The Best Independent Clothing Brands For Creative Inspiration

Like any creative art form, fashion allows for talent to shine through with artistic flourishes that change the way we look at clothing lines. A Los Angeles clothing manufacturer like The Evans Group can help flesh out new and exciting ideas with independent clothing brands.

Independent emerging designers, in particular, have a unique and attractive way of captivating fashion enthusiasts, consumers, and other fashion designers.

Let’s see which independent clothing brands you should be paying attention to this year. And maybe we’ll share a few key factors to starting your own brand.

The Top Independent Clothing Brands

In no particular order, here are independent clothing brands every designer should look for. Maybe you’ll even get some sustainable fashion ideas and inspiration to start your own clothing line this year.

Afterward, we’ll show you what it takes to bring these unique creative ideas to life to start an independent clothing brand of your own.

Hiraeth

Hiraeth is a women-led fashion company known for its ethereal and graceful style of women’s ready-to-wear garments.

Citing a need to serve a newer generation of women with sustainable materials and progressive production values, Hiraeth is a unique brand, courtesy of Rooney Mara, Chrys Wong, and Sara Schloat. The company’s iconic looks are haunting yet beautiful. It evokes a Victorian-era feel with a modern twist that makes the brand so unique.

Notable Collections

Spring 2020 Ready-to-Wear

Greg Lauren

We have a special place in our hearts for Greg Lauren‘s distressed lines of stylish menswear. Whether it’s a frayed denim jacket or a worn blazer that looks right at home at an art show, Greg’s flair for fashion is undeniable.

Touting himself as a sort of ‘anti-Ralph Lauren’ (his uncle), Greg Lauren takes the glint and shine of his family’s brand and makes it entirely his own. In the end, he has created a look and feel all his own. And, truth be told, it makes a huge impact. How does the brand execute such an impressive balancing act between making distressed clothing look so fashionable and the pitfall of it looking old and dirty? Regardless, Greg Lauren holds the secret formula to make it look easy.

Notable Collections

Deconstructing Americana, Made in LA

Rodarte

Rodarte, founded in 2005 by Laura and Kate Mulleavy, draws heavy inspiration from art forms like poetry, film, and literature. The Mulleavey’s stress their unique brand of storytelling with their fashion collections. They launched a collection of unique shirts and hoodies called Radarte. Rodarte’s dedication to cultural touchstones like music and poetry is a great twist on tired, old fashion.

For those who thrive on creativity, you can’t go wrong with Rodarte

Notable Collections

Radarte’s Tom Petty Collection

Kate McDonald

Kate McDonald is an independent clothing brand focusing on bridalwear.

After crafting her first ready-to-wear collection in 2003, Katherine McDonald eventually pivoted to bridal wear full-time in 2014. Her independent clothing brand’s appeal is undeniable, as her unique wedding dresses spice up a rather conservative roster of clothing.

The independent clothing brand crafts its fashion right here in the United States with specialty fabric from all over the world. If we’re being honest, we love what Kate McDonald brought to the bridalwear space. Ultimately, it takes a cultural staple and brings some spice to it. To sum up, it makes old new. And we love new.

Notable Collections

Nouveau Classique, Secret Garden

How The Evans Group Helps Independent Clothing Brands

Now that we’ve explored some of the best indie clothing brands and collections to peruse, it’s time to see how TEG goes above and beyond for its indie fashion clients.

Whether the fashion designer is launching their first or twenty-first clothing collection, TEG knows how to get to the heart of a designer’s goals. Could you build the clothing line of your dreams to rival Greg Lauren and Rodarte? Let’s find out.

Creative Services

Firstly, when planning your own clothing line, it’s crucial to formulate and execute solid ideas. The best way to get to where you’re going is through comprehensive creative services.

Clients sit down with Jennifer Evans to explore the vision, goals, and themes they want to tackle. Afterward, the creative services team then goes to work helping the client craft a style board to effectively brainstorm and formulate attractive clothing.

In short, the creative team doesn’t rest until the client is satisfied with the end product. After that, we begin the manufacturing process.

Small Batch Manufacturing In Los Angeles With TEG

Small batch manufacturing is a big deal with independent clothing designers. It could mean the difference between not having enough capital to launch their dream brand and accomplishing their goals. In short, not asking a clothing manufacturer about their MOQs is a big fashion mistake to avoid.

That’s why The Evans Group prides itself on being one of the more notable low MOQ clothing manufacturers in Los Angeles. That, and the fact TEG offers no minimums.

Low MOQs, or minimum order quantities, can free a designer or hold them prisoner. For example, many clothing manufacturers would turn you away if you wanted to start your first collection but only wanted 20 pieces.

At TEG, designers of all stripes have the opportunity for no minimums. No minimums mean that you could essentially order one to ten pieces of clothing to do some much-needed market testing and analysis.

While larger production houses require designers to order hefty volumes of clothing samples, we want independent clothing designers to thrive and succeed within the fashion industry.

Putting it bluntly, gatekeeping is no way to let genuine creativity flow.

Expert Los Angeles Pattern Makers

In short, using pattern makers in Los Angeles to complete clothing lines is crucial. Pattern makers are the clothing professionals that make a project come together. After consulting a comprehensive fashion tech pack, pattern makers get to work crafting your collection.

Pattern makers consult with different production staff members to ensure a design meets all the criteria for success. Therefore, they know everything that goes on during production.

They partake in fashion draping and drafting to ensure that fabric and clothing samples have the perfect fit. While it may take some time, the TEG pattern makers want to get everything right.

Without these professionals, clothing lines like Greg Lauren’s Made in LA and Kate McDonald’s Secret Garden would still be drafts and ambitious ideas. In other words, these professionals are the glue that makes your projects come together.

Conclusion

Taking these brands into account, it’s easy to see that the fashion industry doesn’t belong to the Gucci’s and the Dior’s of the world. In fact, we believe that the industry’s future lies with these creative fashion designers and indie developers. They simply have something unique to share with the world. And for the fashion industry, that’s a breath of fresh air.

To sum up, through small batch manufacturing, creative services, and experienced Los Angeles pattern makers, TEG aims to make your visions come to life. Think you can start your own clothing brand? Why not take a chance?