Fashion sites fail in a specific way. The photography that sells the garment is the same photography that makes the page too slow to reach the customer.
Fashion and direct-to-consumer ecommerce in New York costs $8,000 to $40,000 depending on catalogue size and how bespoke the experience is. The decisions that matter are image delivery, because the photography is the product; sizing and fit content, because returns eat the margin; and a checkout designed for a phone, because that is where the traffic is.
The photography sells the garment and the same photography is what makes the page slow. Modern formats, correct sizing per breakpoint, lazy loading below the fold and a properly configured CDN. This is where a fashion build earns its money.
Returns are the quiet cost of the category. Measurements in a table, model height and worn size, fabric behaviour and honest fit notes reduce returns more reliably than any post-purchase automation.
Most fashion browsing and an increasing share of buying happens on a phone, frequently in a spare few minutes. If the gallery, the size selector and the checkout are awkward with one thumb, the rest does not matter.
Product pages come and go with the season. Collection and category pages persist, accumulate links and are what actually rank. Treat them as content rather than as an automatic grid.
New York brands run drops. That means a page that survives a traffic spike, waitlists that actually capture, and honest stock states rather than a customer discovering the sold-out truth at checkout.
There is a real tension between an art-directed experience and a shop that converts. We build the expressive parts where they raise desire and stay conventional where the customer is trying to complete a task.
| Project | Range (USD) | Timeline | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify build, focused catalogue | $8,000 to $16,000 | 5 to 8 weeks | Custom theme, collections, product templates, sizing system, image pipeline |
| Larger catalogue or multi-collection | $16,000 to $30,000 | 8 to 12 weeks | Above plus merchandising rules, filtering, lookbooks, editorial templates |
| Bespoke or headless build | $30,000 to $60,000 | 12 to 20 weeks | Custom front end, deeper integrations, drop infrastructure, performance work |
| Photography pipeline setup | $1,500 to $4,000 | 1 to 2 weeks | Format conversion, sizing rules, CDN configuration, upload workflow |
| Growth plan | $800 to $3,000 per month | Ongoing | Merchandising, content, testing, performance, seasonal work |
Catalogue size moves these numbers less than how bespoke the experience is. A hundred products in a conventional layout is cheaper than twenty in an art-directed one.
| Ask them | A good answer sounds like | Walk away if |
|---|---|---|
| What does this actually cost? | A range, and what moves it, before a call | You must book a call to learn the ballpark |
| Who owns the code and design files? | You do, unconditionally, in the contract | Ownership depends on staying on a retainer |
| Can I see Core Web Vitals on three live sites? | URLs, and an honest word about the slowest | They show you portfolio shots |
| What happens to rankings in a rebuild? | Redirect mapping, raised unprompted | They say the new site will just rank better |
The pricing question separates most of the New York field, because publishing numbers commits you to them.
| Problem | What it costs |
|---|---|
| Full-resolution images served to phones | The customer leaves before the first product appears |
| No measurements, only S, M and L | Returns that erase the margin on the sale |
| Size selector awkward with a thumb | Abandonment at the last possible step |
| Collection pages treated as auto grids | Nothing durable ranks and paid traffic carries everything |
| Stock state revealed only at checkout | A customer who does not come back |
| Art direction applied to the checkout | Conversion sacrificed for a moment of expression |
A focused Shopify build runs $8,000 to $16,000. Larger catalogues with merchandising and editorial templates run $16,000 to $30,000. Bespoke or headless builds run $30,000 to $60,000.
Shopify for the large majority, because payments, tax, shipping and inventory are solved and your team can run it. Custom or headless is justified when the experience itself is the differentiator and you have the budget to maintain it.
Modern formats, a correctly sized image per breakpoint rather than one large file scaled down, lazy loading below the fold and a properly configured CDN. This is the single biggest technical decision in a fashion build.
Measurably, if the sizing content is real. Measurement tables, model height and worn size, fabric behaviour and honest fit notes reduce returns more reliably than anything you can do after the parcel ships.
Yes. That means a page that holds up under a spike, waitlist capture that works, honest stock states and a queue behaviour you have decided in advance rather than discovered live.
Handled as a separate logged-in experience with its own pricing and minimums. Trying to serve wholesale through the consumer storefront compromises both, and it is worth scoping properly.
We build the templates and the sizing structure, and we can write category and editorial content. Product descriptions usually work better from your team or a fashion copywriter who knows the brand voice.
We work with New York brands remotely on Eastern hours. We would rather state that than imply a showroom in the city, and not carrying those overheads is part of the cost difference.
Send us what you are trying to fix and we will tell you what it takes, what it costs, and whether we are the right people for it. If we are not, we will say so.