A couple of weeks ago we hosted a special edition of our Fashion Founder Friday Q&A sessions, focused entirely on marketing — one of the biggest challenges facing small fashion brands.

Alison was delighted to be joined by Mark Warman, founder of Barnfield, who brings over 15 years of digital marketing experience to the table. Before launching his own luxury British menswear brand, Mark ran a marketing agency in the Middle East for more than 15 years, working with global names including Porsche, Audi and Volkswagen. That background gives him a rare perspective on how the marketing principles behind major global brands can be applied to growing an independent fashion business.

We invited our community to submit questions in advance. As expected, there was considerable overlap in the challenges being faced. Here’s a summary of the key takeaways from our conversation with Mark.

Fashion Brand Marketing Strategies

• • Understand your audience before you worry about perfecting your branding. You need to know your target customer before you can build an effective marketing strategy.

• • People buy experiences, not just products. Storytelling now matters more than product features — it’s what builds authenticity and brand loyalty.

• • Consider becoming the face of your brand. If you’re the designer or creative director, putting yourself forward immediately differentiates you from others in your space and makes it easier to connect with your audience.

• • Start building your community before you launch. Document each step of your business journey — it’s engaging content, and it means you already have an audience by the time you launch.

• • Start your email database as early as possible. It’s your most valuable marketing asset. A campaign doesn’t always need to sell product — collecting mailing list sign-ups is a goal in its own right.

Regional Marketing Best Practices

• It’s important to  understand regional differences and tailoring your approach accordingly, rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all strategy. In the Middle East for example, customers are typically less trusting of online transactions, so face-to-face activity is crucial for building trust.
  
  
• “Made in England” or “Made in the UK” can add real brand value, particularly in overseas markets — but only make genuine claims, and always be honest and authentic in your marketing.
  
  
• If you don’t have a marketing background, invest in educating yourself through courses before hiring freelancers or agencies. Even if you do outsource down the line, understanding the fundamentals makes it far easier to manage that relationship effectively.

Marketing Budget & Goal Setting

• When developing your marketing strategy set clear, measurable goals and allocate sufficient budget to reach them. As a benchmark, they recommend allocating a minimum of 20% of your revenue target to marketing, particularly in the early stages of a business.
  
  
• Marketing is  a chain of interconnected elements that includes social media, email marketing and website optimisation. A well-planned strategy is essential to ensure each element works together to support growing your community and building trust with potential customers.

Digital Marketing & AI Tools

• On auction-based advertising platforms like Meta and Google Shopping, costs fluctuate depending on popularity of the key search words & competition.
  
  
• Storytelling and engagement still outweigh product design when it comes to converting sales.
  
  
• Sizing concerns remain a major barrier to online purchases, but there are numerous plug in virtual showrroms and sizing apps that can help customers make mor einformed decisions.
  
  
• AI tools  such as using Claude for data analysis, can be helpful, but be cautious against relying too heavily on AI-generated content — nothing replaces genuinely understanding your audience and documenting your business journey from day one.

Fashion Founder Friday sessions are free, online Q&A sessions we run as part of our ongoing business support for fashion founders, in partnership with the British Library’s Business & IP Centre. Hosted by Fashion Angel founder Alison Lewy MBE, these Zoom meet-ups are a chance to ask business-related questions, share information, and network with like-minded industry professionals.

Want to join our community of fashion entrepreneurs? Register here for the next session — places are limited and must be booked in advance.