Crowdfunding emerging fashion designers

ICON is a customer-funded designer clothing marketplace that operates as a Kickstarter for new fashion brands.

Launching a clothing brand is an expensive enterprise, meaning that often talented designers are excluded from the industry because of a lack of startup capital. Now, ICON is a customer-funded designer clothing marketplace that operates as a Kickstarter for new fashion brands.

To begin, designers partner with ICON to launch their latest collection with a three week campaign. During this period, customers double as investors, placing orders for items. The designer chooses three potential prices, and as the number of orders increases, the cost of the items drop, reflecting the maker’s lowered costs. Users can watch the pricing adjust in real-time and all customers benefit from reductions. The garments are then produced in New York and shipped within two months of the campaign.

The site will launch on February 1 with the debut collection from award-winning designer Justin Chu. It will then host various up and coming high-end womenswear designers. Could the platform be adapted for other areas of the design industry?