Why Knowing Your Customer — and Values — is the Key to Fashion Brand Success
CFC Member Spotlight: Martina Carello of Colour Alchemist Canada
Author and interviewer: Stella Hertantyo
Martina Carello is the founder of holistic design studio, Colour Alchemist Canada. With over three decades in the Canadian fashion industry, she has dedicated her life to helping brands transform their ideas into remarkable, market-ready garments. Colour Alchemist Canada specializes in guiding fashion startups and established brands through the complex journey of product development from concept creation, in-house pattern making, grading, samples, and technical liaison with factories.
Martina doesn’t just believe in making clothes, but in building confidence and capability. She allows her clients to focus on their vision while she handles the technical details, ensuring a smooth path from concept to finished product.
I interviewed Martina in the Conscious Fashion Collective Membership as part of our Member Spotlight interview series.
Below are some of the highlights from the conversation, including:
What everyone should know about product development processes,
Why defining your target audience is the key to a successful brand,
And how it’s possible to niche down and still build a financially sustainable business.
What was the moment you knew you needed to start your design studio, Colour Alchemist Canada?
After working in the corporate fashion industry for quite a long time, I decided it was time for a break. This coincided with my move from Montreal to Calgary. I intended to start an art studio — called Colour Alchemist — as a way to take a step away from fashion for a bit.
But when I moved from Montreal to Calgary, I discovered an extraordinary amount of people who wanted to start clothing businesses — and not many people who could advise them on how to do it. I was getting so many calls and people reaching out to me to ask for my expertise in brand development.
That’s how what was meant to be a break from fashion became a redirection. One of the reasons I wanted to leave corporate fashion was because I no longer wanted to work in an unethical industry. So when I started Colour Alchemist, the one promise I made to myself was: If I can’t run this business ethically, I’ll close my doors. I’ve been able to live up to that promise ever since.
I love this work, because it allows me to meet people and help people bring their visions to life.
What is the most underestimated part of the product development process?
People underestimate how many steps there are, how much time each step takes, and how much money it requires to develop a successful product.
There are so many steps between the idea and the finished product. Most people who start brands, unless they have been working in fashion before starting their own business, also begin with a customer perspective. They come in with an idea and can visualize a finished product. But it’s not that simple.
What is the biggest stumbling block that stops brands from being market-ready?
There are a few elements. The first is that you can’t create a beautiful product if it doesn’t speak directly to your target client. This isn’t just about choosing visuals and colors. Speaking to your target client is about perfecting the fit, the body standards associated with your product, and the way it feels on the skin — it’s in the details.
Another stumbling block is the misunderstanding that not all fabrics work with all different types of styles. If you don’t go into production with the right assets and equipment for your product, you’ll have issues down the line when it comes to fit and fabric.
The final stumbling block is the need to understand that clever marketing is what will get your product out there and ultimately get it sold — don’t underestimate this.
How can brands identify their target audience?
The first question to ask yourself when defining your target audience is: Why do I want to create this business? Being very specific about your purpose is essential, because trying to be something to everybody is not going to make you profitable.
Defining your target market is about looking at what's missing in the market, who is being affected by this gap, and reaching out to those people to understand what’s going on in their minds.
A lot of people are afraid to talk about their ideas to other people but I think one of the best ways to do market research is by finding ways to be around the people you want to offer your products to and paying close attention to their needs.
Being specific about who you’re trying to reach will never limit you to one specific type of person. I often see brands who launch with a specific target market in mind and they always reach other target markets along the way too.
How do you incorporate ethical and transparent practices into your work?
Ethics and transparency are all about building good relationships.
Transparency starts as soon as I meet with potential clients. I’m straightforward about what is and isn’t going to work, and what services I can offer, because to work well together and create an impactful product we need to be in alignment.
For me, ethics is about putting people first. If we’re developing a product and the production doesn’t benefit the workers and the people involved in the process, then it’s not something I want to be involved in. In my business, ethics means treating my employees well, making sure they're paid well, making sure they're happy, and also making sure that they're doing the things that they're best at.
Why do you believe that it’s essential for smaller brands to niche down?
A lot of people look at the bigger brands and see the variety of colors, fabrics, and designs that they have. But what they don’t understand is that these larger brands have been in business for a long time. They’ve built up this repertoire over time. Unless you have a lot of money to put into a business, starting with a massive repertoire does not make business sense.
Establishing your brand by creating one solid garment that you’re well known for and that people seek out is so important. This will give you the leverage to grow and add other garments to your range. It doesn’t mean that you’ll never have a wide range of garments, but as a starting position, focusing on a key direction is the best way to get your foot in the door.
Is niching down possible while still being widely desirable enough to be profitable?
Absolutely. Creating a sustainable business is not just about what materials you work with and your ethics — it’s also about whether you can make a profit and sustain the business. Niching down helps you stay laser-focused on creating a high-quality product and who is benefiting from your product.
The first product you create and ace will be the hardest, because you have a lot to learn about what your target audience wants and needs. Once you have figured out a successful first product, you have a strong foundation to work from and a formula that works for you.
Even the larger brands started as small brands once. They started by knocking on doors. It takes hard work — you need to believe in what you are doing and trust and keep listening to those who you are serving.
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