It's absolutely crazy but, it's not about the clothes.

There is one great uncomfortable truth in fashion. Designers do not succeed or fail because of the quality of their clothes. It's this fact that causes most young designers to fail because they don't understand or can't handle it. Making the best garments you can is absolutely required but by itself it won't lead to success. As I like to say to designers who I consult for, "your next collection will not save you." It's important to embrace that in order to begin to grow as a fashion brand. The majority of the few women who can afford serious fashion and the serious price tag that goes along with it do not buy based on the artistic quality of your work. Most of the wealthy women of this world are just not very discerning in that way. I don't mean to be dismissive or insulting but I meet a lot of your potential customers at fashion events and they don't know the difference between silk and satin. It's just not important to them. Nor are your background, techniques, inspiration or any of the other things that we misguidedly focus on. I'm not saying they're vapid or sheep, though some are, it's that those qualities are not what makes them buy fashion. There we arrive at the nub of it, a brand must figure out what the connection is that they have to the customer they've identified as their target that has nothing to directly with the clothes. It's an odd truth and disturbing but it's absolutely essential to sales and making a living