Start a clothing line from 10 pieces. From 'someday' to your first drop.

What is the minimum number of pieces you need to have made?

Ten per style and per colour, on our base style: a plain T-shirt, long sleeve, hoodie or sweater on our base fabric, in black, cream or white, with your print and a printed neck label. With 10 pieces you choose two sizes, for example 5 in M and 5 in L; if you want more sizes, that requires a larger run.

Other products have their own minimum: joggers from 25, polos from 35 and jackets from 100. In the market, 50 to 300 pieces per style is usual for private label.

Note: those ten apply per style and per colour. Five hoodies plus five t-shirts are two styles that each need ten, and the same hoodie in black and in cream counts as two. A fully custom cut, with its own pattern, contrast panels or piping, is custom cut-and-sew, and we make it from 150 to 200 pieces per style and colour. Jackets and dresses usually fall under that.

Starting small is possible because your small run joins larger productions of brands that do order normal quantities. It does mean that with 10 pieces you choose from what's possible: a plain base style, with print. In return, you test the market with a collection you can actually sell, instead of with a warehouse full of unsold sizes.

What do you need to develop a clothing collection?

Developing a clothing collection starts with a choice: who is your brand for and which product category do you start with? After that the factory needs three things: a tech pack, a fabric that suits your style and your price point, and preferably a sample you approve before production runs.

For a first collection, plan on two to three styles. Every extra style means an extra sample, extra stock and extra risk, while you don't yet know which piece your target group actually buys. Test first with 10 pieces per style and expand with the styles that sell.

Rather start with basic premium items than with a complicated design: the quality of fabric and item counts for more, and a new brand sells simple first.

What mistakes do beginners make when starting their own brand?

Almost always the same five: too many styles at once, too low a quality for the price they ask, no real brand story, no sample and dropshipping instead of their own production. The step-by-step plan above catches all five. The sample is the step we recommend most strongly, even though it isn't required.

Can you start a clothing line without your own design?

Yes. You don't need to supply a technical drawing or pattern. What you bring is the direction: reference pieces, sketches, a mood board or photos of what you have in mind. An existing garment whose fit is right often works faster than a drawing, because then we immediately see which style, which fit and which weight you're after.

From that, we make the tech pack. A quick check of your own files is free, and if you don't have a design yet, our designer makes a mock-up for €99.99 that we make production-ready. So you don't need design training, a pattern maker or your own workshop. If you already have a designer, your own drawing or a tech pack, that's the starting point.

If your design calls for its own pattern, such as your own cut with contrast panels or piping, the minimum of 150 to 200 pieces per style and colour applies.

Which fabric do you choose for your first collection?

The fabric determines how your product hangs, feels and ages, and therefore also what price you can ask. The weight is called GSM: grams per square metre. From 10 pieces you make your T-shirt in heavy jersey of 220 to 260 GSM and your hoodie in heavy fleece of 450 GSM.

With larger quantities we work with t-shirts from 140 to 320 GSM: 180 to 200 GSM is the standard basic, 220 to 240 GSM the popular choice for premium streetwear and 260 to 320 GSM falls boxy and feels luxurious.

For hoodies and sweaters we go from 280 to 550 GSM: around 280 to 340 GSM it stays light and wearable all year round, 320 to 400 GSM is the standard premium hoodie and from 400 GSM it falls heavy and oversized.

You also choose the construction: french terry is airier, brushed fleece has a raised surface and is warmer, single jersey is the classic t-shirt fabric, piqué gives a polo its structure and interlock is smoother and sturdier. Heavier is also more expensive, so choose what suits your price point. If in doubt, you feel the weight and fit first in your sample.

What does a sample cost and can you skip that step?

First the question: what does a sample cost? From €150, depending on the style, and it's ready at least 5 to 6 weeks after payment. It's the first piece of your own style, made to your tech pack. Usually 1 to 2 rounds are needed: you give feedback on fit, fabric or placement and we adjust. A second sample costs the same as the first.

You may skip it: a sample isn't required and you can order production directly. We do always recommend it and make it first as standard, especially for complex productions. It's the cheapest way to prevent a whole series from going out the door with a sleeve that's two centimetres too short.

You get the approved sample; it's the reference for production. We keep your tech pack and pattern, so if you later order the same style, a new sample is usually not needed.

How long does it take to start a clothing line?

A sample takes at least 5 to 6 weeks after payment. After your written approval and payment, production follows, also at least 5 to 6 weeks, depending on style, country and run size. From first conversation to delivered collection, it usually takes a few months.

What makes the difference is not the factory but the decision-making: the faster you settle fabric, colour and fit and the fewer sample rounds you need, the shorter the process. If you're working towards a fixed date, such as a drop or a trade fair, plan back from that day and leave room for one extra sample round.

Can you work with a real manufacturer from 10 pieces?

Yes. You often hear that anyone who delivers from ten pieces isn't a real manufacturer but a middleman. A fair question, with a verifiable answer: we produce in Turkey, Italy, Portugal and China, with no agents or traders in between, and small runs in our own workshop in Turkey. Which country your style is made in, we discuss in advance.

Low quantities are possible because your small run joins larger productions in our own workshop for brands that do order normal quantities, not because we resell your order. A middleman sends you a catalogue piece with your label in it; we make your style, with your print and labels.

We don't hide the honest consequence of such a small run: with 10 pieces you choose from what's possible, a plain base style with print, and your own fabric or fit belongs with larger quantities.