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Name: Garmz

Quick Pitch: Garmz turns user-submitted fashion designs into actual garments based on popularity.

Genius Idea: An 11-person startup based in London is on a mission to change the fashion industry, which it believes unfairly exploits the talents of young designers.

The company has created a platform (currently in a proof-of-concept stage, its marketing director tell us) where young and emerging designers can upload sketches of their designs to be voted and commented upon by the community. Designs that get the highest number of votes and pre-orders are then turned into actual garments at no cost to the designers, so participants are encouraged to promote their work in channels outside of the community as well.

Designers retain full rights to their work, although they have to hand over all distribution rights to Garmz. The startup works with the designers to build prototypes at a studio near its offices in Vienna, allowing them to maintain creative control while choosing fabrics and finalizing design details.

One of the main differences between Garmz and sites like Threadless and USTrendy, which also produce and market top-voted users' designs, is that designers can also determine the final price of their garments by specifying their profit margin on each piece sold; the company suggests that designers select a figure between five and 10 euros to be fair to customers. Typically, a total of 150 copies of each design are made in a range of sizes, and then sold and marketed on the site. Garmz will not disclose what percentage of the profits it takes.

Since closing a low six-figure round of angel funding and launching in beta in June, the site has amassed 4,000 registered users, submissions from designers in 37 countries, and moved its headquarters from Vienna to London. The first garment, a pair of black cotton and chiffon draped shorts designed by Vienesse fashion student Simon Winkelmüller, was made available for purchase last week.

Amina Akhtar, editorial director of social media marketing and consultancy firm iStyle Media, believes this is a win-win proposition for both designers and consumers. "A lot of young talent isn't making it in fashion," she explained. "To be a young designer right now, you need to have a lot of money backing you, usually from your rich family. If we level the playing field a little and allow consumers to have more access to a wider range of designers — regardless of whether the designer has a huge bank account — everyone wins. [Consumers] get more options clothing-wise, and younger designers get more customers and exposure."

What do you think of the concept? As an aspiring fashion designer, would this kind of opportunity appeal to you?

Top image courtesy of Flickr, Fernando de Sousa

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