In the fashion industry, crowdfunding gives control back to the “not average” consumer.
by Anna Meyer
photo illustration by Grace Molteni
Kickstarter allows for independent artists, up-and-coming retailers, and rookies of all trades to execute their fresh, innovative ideas in a way that’s supportive and rooted in security. But the popular crowdfunding platform does more than just create business investments and connect financial patrons; it puts the power back into the hands of consumers and allows entrepreneurs to follow through with ideas that benefit those who lost their say in the mainstream market. Especially when it comes to fashion, more and more campaigns on crowdfunding platforms are starting to cater to nontraditional consumers’ styles in ways that big retailers and mainstream brands cannot.
Nontraditional consumers can include anyone with a unique or uncommon body measurement, or someone with a body modification who needs specifically tailored clothes. Take Kim Castellano’s brand Fitesse for example; after noticing the difficulty in finding a correctly sized bra, she created a system that uses five different measurements to better fit any woman’s body.
“Having ill-fitting clothing is a drag and doesn’t look so great,” Castellano explains. “It is not acceptable to go into a lingerie shop and be told, ‘You measure a 32D, but we don’t have your size so you should get a 34C, which is really the same thing.’ It is not the same thing and results in a woman not getting proper support from the band and putting more pressure on her shoulders… I don’t think it is fair to ask women to settle.”
Major retailers have to make decisions based on what they believe the majority desires. There is a ‘one size fits most’ mentality in place, and buyers making the decisions dictate the choices available to consumers. Internet shopping is an exception, but even so, many women experience a pressure to assimilate to what the major brands are offering. As two plus-sized women experienced recently (and shared in a Buzzfeed post), buying clothes online is full of frustrating guesswork. It left one of the women, Kristin Chirico, questioning, “Is my torso too short? Is my waist too small? Tell me, what new self-esteem issue am I supposed to take away from this?” While shopping and choosing pieces for their wardrobes, most of the time women end up settling for clothes and accessories that are designed to fit a body different from their own. The search for the missing piece can become exhausting, and eventually that frustration pushes people to come up with an answer of their own.
Castellano has found success by turning to Kickstarter with her Fitesse campaign. “Pre-Internet, it was really difficult for stores to stock specialty sizes and items… The Internet allowed access to a global market, so it became easier for businesses with these items/sizes to find customers, but businesses still had to pre-fund their ideas and then also spend money spreading the word to their potential customers,” she explains. “Kickstarter has improved this by providing funding needed to manufacture the items, audience with potential customers, and most importantly, the assurance that people want these items and are willing to pay for them at a price the seller needs.”
This trend—offering clothes that cater to the ignored niches of fashion—serves as more than just another bra with a better-fitting strap. Instead, it becomes a peace offering between women and their bodies. Instead of jumping, butt-shimmying and squeezing into a pair of skinny jeans in a dressing room, women can go online and find their correct size. That dreaded dressing room public spectacle can be avoided, and women can instead choose to shop for themselves in the privacy of their own home. A campaign that is providing this kind of solution is Alyssa Vermell Apparel, a clothing brand that offers clothes for taller women. CEO Alyssa Vermell experienced a similar struggle to Castellano’s, and took action after experiencing difficulty in finding styles that worked with her height. “This had to change! I just couldn’t believe that this was my fashion fate! Tall women should have the same opportunity to love what they wear just as much as anyone else,” Vermell exclaims on her campaign page.
According to the Crowdfunding Centre Report, crowdfunding raises $2 million per day, which can be broken down to $1,400 a minute. In addition, as stated in an infographic published by Fundable, the industry grew 1000 percent from 2009 to 2014. People like having control over their purchases, which creates satisfaction — and a booming industry. Crowdfunding platforms are unique since most allow consumers to contact the producers via email, the comments section, and/or by placing an investment. Producers can receive direct communication as to what the consumers want, instead of making educated guesses on what the majority desires, and the consumer can receive exactly what they need. It’s a collaborative process that eliminates overproduction of styles that have been made time and time again for the idealized demographic that doesn’t need another choice.
Campaigns like Vermell’s and Castellano’s are crucial to the fashion industry, because they give the consumer a direct say in what clothes they want to purchase. Women of a certain “idealized” size are rewarded in the mainstream market with fashionable options and a variety of styles to choose from, whereas those who don’t fit the hegemonic image are forced into settling for something less than they deserve. Instead of being told what women should wear and what women should be manipulating their bodies to fit into, crowdfunding campaigns can encourage a movement of body acceptance; investment can give the buyer a democratic voice in the industry. Consumers are slamming their fists down and saying “no more” to the oppression of bodies that aren’t the societal average.
With the rise of crowdfunding, clothing is not only being customized for different body shapes, but also for bodies dealing with a variety of health conditions. Connor Cosgrove, a cancer survivor and creator of ComfPort clothing, produces shirts that accommodate for a device that’s implanted into the chest of patients undergoing chemotherapy. “For me personally, not being able to dress as I normally would have, was just another thing that was taken from me, and yet another way for me to have to look and feel like a cancer patient,” says Cosgrove. “I’ve talked to so many people over the years who have felt similar, and ultimately, [ComfPort] seemed like such a simple fix to such a broad problem.”
Normalcy contributes to the overall healing process of patients, and the significance of a shirt like this should not be underestimated. “Cancer takes away so much from us all,” says Cosgrove. “With everything in life seemingly being ripped from you, [ComfPort] didn’t want people to lose that piece of their identity. We wanted everyone to have something that they could still call their own. Any little thing that can make life seem even the slightest bit more normal can really make all of the difference.”
Creating a Kickstarter campaign was the perfect place to start building the ComfPort company, and the brand has received positive feedback so far. “I think that this era of crowdfunding has changed so many industries, especially the fashion industry. It really allows people to chase their dreams, and to affect people in a way that they never could have without their own following or major clothing company,” Cosgrove says. “It also allows people to focus on a community that has been underserved or unrepresented. I can’t wait to continue to watch the many positive effects that these initiatives can have on the industry, and on the people in general.”
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Anna Meyer is a journalism student at the University of Kansas. An arts enthusiast from Minneapolis, Minnesota, she currently works as a correspondent for KU’s chapter of “Her Campus.” You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Grace Molteni is a Midwest born and raised designer, illustrator, and self-proclaimed bibliophile, currently calling Chicago home. For more musings, work, or just to say hey check her out on Instagram or at her personal website.
