Be A Designer, Gallarate. Design studio and short supply chain.
Made in Italy clothing production for your brand.
Women’s and men’s wear, sportswear, swimwear, T-shirts, sweatshirts and bags: material research, prototyping and production in workshops within 30 km of Gallarate, with a design studio that supports you from concept to launch.
12 years in the Made in Italy supply chainOver 200 people supported in launching their brandTrustpilot 4.2/5, every review is 5 stars
In brief.
Be A Designer is a design studio in Gallarate (Varese) that has spent 12 years helping emerging designers and brands create and produce Made in Italy clothing: womenswear and menswear, sportswear, swimwear, T-shirts, hoodies, bags and small leather goods. We work in capsule collections, in workshops within 30 km of Gallarate; leather goods are made in a workshop near Como. The indicative minimum is about 50 pieces per style, i.e. about 10 per size. A prototype costs about €80, or €250 with the pattern, and always comes after the research into fabrics, finishes and trims. For a smaller budget there is also private label: high-quality ready-made garments personalised with your brand.
Service details Clothing production
- Who
- Be A Designer, Gallarate (VA)
- What
- Women’s, men’s, shirts, outerwear, sportswear, swimwear, T-shirts, sweatshirts, bags, private label
- Where
- Workshops within 30 km of Gallarate; leather goods workshop near Como
- Minimums
- About 50 pieces per style, 10 per size; bags from 30 per style
- Prototype
- Around €80, €250 including the pattern
- Who it's for
- Emerging designers and brands; pure contract manufacturing for VAT-registered businesses and established companies
What we produce.
Each category has different minimum requirements, costs and timeframes. You’ll find the relevant pages here, with the figures for each one.
Women's clothing
Dresses, shirts, trousers, jackets and coats. A dress costs approximately €50–120 each.
See womenswear →Men's clothing
Shirts, trousers, jackets and coats. A shirt costs approximately €40–80 each.
See menswear →Shirts
Men’s and women’s shirts, from the fabric to the collar and buttons: €40–80 per shirt.
See shirts →Jackets and coats
Unstructured jackets, blazers and coats: €80–150 for a jacket, €120–250 for a coat.
See outerwear →Sportswear
Leggings, tops, performance T-shirts, sweatshirts and jackets. A performance T-shirt costs €10–18.
See sportswear →Swimwear
Bikinis, one-pieces and men’s ranges: from 50 pieces, from €35 per piece, approximately 30 days from approval of the sample.
See swimwear →T-shirt
High-quality private label or premium ‘Made in Italy’ products: €8–25 per item for a batch of 100.
See T-shirts →Sweatshirts and streetwear
A customised blank at €20–35 or a hoodie made from scratch in Italy at €40–60, in small batches.
See hoodies →Bags and leather goods
Handbags and small leather goods from 30 pieces per style, made in a workshop near Como.
See bags →Private label
Ready-made, high-quality garments bearing your brand: the most cost-effective way to trial a capsule collection.
See private label →Prototypes and samples
Prototypes from €80, €250 with the pattern. A full sample collection takes 3–4 months on average.
See prototypes →Contract manufacturing
For VAT-registered businesses and established companies with a collection and tech packs: about 50 pieces per style.
See contract manufacturing →
What determines the cost.
Two items of clothing that look identical can cost one twice as much as the other. Before asking for a quote, it’s worth finding out what the price depends on.
Quantity
This is the most significant factor: the cost per item falls as production volumes increase, because the costs of pattern-making, preparation and machine set-up are spread across a larger number of garments.
Fabrics, finishes and trims
Fabric, linings, buttons, zips and labels contribute just as much to the price as the tailoring itself. That’s why we select them before the prototype is made: the price you see is the price you’ll pay.
Garment complexity
A T-shirt and a structured jacket do not require the same amount of work. More production stages, more sizes and more colour options mean higher costs per design.
Contract manufacturing or the full programme.
These are two different approaches, and the choice depends on how far along your project is. We’ll explain them to you during our first call and choose the right one together.
Contract manufacturing
For VAT-registered individuals and established businesses that have a product range, technical data sheets and sales channels: we can handle pattern-making, prototyping and production within the supply chain within a 30 km radius of Gallarate.
Full programme
For those starting with an idea: strategy, collection, sourcing of fabrics and trims, prototyping, production and launch – all with the same team. This is the way to avoid spending money on production before knowing what to sell, to whom and at what price.
In both cases, before the prototype is made, we carry out research into fabrics, finishes, trims and buttons. For us, it’s never just a prototype and a paper pattern: as a result, the prototype is already very close to the final garment.
On a tighter budget? With private label, you can start with ready-made, high-quality garments, such as T-shirts and sweatshirts, personalised with prints, embroidery, labels and packaging bearing your brand: it’s the quickest way to test a capsule collection before producing from scratch. Discover private label →
A supply chain within 30 km.
We work with workshops within a short supply chain, within 30 km of Gallarate, and, for leather goods, with a workshop near Como. We do not move production to other regions: this means greater quality control, less transport and greater sustainability.
Be A Designer doesn’t just handle production. We only undertake pure contract manufacturing for VAT-registered individuals and established companies. Those starting from scratch go through the full programme: it’s the safest way to avoid spending money on production before knowing what to sell, to whom and at what price.
Prototypes and production stay close: we go to the workshop instead of sending emails.
From idea to product, in six stages.
The complete Be A Designer programme. If you already have a collection and suppliers, we’ll start with the stage that suits your needs.
Strategy
Who the brand is for, who it competes with, and the price at which it stands up.
Collection
A carefully planned capsule, not an endless catalogue.
Materials
Fabrics, leathers, trims, small fittings and buttons selected before the prototype is made.
Prototype
The garment becomes real: it is tried on, corrected and approved.
Production
In the short supply chain within 30 km of Gallarate, with quality control.
Launch
Content, e-commerce and distribution: a brand only sells when people know it exists.
Why Be A Designer and not just any manufacturer.
| Generic manufacturer | Be A Designer | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | Asks you for a ready-made tech pack. | We start from your idea and build the collection and tech packs with you. |
| Materials | The prototype is made with whatever is at hand. | Research into fabrics, finishes and small components before the prototype: no surprises when it comes to cost. |
| Supply chain | Often far away; sometimes you don’t know where. | Workshops within 30 km of Gallarate. |
| Quantity | High minimums, a warehouse full of stock. | Carefully curated capsule collections of around 50 pieces per design. |
| After production | You get the garments; the rest is your problem. | Content, e-commerce and launch: the same team supports you right through to the sale. |
How much it costs to manufacture clothing in Italy.
These are indicative production costs per garment made in Italy, the same as those shown on our dedicated pages. The exact quote is provided once the fabrics, finishes and trims have been selected, and is free of charge.
| Item | Approximate cost | What drives it |
|---|---|---|
| T-shirt | €8–25 | Private label range or premium ‘Made in Italy’ range, in a batch of 100 pieces |
| Sweatshirt | €20–60 | Customised basic top: €20–35; Made in Italy sweatshirt made from scratch: €40–60, in small batches |
| Shirt | €40–80 | Fabric and workmanship |
| Trousers | €35–70 | Fabric and fit |
| Women's dress | €50–120 | Fabric, lining and trims |
| Unstructured jacket | €80–150 | Fabric, construction and finishes |
| Coat | €120–250 | Fabric, construction and lining |
| Swimsuit | from €35 | Style, technical fabric and quantity, from 50 pieces |
| Sportswear | €10–100 | From technical T-shirts (€10–18) to cycling kits (€50–100) |
| Leather bag | €100–150 | Average cost for small quantities, using good-quality materials |
| Prototype | around €80, €250 including the pattern | Always preceded by research into fabrics, finishes and trims |
| Brand labels | €0.15–0.20 each | Manufactured on an industrial scale, in a batch of around 1,000 items |
The retail price is generally between 3 and 4 times the production cost. The indicative minimum order quantity is around 50 items per model, i.e. around 10 per size; for bags, the minimum is 30 items per model.
Frequently asked questions.
As a guide to ‘Made in Italy’ production costs, Be A Designer quotes 8–25 euros for a T-shirt in a batch of 100 pieces, 40–80 euros for a shirt, €35–70 for a pair of trousers, €50–120 for a women’s dress, €80–150 for a deconstructed jacket and €120–250 for a coat. The retail price is generally between 3 and 4 times the production cost.
The minimum order quantity depends on what is being produced, but a realistic figure is around 50 pieces per model, i.e. around 10 pieces per size. For bags, the minimum is 30 pieces per model, or 10–30 per model and colour. Be A Designer works on capsule collections, so the minimum order is based on the collection as a whole rather than on individual items.
Womenswear and menswear, shirts, jackets and coats, sportswear and activewear, swimwear, T-shirts, hoodies and streetwear, bags and small leather goods in leather or synthetic leather. For a smaller budget there is also private label, with high-quality ready-made garments personalised with your brand. Everything is done in capsule collections, with a co-creation process on graphics, labels and prints.
On average, it takes 3–4 months from the initial idea to the finished sample collection, including material research, pattern-making, prototyping and revisions. Then comes production: for swimwear, for example, this takes around 30 days from confirmation of the sample. To be ready for a season, it’s best to start 8–10 months in advance.
At Be A Designer, a prototype costs around 80 euros, or 250 euros including the pattern. Before the prototype comes the search for fabrics, trims, small fittings and buttons: it’s never just the prototype plus the pattern.
Be A Designer manufactures its products in workshops within 30 km of Gallarate, in the province of Varese, and its leather goods in a workshop near Como. The short supply chain is a sustainability choice and allows the company to oversee prototypes and production in person. Production is not outsourced to other regions.
Yes, but pure contract manufacturing is reserved for VAT-registered individuals and established companies that already have a collection, technical specifications and sales channels. Those starting from scratch go through the full process: strategy, collection, sourcing of fabrics and trims, prototyping, production and launch.
No. Be A Designer does not produce white-label kits or merchandise for teams and events. It works with brands on capsule collections, using a co-creation process for graphics, labels and prints that takes a few months.
Yes, most of the people Be A Designer works with come to us with nothing more than an idea. In such cases, we start with the strategy and the collection, putting together a well-thought-out capsule range, and only then do we move on to prototyping and production.
Let’s talk about your collection.
A free consultation to help you work out what to produce, within what timeframe and on what budget. No obligation.
Or write to [email protected]
Italian 
English 
French 
German 
Spanish 
