Josh Goot revealed the pressures of running a fashion business months before his label entered into administration.
Goot appointed administrators to his namesake label on Monday.
Last year, the celebrated designer took part in a panel discussion hosted by the Australian Fashion Chamber in Sydney.
Here, he graciously provided candid insights about some of the struggles designers face in the marketplace.
The balancing act
"I don't spend much of my time any more on design, unfortunately. We've employed a designer as of late 2013 because it was becoming impossible to manage the workload. Decision making and action is always better when it's collaborative and communicated and considered. If you can have that dialogue daily in a business, it's good. When you're doing that by yourself, it's very hard to make the right decisions all the time."
Commercial vs creative
"I think it's important to realise that innovation and creativity on the one hand and being commercial on the other are not mutually exclusive and that is the challenge. The combination of the two is what builds great brands. If you look at the great designers of the ages, what they've been able to do is both. Inspire and sell."
To show or not to show
"The question with fashion shows is, can you responsibly integrate them into the actual management of your business, can you afford them and can you afford the opportunity cost of them? Which is that, the whole business only focuses on one thing for however long and then can you support them at the back end? When the show is over, can you write the orders, can you deliver the orders and do you have the budget and human resources to show again next season and do it all over again. Can you do it consistently?"
Sponsorship
"What I've realised over the years is, there are so many areas of the business I'd prefer to get right before we start to show again. And of course I want to show again. As a designer, it is the greatest way to tell the story. Raising money is not as easy at used to be. I think it has become much harder. Certainly during the GFC it was impossible. Now it's starting to get easier but not as easy as it used to be."
Media hype
"We were also a victim of what [another speaker] referred to earlier, which is believing in your own hype. I think it's an issue a lot of young Australian designers face, and probably designers across the world, but it's hard to be objective and know what you don't know when you're so deeply ensconced in all elements of your business and your experience."
Early success, early mistakes
"At the time, all our products were undercosted, that was an issue. Had there been a industry body at the time, you might have had more industry advice on how to properly cost your garments or more access to people to talk to about what to do now. What's the next step. What should you be aware of?"