The Fashion Designer Survival Guide: An Insider's Look at Starting and Running Your Own Fashion Business (Paperback)

by Mary Gehlhar (Author), Zac Posen (Foreword)
Key Phrases: New York, Los Angeles, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A must-read for anyone in the world of fashion. Gehlhar offers practical tips and strategies to increase chances of success." -- Soma Magazine, September 2005 Wordplay

"Every aspiring designer needs this book. Mary Gehlhar wrote an invaluable, step-by-step guide to succeeding on Seventh Avenue and beyond." -- Nancy MacDonell, Editor at Large, NYLON, and author of The Classic Ten: The
True Story of the Little Black Dress and Nine Other Fashion Favorites

"For anyone seeking to compete and succeed in our crowded and highly competitive industry, Mary’s comprehensive advice is required reading." -- —Peter D. Arnold, Executive Director Council of Fashion Designers of America

"For anyone who’s ever aspired to be an independent designer, this is the book to pick up." -- --The Daily

"Lest fashion's neophytes get too dreamy, Gehlhar is there to ground them…" -- From Women’s Wear Daily

"Mary presents many expectations he or she will confront in the marketplace and provides excellent professional advice throughout the book." -- —Margaret Hayes, President, The Fashion Group International

"This book encourages all aspiring designers ready to embark on an independent career within the industry." -- —Rebecca Taylor

"Touching on everything from sales to runway shows and everything in between, this new book has got fashionistas everywhere covered." -- Nylon magazine BOOKMARK

Must read…find out from a pro who has worked with up-and-coming designers. -- --New York Daily News

Product Description
"Mary’s aptly title’s ‘Survival’ Guide is long overdue. For anyone seeking to compete, and succeed, in our crowded, and highly competitive industry, Mary’s comprehensive advice is absolute required reading."

Peter D. Arnold Executive Director Council of Fashion Designers of America

"The Fashion Designer Survival Guide" is a veritable encyclopedia on the ‘how to’s’ an emerging designer must consider when going into business. Excellent professional advice is presented throughout the book along with serious discussion of the expectations he/she will confront in the market place. This book is a "must have" for all young entrepreneurs in design.

Margaret Hayes President The Fashion Group International

"For anyone interested in being a fashion designer or working in the fashion industry, The Fashion Design Survival Guide is the quintessential must-read. Mary Gehlhar clearly and deftly navigates the reader through the otherwise labyrinthine and confounding real world of professional fashion, addressing every must-know from apparel manufacturing to marketing and branding to runway production and retail sales. This should be a required text for fashion students, young designers, and even mid-career professionals."

Tim Gunn, Chair Department of Fashion Design Parsons School of Design Project Runway

"The Fashion Designer Survival Guide offers sage advice for any designer contemplating starting up a new fashion company. This guide is applicable not only to US designers but also globally, since the fashion industry fundamentally works the same way in the US, UK, Europe and Asia. Gehlhar outlines the ‘A to Z’ of the fashion business, along with tricks of the trade to help new designers manoeuvre their way through industry obstacles and increase their chance of success."

Linda J. Peters Director, Centre for Fashion Enterprise London College of Fashion London, UK

"Along with their sketch pad and scissors, every aspiring designer should have a copy of this book. From ordering fabric to making yourself interesting to the press, Mary Gehlhar has put together an invaluable, step-by-step guide to succeeding on Seventh Avenue and beyond."

Nancy MacDonell, Editor at Large, NYLON Author of The Classic Ten: The True Story of the Little Black Dress and Nine Other Fashion Favorites

"Fashion fledglings now have one up on Hansel and Gretel. Forget crumbs, Mary Gehlhar offers juicy morsels of relevant information to aspiring designers—collected from professionals in the field." Laird Borrelli Senior Features Editor, Style.com "If only I had this manual when I began my company! The Fashion Designer Survival Guide is a well written handbook for the entrepreneur ready to commence his or hers own Fashion Business. It delineates in detail every step of the process required to start-up and run a successful business within the Fashion Industry. The book is exceptionally informative and offers examples of the triumphs and failed experiences of many well-respected designers. As a designer, who at one time, underwent much of the trials that Mary writes about, I have found the book to be extremely helpful and encouraging to all aspiring designers ready to embark on an independent career within the industry."

Rebecca Taylor

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Kaplan Business (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0793198992
• ISBN-13: 978-0793198993
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #158,478 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This guide is the best apparel industry book out there, December 28, 2005

By	clothing design entrepreneur (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews

Mary Gehlhar's book is outstanding. It has depth and breath. I really enjoyed all the quotes and pearls of wisdom provided by so many lovely people in the apparel industry. This book covers everything - from concept and design to wholesale price points to retail product placement. This book shows you "the what" and "the how" like no other apparel industry book has.

What I especially enjoyed learning about was the legal information. Thank you Charles Klein for you saved me much heartache that comes with losing your intellectual property. Now I can work with investors wisely for you have banished the only fear I have and that is losing control of my intellectual property as I lose some corporate control due to investors' terms. This is what I read books for - to gain knowledge and insight from people who have done it before me, do it better than me, and write it down to share with us curious souls and thirsty minds.

The other aspect of this book I found to be stellar and not noted in any other fashion industry book (and I read them all) is what Mary Gehlhar says about patternmaking and samplemaking. She states both sides of the argument, doing it yourself and others doing it for you, articulately and succinctly. I applaud you Mary Gehlhar. You wrote a great book.

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars filled with useful info, October 19, 2005

By	Susan Ohtake "sooz" (santa monica, ca) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

this book is jam-packed with excellent information for anyone interested in the fashion business. i read the 200 pg. book in a day and will keep it around for reference. it was easy to understand, brutally honest, and extremely useful in answering my many questions about who, what, when, where, how. i've already made a list of things to do and add to my business plan.

This book's price is right too!

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An eye opener about what it REALLY takes to succeed!, January 19, 2006

By	R. Akuffo "fashionfriendly" (MD, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

By far, the most impressive, knowledgeable and useful guide to everything from the decision to start your own design business to handling the press, buyers and everything else.

It's not a book that sugarcoats the truth about how hard it is to succeed in this business and how few succeed at all. Even established designers who didn't lay the right foundations, had it come back to bite them. It starts you off in the right mindset and helps you learn from the mistakes and experiences of others, so that you don't waste time and money screwing up by yourself!

A must have book!