Fashion Line and Production Feasibility Study

Multiply your total Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) by four to establish your recommended retail price. This wholesale-ready formula ensures you cover production costs, leave room for a fifty percent wholesale discount, and still retain a healthy profit margin. If your artisan brand sells strictly direct-to-consumer, you can use a 2.5 to 3 times markup to stay competitive while maintaining high-quality materials.

Independent factories typically require a minimum of 50 to 100 units per style or colorway for small-batch production. If you cannot meet these numbers, look for specialized sample makers or local micro-factories that offer lower limits at a higher cost per unit. Sourcing stock fabrics rather than custom-dyed textiles is the easiest way to bypass high fabric mill MOQs.

The sample-making and fitting process generally takes between three to six months from the initial tech pack submission. This timeline accounts for two to three rounds of physical adjustments, fabric sourcing delays, and transit times between you and the factory. Rushing this stage leads to costly fit errors during the actual bulk production run.

You do not need fully finalized tech packs, but you do need detailed design sketches, basic measurement specs, and fabric preferences. The feasibility study actually helps you refine these details by identifying which design elements are too expensive or difficult to mass-produce. Once the study confirms the collection is viable, you can confidently invest in professional tech packs.