Most first collections fail on logistics rather than design. The sequence below is the one that reliably gets a garment made.
A working order of operations
- Define the product narrowly: one category, one or two styles
- Build or commission a tech pack
- Select fabric and confirm availability and price
- Choose a manufacturer and confirm minimums and lead time
- Sample, fit, revise, approve in writing
- Grade the size range
- Confirm labels, care content and packaging
- Issue a purchase order with quantities by size and colour
- Production, inspection, delivery
Steps that get skipped
Grading
A sample fits one size. Producing a range requires grading rules, and those rules are a design decision about who the garment is for.
Care labelling
Fibre content and care instructions are legally required on garments sold in the United States. It is far cheaper to plan labels than to relabel finished goods.
Size ratio
Deciding how many of each size to produce is a forecasting exercise. Splitting evenly across a size range is rarely correct and leaves you with unsellable stock at both ends.
Budget for revision, not perfection
Assume at least one sample round you did not plan for. Brands that budget for it stay calm. Brands that do not either ship a garment they are unhappy with or blow the timeline.
Start smaller than feels satisfying
A tight first run that sells through teaches you more than a broad range that ties up your capital in sizes and colours nobody wanted.