06 Apr Must Know Secrets to Starting a Clothing Company With Reality Dreams
I have been following Reality Dreams clothing on social media for a while now. They are a men’s clothing company that produce amazing apparel with every new collection. I wanted to reach out to them and find out about their story, what inspired them and what advice they have for anyone on how to start a clothing company.
Despite Reality Dreams being a male clothing company this article has a lot of value for both males and females, such as talking about the usefulness of social media in business, a really inspiring quote from the Reality Dreams founder Steven Stokes and advice on how to start a clothing company.
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Okay now time for the article.
Discover These Must Know Secrets to Starting a Clothing Company With Reality Dreams
Brief History
Reality Dreams came about due to Steven Stokes’ love for clothing and design. Steven started out as a graphic designer (check out some of his work here), but had always dreamt of starting his own fashion label, and so began applying his creative skills to clothing design.
After friends and family praised his designs (to the point they wanted to get their hands on the clothing too), it gave Steven enough encouragement to start his own clothing company, and so Reality Dreams was born.
Steven wanted to portray a strong message that inspires people, yet also tells a story when it comes to the name. He wanted the name to be two words that instantly connected with young, ambitious guys.
Steven stated, “I hate the cheesiness of ‘turn your dreams into reality’ as its overused and seems to carry a bit of a stigma with it. The truth is though this is a very powerful message. The name Reality Dreams is a play on this and is certainly all about aspiring to fulfil your dreams but really concentrate on those two words and say them in your head a few times and think about what you are saying along with the situation you are in. It can have a very deep and powerful, inspirational meaning to most.
“We do our best to motivate and inspire others to achieve highly and when you do eventually succeed in making your dreams a reality then it becomes difficult to determine between the two of them words. If you are experiencing Reality Dreams then you have made it and that’s the feeling we want guys to get when they wear our clothes.”
Social Media
Social media is a key part of any business. It enables a business to show their products, give a behind the scenes look and also add a more human touch to the brand for their audience. Every business should be utilising social media and this was a huge tool for Reality Dreams when they was starting out.
“We hit social media hard. We also worked on building an email list and reached out to as many bloggers and publications that we felt were suitable to help us on our journey.”
Reality Dreams were also able to get the attention of a lot of celebrities and people in the media who became fans of the company, which then meant their clothes were appearing on TV shows. Steven feels that influencers and bloggers have a big impact in today’s market, possibly even more that UK celebrities. Though he did also point out, “getting the attention of a global superstar certainly does no harm”.
Reality Dreams use Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as a big marketing tool. When Steven first set up the company Facebook and Twitter were very useful platforms, but over time, since Facebook continually changed their algorithm and Twitters popularity started to fall, Reality Dream’s attention has shifted more to Instagram.
“Instagram is great for businesses at the moment and I strongly encourage others to utilise it now, as with some of the other major platforms, it will no doubt all be about paid advertising in order to be seen and heard. It’s actually already starting to head that way. The main reason we use social media is because it is the best way to deliver our message,” said Steven.
Reality Dreams are trying to promote the message of positivity, inspiration and a desirable lifestyle (similar messages to what I’m trying to supply on this website. Take a look at this article on defining happiness and success). Social media is enabling Reality Dreams to not only showcase their products and what they are up to behind the scenes, but also inspire their fan base on a daily basis.
Clothing and the Company
Inspiration can come from anywhere and any place. I have a friend who once got design inspiration from a packet of crisps whilst picking up lunch at Tesco. The same applies to Steven who stated that inspiration for new clothing designs could come whilst he is out and about after seeing something. He described it as “a light bulb moment”. Once Steven has the idea created, he stressed that it can be difficult to get manufacturers to replicate that exact vision you have for the product.
“It has to be exact with me too, I always know how I want it to be and we will re-sample numerous times until it’s right.”
When I see Reality Dreams clothing I can differentiate them from another clothing brand. Being different is extremely important in todays saturated market if you want to be seen in a large crowd according to Steven (their Hydrophobic clothing is a perfect example of this, check out this video showcasing their unique factor).
“It is probably the most challenging aspect of the fashion business and particularly with men’s clothing as your choices are relatively limited. You can either take a huge risk and create something so wild and unheard of that it gets you noticed and the early adopters like it because it’s different, and then the popularity grows from there. It’s a big risk though because if it doesn’t work then you could be stuck with a lot of stock you can’t shift.
“Or you keep on trend as much as possible but ensure you add your own twist and personality. The risk here is that you may get merged within the crowd.”
Reality Dreams are very innovative with their company and are always thinking outside of the box. “What we do is combine modest, unstated designs with popular styles and have the brand do the rest. Our styles are creative, well cut, quality garments that are on trend and have our own unique style, but that said we also introduced hydrophobic clothing.”
Memorable Quote
“Those that follow me and RD on Instagram will be aware of the quotes I constantly put up. But here is one, which can inspire other budding entrepreneurs. I am always helping and encouraging others to live out and fulfil their dreams and I think this is quite powerful:
'When someone tells you it can't be done, it's a reflection of their limitations, not yours.'
How to start a clothing company
Being different is the biggest piece of advice Steven gave to us.
“The days have gone where you can just come up with a cool design and print it on a t-shirt and hope the world loves it and buys it, as every man and his dog is doing that. You can’t go in blind, you need to do your research, you need to have a clear vision and in this industry you really need a bit of a financial backing to create the best garments.
“You must never think with a biased mind, always ask yourself why someone would buy your product over a big brand name that the buyer already knows, trusts and loves. If you do your market research effectively enough then you will have these answers and you can adapt your product to match your target audience.
“Remember that nowadays a great idea is pretty much useless without extremely good execution. Always remain positive and look forward to the day when you are walking down the street and you see someone else wearing something you created, trust me there is no greater feeling of accomplishment than that.”
According to Steven, the success of their business is down to “continued determination and refusal to compromise on quality.”
Despite their success there has been a lot of challenges along the way. This is the case with any business or venture you will look to launch or create. Whenever I’m interviewing a business, asking them about their biggest challenge and how they overcame them is a question I love asking, it always provides some great value and insight.
Steven told me that he had been involved with many other businesses, yet Reality Dreams has been the most challenging. It has also been the most rewarding though, but with those rewards come tough challenges.
“We have been taught some very tough lessons. It is not enough to have great designs and clothing that people want to buy. Growing the audience, creating a look, managing some difficult financial decisions and approaching the market in a completely new way to traditional agent selling and retail has its risks but also its rewards. Staying focused, true to the end goal and resilient to set backs is how we have managed to win through.”
Looking forward
Steven has a lot of plans for the future of Reality Dreams. They have just introduced a range of denim and also have jackets and coats in the pipeline for the near future too. Launching a women’s clothing line is something that is also strongly requested from their fan base and Steven admits it’s very hard to ignore given that it is a huge market, but also stated that Reality Dreams isn’t currently in the best position to fulfil it in the way they would like too, but it is a “strong possibility next year”.
“We have so much that we want to do and as we grow we will do it all, no question.”
This is a very valuable interview with a lot of insight and advice into the clothing industry. If you could share this article on social media or with any one who would like to start their own clothing company then it would be greatly appreciated.
If you want to know how to start a clothing company, or a business, then I would recommend that you download Issue 1 of 99 Percent Lifestyle for FREE. I interviewed Tens sunglasses who launched a successful Indiegogo campaign and Good For Nothing clothing who are quickly becoming a big UK fashion company. Both those interviews have great insight into launching a clothing company as well.
I also interviewed Daniel Wellington as well which you can check out here. If you still want more information on how to start a clothing company, or a business in general, then Issue 2 (which is only £3.99) has an interview with American clothing company Topo Designs too.
I would like to leave you with a quote that Steven Stokes (founder of Reality Dreams) hoped would leave any bidding entrepreneur with inspiration:
'The bad news is that time flies, the good news is that you are the pilot'
Apart from big name, high-street brands, what’s your favorite clothing company?
Let me know in the comments section below. Thanks for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed it.
You can follow everything Reality Dreams is up to on the following social media handles: