Custom Clothes: How Print on Demand Reshapes the Fashion Industry

Clothing has always been a way to express your individuality through the prism of textures, threads, buttons, colors, and styles. And if many target audience representatives couldn’t perceive earlier the creation of an unusual thing, now it’s appreciated. 

The introduction of quarantine in almost every country has changed demand trends and the eCommerce market. As we predicted, ecology and sustainability have become mainstream. Of course, everything related to home coziness, comfort, and social media (particularly TikTok) has helped the industry’s development. You won’t surprise anyone with a beautiful but standard T-shirt, except that compiling an entire look from the mass market makes it possible to stand out from the crowd. Products personalization and authenticity, brands individuality, following trends - that’s what every fashion publication shouts about. E.g., Amazon has already launched custom apparel. 

Hot experiments are welcome, and anything that looks extraordinary and extravagant attracts the eye - this is the trigger that makes people order custom-made clothing. And if mass production has been considered the primary business model for more than a century, now print on demand and the ability to design your own clothes virtually have every chance to change the entire fashion industry. Read further in this article about how POD will change the world soon and why young people choose it.

Table of contents

What are customized clothes?

Custom embroidery trends

Why are custom clothes so popular among young people?

Conclusion

What are customized clothes?

Custom items are created according to the clients’ ideas and they by themselves can choose any specification: e..g., design, color, picture, embroidery. They showcase a personal style and allow you to show your body in the most flattering way. In general, this business model is suitable even for beginners: it can be simplified and automated using print on demand services. 

Anyway, the first thing people notice from a distance is color: it can be mesmerizing and make the first impression. The client also can select textile - e.g., a sustainable brand adherent would prefer cotton or wool, an athlete - artificial or blended fibers. 

It's no secret that fashion repeats itself, but some tendencies are better left in the past (patchwork peasant skirts or everything on Madonna or Titanic photo). Nevertheless, some executions of old designs beat all popularity records and remain in trend, namely embroidered clothing. It seems like there is personalized embroidery from high quality to casual wear, if not on every corner, then definitely on every block. Just remember: caps with embroidered logos, hoodies with slogans, denim jackets with pictures on the back, branded T-shirts - there is an infinite number of things where technology is applied, but even the smallest volumetric detail adds that little additional twist to an otherwise simple outfit. Let's consider examples of the most popular embroidered items for print on demand and talk about starting the production process. 

Custom embroidery on demand trends

Embroidered T-shirts

Although T-shirts are those universal and timeless things that everyone has in their wardrobe, they can be styled to suit every taste and sold to different target audience segments. High-quality embroidered shirts set the tone for a look - whether it's a small Batman badge on the chest or a company logo - a small detail can impress and even increase brand awareness for print on demand business (remember, branded polos are often used at gas stations). 

Embroidered Jackets, Hoodies & Sweatshirts

Probably quarantine was impossible to imagine without these things. To dispel the negative emotions caused by stress, many people began to decorate them with “delicious” designs. Even though the camera, such simple but unique things, with their brilliance, distinguished the speaker's individuality. The same goes for denim jackets - such fabric doesn’t fit well with printing, but it’s great for embroidery for fashion industry.  

Embroidered Hats 

Hats came to the print on demand industry and blew up the market: they can be found at fashion shows and often as an accessory to street-style bows. E.g., the fashion house of Karl Lagerfeld presented a novelty with a volumetric branded print. After embodying custom embroidery trends on a hat, put it up for sale faster - the younger generations go crazy for catchy things. 

To create all these unique things, it’s worth following the sequence of actions: first, you’d choose an image. You’re a fashion designer, so sketch your vision of the same hat or shirt using design clothes online free software or Photoshop! 

Note! Personalized embroidery is good because it allows you to choose any background (for example, tie-dye, ornament with oriental motives, small patterns) and complement it with volumetric elements.

Next, you’d choose the print location: there is plenty of space in the whole thing. E.g., on T-shirts, it’s customary to place a picture on the central front, back, or the left on the chest.

Thus, rely on your imagination and, of course, the general principles of creating a composition.

Note! Embroidery machines don’t always accurately convey even the smallest details and gradients. But that certainly won't stop your customer from having a lot of fun with the item they buy (for example, denim jackets support the old-school style exceptionally well!)

If you’ve previously dealt exclusively with printing (e.g., screen-printed or sublimated one), the transition to embroidery may seem terra incognita. But frameworks like PodZa will help you manage all the processes with embroidered clothing in your Shopify or other online store, qualitatively improving the work with consumers and suppliers.

Why are custom clothes on demand so popular among young people?

As shoppers spend their money on these unique experiences, bespoke clothing will meet their needs for many years. Technology develops and allows you to create personalized items to your liking. And if objects of mass production impose their fashion, then people can make it by themselves: e.g., street style is so famous for its elegance and at the same time can talk about ideas, protest against the system. The introduction of rough pants accentuates the fragility of the shoulders in a simple top, the pattern on which can say a lot about a person's views. Of course, if it were without any designs, then maybe we couldn't learn so much about the person.

The generation likes this approach because they become creators of their style. Using the design clothes app, they can create masterpieces effortlessly. With a few clicks, the customers can make an entire wardrobe based on personality and style. 

The ability to buy natural or processed items from sustainable brands at discounted prices is also pleasing to today's generation Z and millennials. After all, they’re the ones who set the tone for market trends. Concern about ecology, social problems, and the fashion brands' incorrectness in relation to their staff has broken the hearts of a million people, i.e., potential buyers. And if a company doesn’t follow the desires of its audience, then it risks losing its trust forever.

Digital Marketing Trends that Will Bring Your Print on Demand Business to a New Level in 2022

Conclusion

We started this article by talking about the trends of the current year, and namely, personalization, authenticity, and individuality. So the views of a brand that resonate with its client can start a long ongoing friendship and take off in conversions. Creatives are Gen Z and millennials influencers so that brands will have a genuine connection to street culture. Aesthetics that emphasize ideology are precisely what many consumers want. After all, fashion goes forward, but it still comes back from time to time to update!