In the time it takes to read this, 10 trucks of unsold clothing will be destroyed, and that’s the tip of the Iceberg. We explore how the preorder model is changing the game. (8 min read)

MAY 29, 2025

the power of preorder

Is the future of the fashion industry slow?

Words by Ed Bartlett

Back to the future

Of course, theory is one thing but reality is another, and starting any new business is challenging. Launching a new consumer brand into the exceptionally difficult retail landscape of the last few years would not be the first choice for anyone in their right mind. But in its own way, the turmoil - particularly in cycling - has actually helped shine a light on the problems that exist and what Kostüme is doing differently to try to fix them. (You can go back in time here to read a piece from November 2022 that covers in more detail the original inspiration behind the Kostüme brand and model.)

Fast-forward a few years and the results and benefits are already clear to see: 10/10 product reviews, the highest Trustpilot rating of any brand in category, 200% growth in 2024 and another 110% in the first quarter of 2025 without a single paid ad, and customers in 30 countries and counting, all achieved with virtually no overstock or reliance on discounting.

Despite these eye-opening results, we are unlikely to see high street brands rushing to adopt the preorder batch model as the mainstay of their business any time soon. It’s fair to say it's a more appropriate solution for some product categories over others, and really the entire business supply chain and customer education and acquisition strategy needs to be baked in from day one for it to be really effective. Pivoting any business is hard, but pivoting an established wholesale-led omnichannel consumer brand to focus on DTC pre-order via ecommerce might be a step too far! Just ask Nike about their recent experiments.

My real hope is for the next generation of fashion brands to come, where the clear benefits of preorder batch and made-to-order might make them hard to look past, especially as consumers become more focused on product quality/value, customer service and responsible production. And then, who knows? Maybe we will see a slow fashion revolution - and some badly-needed systemic change - after all.

in the meantime, let’s take a closer look at some of the specific benefits of the Kostüme preorder batch model:

1. Stops waste at source

This is the big one, because it’s the knock-on from this that multiplies the effect of everything that comes after.

One of the single biggest issues in the apparel industry right now is overproduction and overstocking, which leads to significant lost margin through discounting and eventually the destruction of unsold stock. Some of the more shocking estimates suggest that up to 40% of clothing made never actually gets sold, and constant heavy discounting has become the norm even for so-called luxury brands who previously avoided it like the plague that it is.

But it’s not only the wasted time, effort and money that goes into making the unsold products that has an impact, it’s also the shipping, warehousing, labels, packaging, duty and more.

If you can stop all of that at source by only manufacturing and fulfilling products that are already sold, you make a much bigger impact on margins and sustainability than almost any other single thing you could do. And that is exactly what the preorder model does.

2. Less risk, better cashflow, higher margins

Each of these could be individual points, but for the sake of brevity, let’s summarise that the preorder batch model is a markedly better approach to selling products when it comes to the financial health and security of a brand.

There’s less risk because you’re not manufacturing and shipping huge amounts of goods with no guarantee they’ll actually sell. And the up-front payment for products helps create a stable, cash-positive business, which in turn encourages risk and innovation in other positive ways. And finally, the eradication of discounting combined with the rapid sales cycle of batches maximises both the size and predictability of margins.

Allied to Kostüme’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) focus, the combined effect of cutting waste and increasing supply chain efficiency simply makes the model much more predictable and profitable than a traditional fashion retail business, with significantly lower risk.

3 . Better products for less

It hopefully goes without saying that we are not simply pocketing that extra margin. We reinvest it directly into improving key aspects of the business, led by product design and specification. In some cases we know that we are spending 2-3 times more on our product spec than other brands. And the results are clear to see.

People aren’t going to preorder, pay full price and wait weeks for any product unless you give them a really good reason. And some of those reasons include 10/10 press reviews that say things like ‘the nicest thing I’ve ever put next to my skin’ thanks to a product and pricepoint that is only commercially possible thanks to our business model.

But best of all, we are doing this - and much, much more - for tytpically the same price or less than our competitors.

4. Creativity and exclusivity

Exclusive is a challenging word, with mixed connotations. We aren’t trying to build an exclusive brand - far from it. If we were, we’d be using the luxury pricing our product quality could easily sustain.

Our goal for Kostüme is to make exceptional product quality and responsible production as accessible as possible - the exclusivity simply comes as a side effect of the limited availability and one-off designs for each batch.

Our artist collabs aren’t meant to speak to everyone, because they don’t need to. Our batches are currently limited to 350, and we’d rather each collection connected on a truly visceral level with 350 people, than be ‘something for everyone’.

As we scale to more frequent launches, customers will have increased choice and availability, whilst maintaining exclusivity for each batch through volume, rather than by being priced out due to an artificially high RRP. This in turn will mean we can explore exciting creative avenues that simply wouldn’t be commercially possible for brands using the legacy retail model, not only with product designs but also in our marketing, content and activations.

5. Accelerated product innovation

By releasing products more frequently in smaller, more agile batches, we dramatically shorten the typical consumer product feedback loop that other more seasonal brands see.

Combined with feedback from customers as well as supported athletes and clubs like Alan Colville, Jess Golding, Rory Stuart and Audax Club Bristol, this means that we can iterate tweaks and improvements to our products in a way and at a pace that is simply impossible for legacy brands who are tied to seasonal collections and physical retail cycles.

We’ve already seen this in effect, with significant tweaks to products between our first, second and third batches. This is something we are pushing further with the more frequent launch of upcoming batches, and at the time of writing we are hard at work finalising a complete 'v2.0' of our entire core collection, taking on board everything from customer feedback to our environmental impact.

6. Increased customer engagement

Here's the kicker. Retail should be fun. Right? Is it really fun to just be able to buy anything, from anywhere, and have it delivered tomorrow, likely at a heavily discounted price? Are you buying that thing because you really want or need it, or because it’s currently available for less than half price, and maybe you might need it one day?

At Kostüme we strongly believe buying a product you love should be exciting. An experience. And our research shows that far from being a burden, in most cases our preorder model (and the subsequent wait for the product) is in fact generating excitement, anticipation and engagement, which in-turn leads to strong connection, loyalty and word-of-mouth.

Is it pure coincidence that we grew nearly 200% in 2024 without paying for a single paid ad when most other cycling apparel brands struggled? Or that our Trustpilot is the best of *any* cycling apparel brand? Or that our email newsletter gets on average 60-65% open rate and 10% click rate?

Pushing the envelope

Kostüme didn’t invent the small batch preorder model. But we are pushing the envelope with what it can mean both for brands and consumers, especially in the highly technical activewear category.

And the best thing is, we are only just getting started.

Once you’ve experienced the benefits, you might start asking yourself why more brands aren’t using it. Not only might consumers get better value products, where less of their hard earned money is simply being wasted, but we might also take some tangible steps to not breaking the planet along the way.

Here are some other noteworthy independent apparel brands who are already successfully using the preorder batch or made-to-order model to great effect:

Gustin: Small batch preorder Menswear (although they are starting to dabble in Women's), which started with a single pair of selvedge denim jeans and has grown completely organically to-date. Easily one of the first brands to use the preorder model, and in fact as a customer for over 10 years they were the orignal inspiration behind Kostüme's model. Pretty much the only new clothing I buy, and you can use this referal link if you want to try them out.

Paynter Jacket: If you like what we’re doing, you’ll love Paynter - timeless jackets made in limited preorder batches with an obsessive focus on quality, craft, and doing things the right way.

POCAaudio: A consumer electronics startup using preorder batches to launch their attempt to revolutionise responsibly-made portable audio products.

BatchLDN: For UK readers tired of the off-the-peg suit but without Savile Row budget, BatchLDN elevates everyday tailoring, and as the name suggests, their batch approach means products are made responsibly and built to last. Recently seen dressing a number of well-known faces from Sport, Film and Music.

For more details of how our preorder model works in practice, click here.

For more information on our holistic approach to impact, click here.

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