40 factories that will work with emerging brands
Manufacturing specialist William Lasry shares a curated list of factories and his advice on MOQs, sampling, tech packs, and supplier relationships.
By Marjolijn Oostermeijer
There are a few milestones that can feel like a “made it” moment for an emerging designer: a fashion week debut, a luxury e-commerce listing, the creation of custom looks for a pop star’s world tour. But there’s nothing quite like the moment you outgrow your atelier and outsource production to a factory.
The first challenge? Finding one, which is harder than ever. Covid, the economic slowdown, tariffs and disrupted trade routes have all played their part. But according to William Lasry, manufacturing is a dinosaur industry, running on a legacy system with a legacy mindset. William is a manufacturing specialist who set out to bridge this generational gap between factories and fashion brands. In 2022, he started sharing content from factory floors – from a traditional Japanese facility of selvedge denim to a Turkish facility supplying the biggest activewear brands – on TikTok. There was a real appetite for this kind of hard-to-access, behind-the-scenes content, both from consumers and (emerging) industry players. Shortly after, William started Glass Factory, initially “a Google sheet with the name of the factory, their owners and their emails,” before developing it into its current marketplace form, featuring videos, MOQs, timelines and contact details of the 95 (and counting) factories it has onboarded.
As Glass Factory proves, the challenge isn’t a shortage of good factories. It’s just that today’s emerging fashion brands and factories operate differently – a literal and metaphorical language barrier. With the help of modern tech, like Shopify, Google and Instagram ads, Generative AI, anyone can start a fashion brand from their bedroom-turned-atelier, and new ones are popping up in droves. “The barrier to create a brand has never been lower,” William says. But sustaining that brand is another story, and there’s a growing demand for suppliers with low MOQs and a more flexible production process. But most factories are old school; they rely on trade shows like Premiere Vision or Magic to attract customers. They don’t have websites, let alone SEO or social media.
Below, you’ll find a list of factories specialised in tailoring, knitwear, denim and more, handpicked by William from Glass Factory’s network (all are listed on the platform) and chosen for their accessible MOQs, transparent communication and willingness to work with emerging brands. William also answered some of our questions on when to outsource, how to get the sample you want and what to look for in a manufacturing partner.
Some things to consider before finding your supplier
Tech packs
“The first step to doing production is having an extremely detailed tech pack,” William says. While it’s not the sexiest part of fashion design, specifying folding instructions or that “you want flat lock sewing along the seam that’s going up the collar,” is key to getting the sample you want, efficiently, and to be taken seriously by your manufacturer. PSA: Detailed tech pack templates are available on Glass Factory for free.
Order volume
Desperately looking for a factory to produce 50 silk shirts? You might be outsourcing too soon. William explains that, with the occasional exception, “a factory doesn’t make money on orders below 300 units,” meaning you’ll be the least of your factory’s priorities, if they accept your order at all. Some factories do provide fewer units as their MOQ, but producing small batches can be bad business for designers. “There are so many intricacies associated with getting those first garments going. From sourcing the fabric, dye house and woven labels [to] multiple rounds of sampling and quality control,” William says. If you’re not hitting those order volumes soon, William recommends finding alternative ways to produce, such as “a skilled, local partner like a seamstress,” or by “using blanks.”
Factory wishlist
If not extremely low MOQs, what should emerging brands have on top of their factory wishlist? According to William, it’s not speed or quality, either, “those things are super-important, but secondary to communication.” Simply put, you can’t do business with a factory that doesn’t respond. If you’re an emerging brand (still building production know-how and supplier relationships), you’ll likely benefit from close collaboration with your factory. Once established, William recommends considering pricing, quality, speed (both sample and production lead times) and “some form of ethical compliance or certification.”
He also notes that sourcing locally or in Europe matters less than you might think. “People associate China with poor quality, but it is one of the best places to manufacture.” It makes sense when you consider the ecosystem. “If you want to make a pair of jeans, there are about 42 different inputs – the thread, the button, the zipper, the dyeing – and in China, all of that is coming from nearby.”. Meanwhile, zippers and buttons are made sparsely in Europe and “local” production would only reflect the final assembly stage.
Great factories
We listed 40+ factories below, including their location, MOQs, sample and production lead time. They’re hand-picked by William from Glass Factory’s network, based on their suitability for emerging brands, grouped per speciality and sorted from lowest to highest MOQs.
Great factories across the board
Aytim in Istanbul, Turkey. Their MOQs are 200; their sample lead time is 7-14 days, and their production lead time is 42-56 days. William notes, “they are really good friends of ours,” having spent months there last summer. According to Glass Factory, “they are one of the warmest families who showed us what it truly means to care about each product. Working with up-and-coming and global brands, Aytim treats them all equally.”
Black Q in Jiaxing, China. Their MOQs are 300; their sample lead time is 14-21 days, and their production lead time is 42-56 days. According to Glass Factory, “Owner Qui studied fashion in Berlin in the early ‘90s [and] has worked on every side of the fashion industry. Black Q specialises in producing high-end garments and innovative solutions,” from “heat-reactive knitwear to glow-in-the-dark hoodies and silk evening gowns.”
Great factories for tailoring
PM Fashion Group in Chieti, Italy. Their MOQs are 30; their sample lead time is 5-7 days, and their production lead time is 28-42 days.
AR Consulting in Iesi, Marche, Italy. Their MOQs are 50, their sample lead time is 21-28 days, and their production lead time is 42-56 days.
Kings in Frattamaggiore, Italy. Their MOQs are 120; their sample lead time is 12-21 days, and their production lead time is 28-42 days.
Primedays in Istanbul, Turkey. Their MOQs are 300; their sample lead time is 7-14 days, and their production lead time is 21-35 days.
Great factories for shirting