Many West African fashion designers are interested in the luxury fashion market. Some have tried and succeeded brilliantly, while others have failed. In fact, the creation of a "high-end" brand is a real challenge. It's not just about deciding to go into luxury fashion to see success hit the door.

A very demanding sector

To date, Europe remains the continent with the most consumers of luxury goods. After this continent, we find in second and third place North America and China. But what about the African continent? In fact, there is a market for luxury fashion in Africa. Choosing to develop a "high-end" brand is not a bad idea in itself. But to succeed, we must succeed in attracting customers by the scarcity of products, their style, and their excellence. You must also be creative to generate excitement and admiration around your luxury brand. When you spend a lot of money to afford a product or service, you expect to be 100% satisfied. This justifies the fact that luxury consumers are so demanding.

By taking all these elements into account, it is easier to understand why the prices charged by luxury goods traders are also exorbitant. It is about satisfying the consumers as much as possible, going even beyond satisfaction if possible. And it is certainly not these prices that will scare the consumers of "high end". All they want is products of excellent quality to show their affiliation to a social class that has a lot of money. If you make the promise to give them a luxury fashion, then get ready to keep your promises. In return, you will have the money to develop each of the luxury aspects. But before that, it will certainly be necessary to invest, both physically and financially. By respecting the rules of the world of luxury, it is obvious that a young creative fashion designer can shine in this closed circle. There are more examples in Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Senegal, etc.

Set up a relevant strategy

Launching a start-up in luxury is possible as we said earlier. But when you offer a luxury brand without the communication and marketing that it takes for example, your brand will struggle to survive. And this, for the simple reason that the people you are targeting wish to use your fame to restore theirs. In addition, you have to be able to play on the quality, the luxurious character of the brand as well as the know-how to seduce certain customers. Basically, if you choose to get into high-end fashion, you need to put in place a real strategy.

Against the behemoths of the luxury sector, you need to develop communication, marketing and unstoppable marketing strategies to make yourself known. Cash flow to meet the various costs related to your objectives will also be essential. As a novice, you will find it even harder to get a foothold in the market unless you have a huge budget to finance your brand. It will therefore be necessary to arm yourself with patience. It would be best to start early to grow slowly and enjoy every little win.

No money ? Forget the luxury

If you decide to create a luxury brand, know that there are steps you will not be able to escape, such as doing a targeted market study, performing production tests, getting the job done repeatedly, or recording the mark as an intellectual property. To make a place, sometimes you need a lot of money. It's a fact. The first thing is to install a shop with luxury items. And this can not be done in any neighborhood. Luxury fashion is aimed at people of a certain social class who only frequent certain places. It is therefore necessary to find a local in a chic neighborhood, which requires substantial sums. This is not to discourage those who wish to follow this voice. Undertaking in the luxury sector isn't an impossible mission for a young fashion entrepreneur. However, this creates expenses that not everyone can handle. You can get around this difficulty by starting early, or by working with luxury brands at first. Your contacts will then help you to have more impact once you create your own brand.

Solutions to help creators?

To help fashion designers who want to start in luxury, the African Development Bank through its Department of Women, Gender and Civil Society, launched the project Fashionomics Africa. This is the first project of its kind, and it comes at a time when the fashion industry in Africa is becoming more dynamic. Entrepreneurs benefit from an online platform on which they can sell their creations. They do not have to deal with the communication aspect, which is a burden less.

Visibility and credibility are very important in luxury, and the fact of being able to be put forward by a project of an institution like the African Development Bank is necessarily beneficial. In addition, the platform includes a section gathering sources of funding. Designers with well-crafted projects can approach a financial institution to try to obtain financing.

Although luxury seemed for a long time inaccessible by the complexity and costs of the market, digital made it more accessible. Going into luxury fashion is not an impassable step, because nothing is impossible for anyone who wants to succeed. But we must arm ourselves with perseverance. So, are you ready to undertake in luxury?