Updated and featuring an all-new color insert, a must-have for the thousands of talented designers who want to see their dream of creating an independent fashion line become a reality. Mary Gehlhar, author, industry authority, and consultant to hundreds of designers, including Zac Posen, Twinkle by Wenlan, Rebecca Taylor, and Cloak, gives readers behind-the-scenes insights and essential business information on creating and sustaining a successful career as an independent designer. With advice from fashion luminaries including Donna Karan, Tommy Hilfiger, Cynthia Rowley, Diane von Furstenberg, Richard Tyler, and top executives from Saks Fifth Avenue and Barneys New York, this fully updated and revised edition of ''The Fashion Designer Survival Guide'' addresses the latest trends in apparel and accessories, the newest designers, an updated introduction, and a new foreword by Diane von Furstenberg, Designer and President of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA).''The Fashion Designer Survival Guide'' provides the necessary tools to get a fashion line or label up and moving on the right track, including: How to create a viable business planFiguring out how much money you need, where and how to get it, and how to make it last, including the latest on private equityThe best sources for fabric and materialsNavigating the pitfalls of production both at home and abroadMarketing, branding, and getting the product into the stores and into the customer's closetsRomancing the press, dressing celebrities, and creative publicity techniquesProducing a runway show that will get results