What Is A Fashion Lookbook?

If you’ve been considering launching your own fashion brand, or want to sell your designs to retailers and fashion buyers, then a fashion lookbook is vital. Nothing can affect your reputation and image more than the first impression you make, and your lookbook can often be the first contact you have with your potential customers and clients.

But what is a fashion lookbook? In the simplest of terms, a lookbook is a high-quality fashion catalogue that shows off the different items from your brand’s collection. It is meant to show how your products can be put together to create complete ‘looks’ and ‘stories’ using high-quality photography.

Unlike a full-on fashion catalogue, a lookbook typically doesn’t contain prices, specifications, or other details. These things are left to a separate document, leaving the lookbook as a striking visual display of your products that’s intended to inspire consumers or attract interest from fashion buyers.

A printed lookbook might seem a bit old hat in the digital age, and some designers will use online digital lookbooks, usually on a dedicated section of their website. A digital copy of a lookbook is a great idea, but a printed version has many benefits:

• Getting you noticed. A printed brochure shows that you take your work seriously and that you’ve invested time and money into a professional display of your products.
• Making your brand look bigger. If you’re just starting or you’re a small company, it can give buyers the impression that you’re a bigger operation with a bigger budget, already reasonably successful and therefore more likely to be reliable.
• Lasting long enough to get read. Emails and links sent to fashion buyers and consumers rarely get a second chance if they arrive at the wrong time. A printed fashion brochure, on the other hand, can sit on someone’s desk until they’ve got a spare few minutes to give it a proper look.
• Being immediately on-hand and ready. You never know when you might meet a potential buyer or customer, and a printed lookbook can work just like a business card: it’s enough to whet their appetite before you invite them to see your collection properly.

We have five tips to help you get started with designing and creating your fashion lookbook.

• Focus on the visuals. Keep the layout clean, keep text and other distractions out of the way, and always keep the centre of your product stage.
• Create your lookbook with your target market in mind. Use natural poses in believable settings, and choose models that represent your audience.
• Plan the structure with care. Only include the information your readers need and keep your strongest images for the beginning and the end.
• Design a lookbook that looks fantastic in print. Use high-resolution images, leave enough room for bleed and trim, and make sure you use the colours that will look best on paper.
• Don’t settle for DIY. Get the professional help your brand deserves – photographers, models, stylists and designers. And of course, don’t forget to choose a professional printer to bring it all together!

If you need fashion lookbook printing in the UK, get in touch today!