How Long Does it (Really) Take to Develop a Lingerie Line?

It’s no secret that lingerie is a popular category in the fashion industry. What may come as a surprise to some, however, is just how long it takes to design and develop a lingerie line. In fact, lead time for lingerie can be upwards of 8-10 months. This is due to the intricate nature of lingerie product development, which requires careful attention to detail and precise execution.

Entrepreneurs who are new to the lingerie industry often underestimate the amount of time it takes to develop a line. They often come to us and tell us they need their bulk production ready in 3-4 months, so they become very frustrated when I tell them this is literally impossible.

However, as they gain more experience in the lingerie industry, they come to realize that lead time is actually much longer than that. In fact, it can take up to 6-8 months or even a year to develop a new lingerie line. This is due to the many steps involved in product development, from design and prototyping to sourcing and manufacturing. So if you’re thinking of starting your own lingerie line, be prepared for a long journey ahead!

But don’t be scared to start your own lingerie line – just make sure you enjoy the process along the way! There will be ups and downs, and it requires a lot of hard work, dedication, and passion, but as long as you stay focused and motivated, it’s also a very rewarding process, and the journey is definitely worth taking.

Let’s go over the steps to design a lingerie collection and how long you can expect to take during each step. The lingerie design process consists of breaking down several key steps:

1. Ideation – This is where you come up with new lingerie designs. You can do this by conducting brainstorming sessions with your team or by examining current lingerie trends and drawing inspiration from them. This step can usually be nailed down in around 3-5 weeks, depending on how much time you put into it and how many iterations you need to narrow down final designs.

2. Sourcing – You’ll need to source suppliers for sampling and manufacturing after finalizing the designs. This can be a challenging process, as not all suppliers are easy to work with or flexible with small companies. So it’s important to find a supplier that has the ability to produce high-quality materials at a competitive price. As well as that can adequate to the minimums (MOQs) you are looking for. Most fabric suppliers have very large MOQs, which means you need to find suppliers that are flexible with entrepreneurs starting out or that have stock fabric and therefore are willing to sell you small amounts of fabric.

This process can vary a lot, depending on how many components you need to source, but it can take from 2-4 weeks normally.

3. Design Development – Once you have a few designs in mind, you’ll need to develop them further into finished products. This includes creating tech packs, prototypes/samples, determining sizing and fit, and selecting materials and fabrics.

This is the longest step of the process. Developing tech packs can take around 2 weeks. Then the factory might take around 3 weeks to develop initial samples. It will take around 2-3 more weeks for you to receive samples, do fittings and revise tech packs. Then the process will repeat. The factory will take 2 weeks to make a new sample, 2-3 weeks to receive the sample, fit and update the tech pack.

Total length of the process can take 4-5 months.

4. Manufacturing – Once the samples are approved, the next step is to go to bulk manufacturing and ship them to retailers. This is the final stage of the process. It can take anywhere from 5-8 weeks depending on the size of the order.

After understanding the process and realizing how long each step takes, you will realize that developing your lingerie line is definitely a long journey, but it’s definitely worth taking if you have the passion and dedication. So don’t lose more time – start your lingerie line today!