Hi,
I'm thinking about setting up a rainwear online shop in the UK and I'd like to do some "market research".
I want to set up with heavy duty stuff like guy cotten, ocean and elka, but with a twist that it can be fashionable as well as functional (like rainwear girl). The idea is that we have photos of the gear in it's intended use (fishing, agriculture etc.) with the addition of photos and videos of how it can be made more fashionable for men and women.
It's been done with Hunter wellies - and I'd love to see rainwear being worn at UK festivals like it is in Iceland etc. after all, we probably get more rain!
If you have any ideas, and if you think it will work (or not) then let me know.
In the mean time, hdrainwear.pixul8r.com has been growing really well recently - please take a look and watch out for updates on my shop.
Cheers
Waders
Fashionable rainwear
Fashionable rainwear
Heavy Duty Rainwear, Wellies and Waders for everything rainwear...
Re: Fashionable rainwear
I love the idea, but I seriously doubt HD (heavy duty) rainwear of the kind we like will ever become fashionable in the way you envisage and hope for.
Apart from the look, other drawbacks are bulkiness, weight (it is very heavy to carry), and perspiration under all that PVC unless it's really cold.
However, there are plenty of fetishists who would buy such rainwear if it was readily and easily available at reasonable prices.
Apart from the look, other drawbacks are bulkiness, weight (it is very heavy to carry), and perspiration under all that PVC unless it's really cold.
However, there are plenty of fetishists who would buy such rainwear if it was readily and easily available at reasonable prices.
-
Fender
Re: Fashionable rainwear
Good idea but i think it will be difficult sale this kind of rainwear as fashion.
Re: Fashionable rainwear
Maybe if you were to do like Hunter did & make the same style raingear available in "pop" colors like red & light blue & pink...and maybe also make it in the cut & style of industrial raingear, but lighter & more flexible material like polyurethane bonded to soft jersey cotton?
Re: Fashionable rainwear
I agree that it could be possible with a little imagination and slightly lighter material in bright colours............................. it would certainly be innovative !!. Good luck Waders with this venture
Re: Fashionable rainwear
have to think it would be unlikely to catch on but then its not something that ever has really appealed to me. Totally impractical for every day use on a general scale. as has been said too heavy and cumbersome. To me rainwear for wearing out is lightweight, practical, the sort of thing that can be handy while waiting for the bus but then stuffed in the bag when around the shops. The HD stuff has its uses but they are somewhat specialist and to my mind are likely to stay that way. Good luck though
Re: Fashionable rainwear
Hi, I could tell you one story from Scandinavian hemisphere.
In the 90's a Norwegian guy started to make juvenile type of raingear for adults under the brand name of Playtimegarments and Plarex. One question was, where he could get the proper material. He managed to persuade HH to sell him. He bought a welding machine and designed and made the garments. The price was high. Gradually this 'hobby' came to an end mainly because HH did not wanted to contunue to sell the fabric (this is what I have understood).
In Finland a few rainwear lovers have persuaded April Rain to make tailormade bib pants for them with unique individual dimensions. AR did that reluctantly because it took quite a lot of their time and they felt that they could not charge for the products enough to make it a business.
Then a Swedish guy started to persuade Abeko to do the same type of bib pants. He started a Yahoo group under the name of RainyDays and got a lot of support. Everything was ready to go, when Abeko's management decided not to go into that plan. The reason was possible reaction from that oversensitive Swedish market, because Abeko makes a lot of rainwear for children.
Then this guy and myself approached April Rain again and I suggested them to make it a product line, not just tailormade items. Some basic design work was done and the Funrain line was ready to be launched. That happened 7 years ago in 2004. They have purchased their fabric from Kiiltoplast and the minimum quantity is 1000 meters. That is one restricting factor to get new colours to the product palette. The new owner of the company (daughter of the founder) has done some crucial mistakes and omissions in marketing (skipped the already established brand name of April Rain and changed it to Mayrain plus a few other things...). They are however still doing the business.
About a year ago a Swedish guy established contacts with Grundens and somehow managed to persuade them to manufacture bibpants in almost similar design as AR in Grundens factory in Portugal (Pluvia). The products are not sold by Grundens but you can purchase them only through contacts with this person on regnfrakker.dk (which is down at the moment). The only 'advertizing' are the pics on that forum.
As you can see you have to be persuasive enough to get all the pieces to click together. It will never be a big business but a good compliment if one can combine it with one's own passion. But it is very time consuming to take care of retail sales to individuals. And the shipping charges are surprisingly high for heavy items.
Good luck, without that you'll bever succeed.
In the 90's a Norwegian guy started to make juvenile type of raingear for adults under the brand name of Playtimegarments and Plarex. One question was, where he could get the proper material. He managed to persuade HH to sell him. He bought a welding machine and designed and made the garments. The price was high. Gradually this 'hobby' came to an end mainly because HH did not wanted to contunue to sell the fabric (this is what I have understood).
In Finland a few rainwear lovers have persuaded April Rain to make tailormade bib pants for them with unique individual dimensions. AR did that reluctantly because it took quite a lot of their time and they felt that they could not charge for the products enough to make it a business.
Then a Swedish guy started to persuade Abeko to do the same type of bib pants. He started a Yahoo group under the name of RainyDays and got a lot of support. Everything was ready to go, when Abeko's management decided not to go into that plan. The reason was possible reaction from that oversensitive Swedish market, because Abeko makes a lot of rainwear for children.
Then this guy and myself approached April Rain again and I suggested them to make it a product line, not just tailormade items. Some basic design work was done and the Funrain line was ready to be launched. That happened 7 years ago in 2004. They have purchased their fabric from Kiiltoplast and the minimum quantity is 1000 meters. That is one restricting factor to get new colours to the product palette. The new owner of the company (daughter of the founder) has done some crucial mistakes and omissions in marketing (skipped the already established brand name of April Rain and changed it to Mayrain plus a few other things...). They are however still doing the business.
About a year ago a Swedish guy established contacts with Grundens and somehow managed to persuade them to manufacture bibpants in almost similar design as AR in Grundens factory in Portugal (Pluvia). The products are not sold by Grundens but you can purchase them only through contacts with this person on regnfrakker.dk (which is down at the moment). The only 'advertizing' are the pics on that forum.
As you can see you have to be persuasive enough to get all the pieces to click together. It will never be a big business but a good compliment if one can combine it with one's own passion. But it is very time consuming to take care of retail sales to individuals. And the shipping charges are surprisingly high for heavy items.
Good luck, without that you'll bever succeed.
Re: Fashionable rainwear
Juppe, that was quite interesting background information.
I voted "yes, with some imagination" but it is probably as likely as female priests in catholic church. Average people think big, i.e. big numbers, i.e. if many others wear something, it must be cool and they want it too. If you want success, you need a powerful multiplier, such as a big fashion house, pop stars or the like. Everything else is niche business and probably not worth the effort.
By the way, recently, I have seen a guy in a simple heavy rain jacket, waist length and not as bulky as the average jackets. Perhaps the first heavy duty rain jacket, I have ever seen, that preserved the shape of the wearer.
I voted "yes, with some imagination" but it is probably as likely as female priests in catholic church. Average people think big, i.e. big numbers, i.e. if many others wear something, it must be cool and they want it too. If you want success, you need a powerful multiplier, such as a big fashion house, pop stars or the like. Everything else is niche business and probably not worth the effort.
By the way, recently, I have seen a guy in a simple heavy rain jacket, waist length and not as bulky as the average jackets. Perhaps the first heavy duty rain jacket, I have ever seen, that preserved the shape of the wearer.
Re: Fashionable rainwear
I would like to add, that either you do if you have a good 'feel' what the market would like to have, or you do proper research trying to find out the niches, the customer and product segments where you would like to position your products. So simple is that... 
If I take the example again from the bib pants segment. Some people like them as nonconspicuous (colour & model) to be worn in public. Some people buy them to be used inside or just privately (multicolored, bright colours, worn on top of the jacket). Some people want them to be very heavy duty, up to 600 grams per m2, again that's too much for most, a comfortable range is around 200 to 300 g/m2. Then you have to decide whether the surface is shiny or matt. Both have supporters. Then the model itself. Should it be comfortably cut with room for underwear in cold climate, or hips hugging next to skin?
No wonder there is no one to be able to cater for all tastes.
I can give you a new product idea. All of you have certainly seen the big add sheets hanging on the walls of major buildings. How do you print those images? And what is the material for those sheets? You print them with large inkjet printers and the material is PVC. Could you make printed PVC for rainwear? Yes, and I have heard that something in this direction is already available in France. I haven't been able to trace that, so if anyone knows something about this, pls tell me. How does individually printed raincoats sound like? The picture of your GF smiling on your back...
If I take the example again from the bib pants segment. Some people like them as nonconspicuous (colour & model) to be worn in public. Some people buy them to be used inside or just privately (multicolored, bright colours, worn on top of the jacket). Some people want them to be very heavy duty, up to 600 grams per m2, again that's too much for most, a comfortable range is around 200 to 300 g/m2. Then you have to decide whether the surface is shiny or matt. Both have supporters. Then the model itself. Should it be comfortably cut with room for underwear in cold climate, or hips hugging next to skin?
No wonder there is no one to be able to cater for all tastes.
I can give you a new product idea. All of you have certainly seen the big add sheets hanging on the walls of major buildings. How do you print those images? And what is the material for those sheets? You print them with large inkjet printers and the material is PVC. Could you make printed PVC for rainwear? Yes, and I have heard that something in this direction is already available in France. I haven't been able to trace that, so if anyone knows something about this, pls tell me. How does individually printed raincoats sound like? The picture of your GF smiling on your back...
Re: Fashionable rainwear
I don't have the slightest idea about fashion,but I think the Hunter example is interesting.
A few years ago you would never see trendy women wearing wellingtons in the street-now you see them all the time.
Every second teenager where I live seems to own a Superdri nylon jacket.
How does this happen?
Barbour jackets are another example-trendy,expensive,yet not beautiful in the accepted sense.
A few years ago you would never see trendy women wearing wellingtons in the street-now you see them all the time.
Every second teenager where I live seems to own a Superdri nylon jacket.
How does this happen?
Barbour jackets are another example-trendy,expensive,yet not beautiful in the accepted sense.