

Ever wondered what it feels like to be part of an empowering community of female entrepreneurs like yourself?

Well, this is it! The chance to meet other fearless fashion founders, enjoy delicious food and make connections.

Key Details

Thursday 24th November
From 9:30AM until 12PM
Mildred’s Kings Cross, 200 Pentonville Rd, London, N1 9JP.

Join us to meet other incredibly talented women on a very empowering and exciting morning talking about anything and everything to do with the fashion industry.

We promise you that you’ll leave feeling inspired and ready take your business to the next level. Because when women support women, beautiful things happen.

Limited spaces so don’t let this be the one that got away.

Part of the ASV Collective Event Series

Company

Social

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