Why You Need a Professional Fashion LookBook

Fashion lookbooks are an important aspect of both design and communication for fashion especially if you are ever going to approach a store or retailer to stock some of your items. They are great for presenting your collection to the press or media, buyers, agents and distributors. You can also create a version that may double as a catalogue for customers who want to see everything your brand has to offer at once. There are many reasons why you would want to invest in a lookbook. Whether it is going to be an online version or in print, a lookbook (can be anywhere from 5 pages or more) will help you grab the attention of your target audience and paying customers. Instead of copying what other people might be doing with their brand photos, try to be distinctive and create a unique aesthetic that carries forward throughout your own brand.

A lookbook might typically contain a brand story, photography and styling, product descriptions and information, size charts and pricing details. Good fashion lookbooks should always have a unique blend of both editorial style images and e-commerce product photos. Your editorial images should be HIGH QUALITY and of a very professional standard. Hire models who have a portfolio and have actually done some editorial work and style them up then do their hair and make-up for the type of looks you want to achieve. If you are just starting out and you doing have a big budget, consider hiring an intern or a photography student who can do the editorial style photos for you. There are also many students in fashion and hairstyling schools who are looking to build their portfolio and might be willing to work with you for free. Bring the entire lookbook together by getting a graphic designer to layout the images, text and other graphics for submission as a digital print file.

Things to include and keep in mind

• If the lookbook is a print file, you might want to include an order form for buyers as a separate sheet made in Word or Excel format.
• Each page should have a blurb that showcases the logo, collection name; season and website.
• Where possible, include a copyright notice to ensure that all your pictures and intellectual properties are properly protected from any kind of theft.
• Include your contact information at the end with logo, website and an email or phone number.
• Fashion lookbooks are usually filled with mainly only images and the text is minimal but where necessary, it might be beneficial to include a short blurb about your brand so allow buyers understand who you are, what your brand represents, and who your ideal customers are.
• Keep things simple when it comes to the set for the photo shoot (involving e-commerce images) and avoid using too many props so that the images from your online shop could be reused again in other formats or designs.
• Send your fashion lookbooks once it is complete to fashion editors and lifestyle journalists with a press release attached to help you garner some media placements.

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What do you think is the most important challenge/opportunity of creating fashion lookbooks that stand out from the crowd?