Clothing brand name ideas: naming a fashion label
What a clothing or fashion brand name has to do, four kinds of label names that work, what to avoid, and a quick test before you print the tags.
A clothing label is worn. The name ends up stitched into a collar, printed on a swing tag, embroidered on a chest and posted on someone else's social feed. That makes it more personal than most business names: people are choosing to carry it around, so it has to be a name they are happy to be seen with.
What a clothing brand name has to do
- Look good small. A woven label or a chest logo may be only a few centimetres wide.
- Carry the attitude of the clothes. Workwear, streetwear, activewear and bridal each want a different first impression.
- Leave room for new lines. A label that starts with tees often adds outerwear, accessories or a second audience.
- Be searchable after one glance. People see a label on a stranger and look it up later, from memory.
Four kinds of label names that work
1. The label that sounds like a person
Many fashion houses carry a name, and a coined name that sounds like a surname gives a new label the same feel. Mahlori sounds like a family name on a leather goods label, and NoraBrand pairs a short warm first name with a plain business word.
2. The fit or the feel
Some names describe how the clothes wear. Tighta is built on tight with an open ending, which suits activewear and leggings, and Blawd sounds stamped into metal, which suits rugged workwear.
3. The craft
Words from making cloth give a label a sense of quality. LoomCube pairs an old craft word with a modern shape for a textile studio, FabricTeam suits a manufacturing and sourcing agency, and Devoluxe ends on luxe.
4. The scene name
Streetwear and music led labels often want a name that reads like a tag rather than a company. Undergnd is underground with three letters dropped, so it reads like a sticker on a lamp post.
What to avoid
- Names close to a famous fashion house. Fashion trademarks are among the most actively defended. How to check a company name before you commit covers the checks.
- Trend words. A name built on this season's slang can look dated by the next collection.
- Names that only work with the logo. If the name needs the graphic to make sense, it will not survive being said out loud.
- Names that lock in one garment. A label named after jeans has to explain itself when the jackets arrive.
A quick tag test
Write the name on a small piece of tape and stick it inside the collar of something you own, then look at it in the mirror. Say this out loud: "It's from ___, have you heard of them?" If it looks right in the collar and sounds like a label worth asking about, the name is ready. Last, check that the .com is available or for sale, because people who spot your label in the street will search for it.
Fashion names for sale on Webba
Naming something in another field? Business name ideas by industry links all seventeen of these guides, and how to come up with a business name sets out the steps from a blank page to a decision.
Fashion & apparelEvery fashion and apparel name on Webba, from workwear to bridal.