How to name your clothing or fashion brand
The ultimate step-by-step guide by branding experts and startup specialists! Learn proven methods on how to create unique fashion and clothing brand name ideas, and find a wealth of inspiration through the 20+ clothing and fashion name ideas listed below!
The fashion industry is worth 3,000 billion dollars (3 trillion dollars) or 2% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product. This makes it one of the largest industries in existence. (https://fashionunited.com/global-fashion-industry-statistics/)
The largest fashion brand in the world is Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, which is valued at around 122 billion dollars. The company operates a chain of independent stores for fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton, Fendi, and Dior. The largest US-based fashion brand is Nike. Nike is valued at around 105 billion dollars. (https://fashionunited.com/global-fashion-industry-statistics/)
The fashion industry’s e-commerce market is predicted to be worth over 1,000 billion by 2025. (https://capitalcounselor.com/fashion-industry-statistics/) This makes the clothing and fashion industry an incredible opportunity for savvy entrepreneurs. It’s no wonder we see new clothing brands coming to life every day.
With so many established brands, you have to create something special to compete in the fashion market. First impressions are extremely important since you often get only one chance to capture the attention of potential buyers.
One of the first things buyers see is your brand name. That’s why it’s extremely important you find a catchy name for your clothing and fashion brand. And getting one that’s available is harder every year. There are more than 150 million registered .com domains, and finding one that’s still available is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
This goes to show how important it is to spend enough time brainstorming ideas when creating your clothing brand.
Now, taking the time to develop a strategy for creating unique clothing name ideas is no easy feat. So, we developed our clothing and fashion name generator to make the whole process easier for you.
In this article, we’ll show you how to approach naming your clothing brand and how to use our generator to find the perfect name that will stand out in the fashion market.
20 Unique Name Ideas for a Clothing Brand
I’m going to help you generate the perfect name for your clothing brand. We’ll start with a few examples of catchy names that you can use for inspiration when starting your brainstorming process.
I suggest you use our clothing and fashion brand name generator to help you speed up the process. I’ll share actionable tips and tricks you can use to create the best name for your fashion business.
Are you ready to get started? These are twenty catchy name ideas that can be used for a clothing brand.
- Cool Couture
- Urban Stock
- Fitted Stitch
- Revella
- Monarch Attire
- Classic Threads
- Vigorics
- Loosely Fitted
- Teens In Trend
- Elegant Mode
- Evening Elegance
- Formal Allure
- Inner City Style
- La Forme
- Boho Belle
- Luxe Lingerie
- Admiralia
- Bright Boutique
- Always On
- Walk Gracefully
Best Fashion and Clothing Brand Names Right Now
To help you brainstorm potential fashion and clothing names, let’s take a look at three successful clothing brands and break down why and how they’ve chosen to name their brand and why it works for them. Hopefully, this inspires you and helps you create your own fashion and clothing brand name ideas.
Asos
“As Seen On Screen,” is a digital marketplace for millennials. Their name, as well as their selling strategy, is heavily targeted towards this age group. Even the use of an acronym is synonymous with the generation they are targeting: think YOLO, FOMO, LMAO, etc.
Vans
A name synonymous with skateboarding, the brand has been able to carve out a unique niche for its style of shoes. The name is simple, instantly recognizable, and easy to remember – an ideal combination. This name shows that simplicity often works in the fashion industry.
Forever 21
The proverbial youth. This name speaks to a plethora of customers who want to stay looking youthful and stylish. By engaging their vanity, Forever 21 has created an appealing name. This is an experiential name since it describes an experience for customers. As we see, there are different ways we can create memorable clothing brand names. Some are simple, and straightforward, while others rely on uniqueness to differentiate themselves. We’ll look at some actionable steps we can take to create modern and catchy fashion and clothing brand name ideas.
10 Things to Keep In Mind When Naming Your Clothing Brand
This section includes 10 actionable tips that will help you create the perfect names for a clothing brand. In this example, I’m creating a name for a clothing name that conveys innovative, effective, and simple values for its users. I also want to differentiate the brand from other brands in the fashion industry. Here’s how I created these clothing brand names.
#1) Analyze Your Existing Competitors
Before we start brainstorming name ideas, we need to know our market and other clothing brands that are similar to ours. This is an essential step that a lot of people overlook when they start thinking about their clothing brand name ideas.
Start by listing down ten or twenty existing fashion and clothing brands that are similar to yours. Think of the brands you will compete against in the market.
These are some of the questions you need to ask yourself when analyzing your existing competitors:
- Can you find any trends and words that often appear in their clothing brand names?
- Do they use similar name types?
- Do any names stand out for being very different?
#2) Position Your Clothing Brand
There are two basic options you have when positioning your clothing brand:
– You can make your clothing brand fit in the market.
– You can make your clothing brand stand out in the market.
If you want to fit it, you should copy the name styles of existing fashion brands. You can even use the same words other companies use.
Just make sure you’re creating names that are different enough and won’t get you into legal trouble.
If you want to stand out in the market, focus on using unique words and name styles. Make sure your name is different from other fashion brands.
This is the approach I recommend for all new clothing brands. People remember things that are different and stand out. This is the easiest way to position your clothing brand for success in the market.
#3) Look for Inspiration Elsewhere
We already analyzed the names of other clothing brands in the market. Now it’s time to move beyond that. You can turn to different markets and niches for inspiration. Pick a niche that’s or market that’s different than yours.
Let’s, for example, pick beauty and cosmetics. Look at the names people use in these two markets.
You will probably notice a lot of companies use words like “ravish”, “perfect”, “glow”, “bloom”… Can any of these words be used for your clothing brand?
Of course. The word “glow” can represent how people feel wearing your clothes. The word “bloom” can serve a similar purpose. The words “ravish” and “perfect” can easily be used to describe a fashion brand. These are just examples. You can turn to any market or niche for inspiration. Don’t spend all your time going through the names in your niche.
#4) Understand Different Name Types
I won’t bore you with details or make this theory too complicated. But it’s important we understand the basics of the naming theory. There are four main types of names:
- Descriptive (literal) names – These names describe what a brand does or its functions. This also includes acronyms, initials, founder names, and geographical names. (ex. Teens In Trend, Luxe Lingerie, etc.)
- Invented (made-up) names – These names don’t have any real meaning. They are either completely made-up or come from foreign languages. (ex. Vigorics, ASOS, etc.)
- Experiential names – These names describe the experience of using the brand. They basically show what people get when wearing your brand’s clothes. (ex. Evening Elegance, Forever 21, etc.)
- Evocative names – These names represent the clothing brnads in a metaphorical instead of literal way. They represent what the brand stands for instead of what it does. (ex. Always On, Monarch Attire, etc.)
We won’t go any further. This is enough to give you a basic understanding of different name types.
#5) Go Beyond Descriptive Names
We learned about different name types in the previous point. We saw that descriptive names are the simplest names out there. While there’s nothing wrong with them, they can’t help your clothing brand stand out in a crowded market.
I suggest we move beyond simple descriptive names when launching a new clothing and fashion brand. Descriptive names are great when we want to blend in. But we already learned that this isn’t the best approach for new brands, especially in competitive markets like fashion.
Instead, think of unique words, phrases, and metaphors that could be used to represent your clothing brand. This will help you stand out from your competitors.
#6) Brainstorm Your Name Ideas
It is now time to start brainstorming what words could fit into your clothing and fashion brand name ideas. Your goal here is to create a list of words or names that come to mind when thinking about your brand.
In my name ideas, I used words like “couture”, “mode”, and “allure”, you can see that while these words can be related to clothing and fashion brands, they also suggest that you can expect a modern, creative outlook from this brand.
If you’re stuck on words to use, try our clothing and fashion brand name generator. Here are my clothing brand name ideas after brainstorming:
Cool Couture, Urban Stock, Fitted Stitch, Revella, Monarch Attire, Classic Threads, Vigorics, Loosely Fitted, Teens In Trend, Elegant Mode, Evening Elegance, Formal Allure, Inner City Style, La Forme, Boho Belle, Luxe Lingerie, Admiralia, Bright Boutique, Always On, Walk Gracefully
#7) Shortlist Your Ideas
Once you’ve developed a list of possible clothing and fashion name suggestions, analyze your ideas. Remove any names that could be hard to remember, spell or speak aloud.
Keep names that are brandable, sound great, are memorable, and communicate your brand values to your target audience.
Here’s a quick checklist you can run your ideas through to help shorten your list of names:
- Is the name simple and easy to remember?
- Is the name easy to read and say aloud?
- Is the name different from competitors?
- Does the name convey a relevant meaning?
- Does the name avoid overused words or cliches?
#8) Get Some Feedback
You should now have a list of 3-6 great clothing brand name suggestions, and you can start gathering feedback. Ask potential customers or people working in the industry for feedback (your target audience).
Avoid feedback from family and friends. They are more likely to praise all your ideas, and they aren’t your customer.
Be sure to ask questions like:
- What first comes to mind when you hear the name?
- How would you spell it?
With your customer feedback, you can start objectively analyzing the clothing and fashion brand names you picked. Ask yourself – Are these ideas still relevant? Do they still represent my brand?
#9) Check If It’s Available
At this point, it’s good to have at least three great clothing brand names on your list in case any of your names are already taken.
You can start by doing a quick Business Name Search online to see if your name is available within your country/state. While doing so, it’s also good to make sure that the name is available for Trademark registration. It’s good to make sure you can legally use the names you created. This can save you a lot of trouble down the road.
Make sure you also check domain availability for your clothing brand. You will need a URL address to create a website and potentially a webshop for your brand.
You can use our clothing and fashion brand name generator for this step. It shows available domains for all brand names it generates.
#10) Develop Your Brand
This is the last thing you need to do before launching your clothing brand. The name on its own isn’t enough to help you dominate the fashion market. You have to create exciting visual cues that go with the name.
How will the name look in the logo? Which tagline will you use for your clothing brand? What colors represent the emotions of your brand?
Make sure you create a cohesive brand where all elements work together. I suggest you get help from a professional graphic designer for this step.
Can I Name My Clothing Brand Anything
This is a broad question that needs to be answered. Sometimes, people think that your brand name isn’t all that important.
But that’s far from the truth. Sure, you can always rebrand and rename your clothing line down the road. But this comes with a huge pile of potential problems. That’s why it’s always best to take time and develop the right name.
The one that you will use for your clothing brand for years and decades to come.
While you can technically use any sounds and words for your fashion brand, there are some limitations that you need to consider.
The two most important factors that dictate your clothing brand name selection are:
- Availability
- Meaning
You have to make sure that the fashion names you create are available. We go more in-depth on this topic in the next section.
For now, just know that making sure you can legally use the name is the best approach.
You also have to make sure that the meaning of the name fits your fashion brand. You obviously need to make sure that the name doesn’t have any negative meanings or connotations in any language.
The last thing you want is to pick a name that your target audience will negatively accept.
The meaning of your clothing brand must also match your brand’s personality and positioning. We already discussed that the best fashion brands are cohesive.
That means that all brand elements work together to create a memorable brand.
As you see, there’s more to naming a clothing brand than just going through random words and phrases.
Having the right strategy helps create names that are available and fit your brand. We suggest you use our clothing and fashion brand name generator and follow the steps we listed in this article.
How Do I Know if My Clothing or Fashion Brand Name Is Taken
Fashion and clothing brand names are covered by trademarks. You need to check if the name you created is covered by a trademark. Keep in mind that a trademark doesn’t have to be registered in order to exist.
That means that if there’s existing clothing or fashion brand with the same name as yours, it’s possible that it’s protected by a trademark even if the trademark isn’t registered.
You can use USPTO to check the database of registered USA trademarks and you can use WIPO to check international trademarks databases.
This is a difficult and demanding task, especially if you don’t have experience. It’s usually easier and faster to hire a trademark attorney to do this step for you.
You can do a preliminary search to eliminate names that are obviously covered by a trademark.
But to know for sure, we always recommend hiring an attorney. While this will cost you money, it will save you potential legal troubles down the road.
Another thing you need to consider when starting a fashion brand is domain availability.
Your fashion brand name is useless without the matching domain. You need to have a website if you want to sell your clothes online.
The problem is that finding available domains is getting harder and harder. There are two simple ways to find domains for clothing store name ideas if the exact match .com domain is already taken:
- You can use alternative domains that are gaining popularity. Some of the options are .co, .io, .fashion
- You can use modifiers. These are short words we add at the beginning or at the end of names to get available domains. Some popular options are “the” and “wear” at the beginning or “fashion” and the end.
Our clothing and fashion name generator immediately tells you which names have available domain names.
It even goes beyond .com domains and shows which alternative domain extensions are acceptable.
All you have to do is click the “+” symbol on any of the name ideas that the generator makes. It will give you a list of domains that you can register.
This will help you save so much time, and it will make the whole process a lot more enjoyable since you don’t have to use any other tools to determine which names have available domains.
How The Most Expensive Fashion Brands Came Up with Their Names
Fashion brands often have interesting stories about how they created their name. Let’s look at some famous and expensive fashion brands in the world and see how they got their names.
We’ll start with the first batch of fashion brands – the ones named after the founder Prada, Balenciaga, Gucci, Burberry, Versace, Louis Vuitton, and Chanel were all simply named after the people that created the brand.
There are two interesting brands that are also named after the founders, but they also used a twist.
Ralph Lauren is a brand named after a founder who was born Ralph Lifshitz. He explained in an interview that he purposely changed his last name because he was often made fun of by other kids when he was younger.
He wanted to use a name that was easier to spell and pronounce. And most importantly, he wanted a name that won’t get ridiculed by potential buyers. So, he changed his last name to Lauren.
It’s safe to say this was the right decision since he managed to grow the company into the huge success it is today.
Another interesting name we should mention is Miu Miu.
The brand was created by Miuccia Prada, a Prada family member who branched out from their family business and built her own brand in 1993. The name Miu Miu comes from her childhood nickname.
Now let’s look at a few famous fashion brands that weren’t named after the founder. We’ll start with one of the biggest brands in the world – Nike. Nike comes from Greek mythology.
Nike is the Greek Goddess of victory. This is very meaningful since Nike wants to be associated with winning and performance.
Another brand that turned to Greek mythology for its name is Hermès. Hermes was an olympian god, the son of Zeus.
Hermes was the representative and the messenger of the gods. Hermes is defined as moving freely between the moral and divine worlds, he was the conductor of souls into the afterlife.
He was also viewed as the protector and patron of roads and travelers. These characteristics are aligned with what the brand wants to stand for.
As we learned, there are different ways premium brands go about naming. Hopefully, these stories inspire you and help you create a memorable fashion brand of your own.
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