The model that has driven the fashion industry is changing. Fashion weeks all over the world are dying, most recently in Toronto. The internet is providing designers, and really creators of all kinds, with the opportunity to showcase their work to potential clients directly for very little cost. As a result, shoppers are choosing to spend more of their dollars online. Consumers have also grown to love fast and affordable fashions made popular by H&M and Zara.
Every year brands that we’ve grown to love are dying or changing the way they do business. Last year, Parasuco filed for bankruptcy and closed all of its Canadian stores, laying off 80 people. They continue to sell their jeans online. Last year Gap announced they were closing 175 stores across North America and just this year they announced they were closing another 75 stores outside of North America. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
Here enters Canadian entrepreneur, Blessing Okoro. Although she started out studying nursing, she quickly realized she was a creative at heart and became a self-taught graphic and website designer. In the midst of all the changes in the fashion and retail industries, Okoro is using her graphic and web skills to launch Makingtheperfectfit.com, a new platform for emerging fashion designers to sell their clothing.
Okoro says of her new venture, “I’ve always been passionate about fashion and body positivity. I believe that everyone, whether big or small, should be able to feel good in whatever they’re wearing. My goal is to eliminate the risk of buying clothes online that don’t fit and help support smaller designers who tend to move to bigger cities to make a living.”
Makingtheperfectfit.com uses a membership-based custom order model allowing designers to get started in the industry quickly with no upfront inventory costs. Features of the service include your own product catalogue, social media integration, and a shoppable lookbook.
For more information visit Makingtheperfectfit.com, follow @makingtheperfect on Facebook and Instagram or send an email to makingtheperfectfit@gmail.com.
(Photo credit: Jodianne Beckford, Carmela Aimee)
