IT’S NO SECRET THAT THE HIS & HERS TEAM IS A TAD FASHION OBSESSED (WE LIKE TO THINK IT’S A HEALTHY OBSESSION!) SO WHEN WE HEARD ABOUT A NEW ONLINE PLATFORM THAT’S REVOLUTIONISING THE INDUSTRY, WE WERE KEEN TO FIND OUT MORE.

We know that some of our readers manufacture and sell their own womenswear pieces and we endeavour to spread the word about independent designers on this site and in print as often as possible.

However, we also know that dealing with factories and finding the funding to cover minimum orders can be a real challenge when you’re starting out. This is where the clothing manufacturers who are shaking up the industry in 2018: Sewport come in.

Weirdly, fashion is one of the only industries that has seemingly been technologically left behind, when it comes to sourcing suppliers and new business, leaving many fashion start-ups struggling to negotiate with the same big factories that the larger brands use. As His & Hers has heard from several independent designers, this can lead to pressure to place much larger orders than they’d wanted to, resulting in an enormous pressure to shift stock just to recoup their initial investment.

However, just as we’ve benefited from exciting digital innovations in publishing, the world of fashion is also beginning to chance with the arrival of Sewport, an innovative new platform that launched in 2017.

Sewport brings together design start-ups and established designers, with suppliers and professionals from every level of the production cycle. The London-based site unites suppliers from all over the EU, allowing designers to end their battle of sourcing within the far east and come to a one-stop shop, for all their manufacturing needs.

            Image by His & Hers Magazine

Designers and brands in the making, with just a sketch or an idea, can find professional services on Sewport for every step of the process to final production, in one secure place. Eradicating the time, effort and stress of attempting to source individual suppliers for each point of garment production, Sewport allows users to create one clear project and reach relevant, professional suppliers for each stage of development.

With no experience in the industry or relevant connections, aspects essential prior to Sewport, designers can instantly meet and talk to manufacturers all over Europe. The platform provides them with a pool of relevant and vetted options, enabling brands to create their own team, under one metaphorical roof. Receiving only applicable proposals from manufacturers puts an end to endless wasted hours, contacting inappropriate or non-responding businesses.

Working with manufacturers through Sewport provides designers with a secure payment system, when working with brand new businesses. Designers will never have to hand over payment details and invoices can be stored and downloaded directly from users’ individual members dashboard.

Sewport also gives suppliers and manufacturers the opportunity to gain high levels of exposure for targeted, meaningful business. All companies have equal exposure, giving designers access to smaller, lesser known workforces, where relevant. In a world of immediacy, Sewport allows manufacturers to quickly access and accept or decline projects, without wasting time. This instantly removes the usual difficulty of lengthy telephone conversations or back-and-forth emails.

With a manufacturing profile on Sewport, enquires are filtered and targeted towards specific capabilities via intelligent algorithms, designed to save time and create the very best professional matches.

A key feature, built by the Sewport team, is the live chat functionality, integrated into the online platform. Not only does this enable rapid communication between brand and supplier but also provides a banked and searchable history of all interactions. The chat function has an easy search option, to instantly find a previous conversation and allows the secure sending of attachments.

As the platform also permits for multiple collaboration between a designer and several manufacturers, the chat room function allows communication to remain central and visible to all parties.

Sewport has no subscription or registration fees, so with its intelligent systems, providing a unique service to match designers and suppliers, the platform really is set to disrupt the fashion industry in a big way. Sewport removes all the complexity of starting a new garment manufacturing business and sets a new standard for instant, excellently relevant and detailed service.

If you’ve already used Sewport to manufacture one of your designs, please email: emma@eg-publishing, share your work with us on social media or leave a comment below. We’d love to help you to spread the word about your fashion brand!

Website: www.sewport.com

For similar features, please pay a visit to our fashion page.