A collection is a matrix, not a mood board
Yoga apparel brands that sell well over several seasons tend to share one habit: they plan collections as a grid of styles, colors and sizes, with a quantity in each cell, before they fall in love with any single sketch. The grid shows immediately whether the plan fits the budget and the minimums.
Each style and color combination in the grid usually carries its own minimum order, because each color is dyed and cut separately. Typical reference ranges are 100-300 pieces per style per color for cut and sew and 300-500 for seamless, confirmed in writing for each program. Sizes can usually be mixed within those minimums. Multiply the cells and the total stock commitment becomes visible.
Three layers: core, seasonal and test
| Layer | What it holds | Color approach | Stock approach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core | Hero legging, matching bra, everyday top | A few permanent colors, usually dark and neutral | Deeper stock, continuous reorders |
| Seasonal | New colors, prints or textures on core patterns | A seasonal color story of a few shades | One run, limited reorders |
| Test | New silhouettes or categories | One or two colors | Minimum quantity, read sell-through |
Core styles earn the reorders. Seasonal pieces bring customers back. Test pieces let you try a new category, such as a one-piece suit or men's shorts, without betting the season on it.
Choose the hero product first
Most yoga lines have one piece that defines them, very often a legging. Decide what makes it distinct: the fabric hand, the waistband, a pocket, a seamless rib, a specific inseam. Then build the collection around it. The bra, top and short should share the fabric or color family so customers can buy a set, and their details should echo the hero without copying it.
See yoga leggings and yoga sets for the construction options that typically define a hero piece.
Split by construction route
A collection often mixes seamless and cut and sew pieces. Seamless styles suit ribbed sets, body-mapped leggings and seamless bras; cut and sew suits leggings with gussets and pockets, bras with removable pads, prints and color blocking. The two routes usually run in different partner factories in different clusters, so plan their timelines separately and approve color across both. Matching color between a seamless bra and a cut and sew legging needs shared color standards and careful approval. See matching yoga sets.
Build a color story that works in production
Colors are where collections most often outgrow their budget. Each extra color on a style is another minimum, another dye lot and another lab dip. A practical approach is a small palette shared across styles: if the legging, bra and top use the same few colors, each color's fabric order is larger, and matching across pieces is easier.
Include at least one dark core color. Dark colors are forgiving on opacity, often pass a squat check at lower fabric weights and sell steadily. If you add white or pastels, plan for heavier fabric or a different construction, and approve opacity on the lightest shade.
Set the size range and size curve
Decide the size range early because it affects patterns, grading and fabric consumption. Then estimate the size curve, the share of each size in the order. For a first collection, the curve is a guess; for later collections, use your sales data by size. Mixing sizes within the minimum lets you match the curve rather than ordering equal quantities in every size. Extended sizes need proper fit development, not only grading. See size charts and grade rules.
Plan the calendar backward
Start from the date the collection must be in your warehouse and work backward. Allow for transit and customs, inspection and packing, bulk production of typically 30-45 days after sample approval and fabric availability, fabric dyeing for custom colors, and sampling rounds of commonly 7-15 days each for the first sample. New silhouettes need more rounds than color changes on existing patterns.
- Lock the style list and the color palette.
- Send briefs and lab dip requests for new colors.
- Run samples, starting with new silhouettes, which need more rounds.
- Approve fabric, colors, trims and pre-production samples.
- Release bulk with confirmed quantities per style, color and size.
- Inspect, ship and receive before the photography date.
The MOQ and lead time page sets out the reference ranges behind each step.
Check the plan against cash and space
Add up the grid: styles times colors times quantity. Compare it with the budget, then with warehouse space and expected sell-through. If the total is too high, cut colors before cutting styles, and cut seasonal or test pieces before core. A tighter collection with stock depth in the right cells usually outsells a wide one that is out of the popular sizes within weeks.
Give every style a one-page brief
Once the grid is agreed, write a short brief for each style before sampling starts. It should name the layer the style belongs to, the customer and practice it serves, the fabric direction, the colors it carries, the size range, the logo method and placement, the target quantity per color and the role it plays in the price tiers. A style that cannot fill in every line of its brief is usually not ready for sampling.
The briefs also help later. When a sample comes back, comments can be checked against the brief instead of against memory, and when a style is reordered a season later, the brief explains why it exists and what must stay the same. Pair each brief with the fabric sheet and the color standards it uses, and keep them together for the life of the style. Our tech pack note shows how the brief grows into a full specification.
Leave room for reorders
A collection plan should include the reorder plan for core styles: which colors and sizes get reordered first, and when the reorder must be placed to arrive before stock runs out. That is covered in our note on reorder planning.
When the grid is ready, send it to the desk. We review it against the minimums and routes of the partner factories assigned to your program and confirm quantities and timing in writing.