Summary: In this comprehensive, data-driven guide to naming and branding in the fashion industry, we presented 12 questions to a representative audience of American consumers. We gained insight into the most credible domain names for fashion startups, which names build the strongest connection with customers, and the key branding trends in the fashion industry

Key takeaways:

• .com is strongly considered the most credible domain extension.
• Of alternative extensions, .shop is stronger than .fashion.
• Add-on words in a domain harm credibility with 84% of customers.
• Short, made-up words generate the most curiosity in a fashion brand, more even than single English words.
• Single words build more trust than longer names.
• Trust/reliability and innovation/creativity are important emotions to evoke in a name.
• Two-thirds say that it’s important for a fashion brand to have a social, ethical or environmental mission.
• Bright & bold branding is the most impactful trend in fashion, while branding with AI is the least impactful.
• 73% say it’s important for a fashion brand to understand their lifestyle and values.

Objective: The global fashion industry is booming, growing at an astonishing 8.94% each year. Launching a fashion brand has never been easier thanks to e-commerce and streamlined global supply chains, but this creates a competitive market where new businesses must leverage every facet of brand identity to forge a powerful connection with their target audience. Our goal is to help new and rebranding fashion companies understand customer perception of names, domain names and brand positioning.

Audience: A representative panel of American consumers aged 18 – 64. We asked a qualifying question to ensure our panel are engaged with fashion industry brands: all respondents say that they shop for clothing or accessories from fashion brands “frequently” or “occasionally”.

Our Results

Domain Name

Fashion brands can reach a global audience through online selling, making your domain name an essential piece of the puzzle. Previous research revealed that domain name is an important factor for 77% of consumers when engaging with brands online, and for fashion brands in particular, where questions of supply chain and authenticity remain prominent, a strong domain name plays a key role in building trust and credibility with your audience. For a deep dive into data-driven domain choice, explore our core research on domain names here.

• .com is strongly considered the most credible domain extension.
• Of alternative extensions, .shop is stronger than .fashion.
• A longer .com domain is better than a shorter .fashion domain.
• Add-on words in a domain, such as “get” and “app”, harm credibility with 84% of customers.

Rank the following domain extensions from most to least credible for a fashion brand.

For a fashion brand’s website, which domain name is more credible?

How does an add-on prefix or suffix word in a domain name (e.g., getmydesign.com or mydesignapp.com, vs. mydesign.com) impact your perception of a fashion brand’s credibility when shopping online?

Naming a Fashion Brand

Brand name plays an important role in the fashion industry and represents an opportunity to imply core features of your product and brand identity to your audience. A strong name will not only ensure customers remember and return to your brand; it will integrate your designs into their aspirations of prestige, luxury or trendsetting.

For a deep dive into brand name, explore our core research on business names — including what venture capitalists look for in a name when deciding where to invest.

• Short, made-up words generate the most curiosity in a fashion brand, more even than single English words.
• Short phrases are also considered strong names for fashion brands.
• Single words build more trust than longer names.
• Names should mix creative and descriptive elements.
• Trust/reliability and innovation/creativity are important emotions to evoke in a name.

Rank the following name types based on how curious they make you about a fashion brand. 1 is most curious, 5 is least curious.

Which naming style builds more trust when you’re hearing about a fashion brand?

Do you prefer a fashion brand name that describes the product/service or a more creative name?

What emotions should a fashion brand name evoke for you to feel connected to the brand? Choose up to two.

Brand Identity

Fashion plays a key role in subculture and impacts how consumers manufacture their own identities. Your brand identity can be built to mirror your customers’ identity-building, and the story you tell about your brand will impact how you connect with customers. Find out more in our core research on branding in 2025.

• Two-thirds say that it’s important for a fashion brand to have a social, ethical or environmental mission.
• Bright & bold branding is the most impactful trend in fashion, while branding with AI is the least impactful.
• 73% say it’s important for a fashion brand to understand their lifestyle and values.

How important is it for a fashion brand to have a clearly articulated social, ethical or environmental mission?

Rank the following branding trends from most to least impactful for a fashion brand.

Rank the following in order of how important they are in building a relationship with a fashion brand.

How important is it that a fashion brand expresses an understanding of your lifestyle and values

How likely are you to buy a product or service that you want from a fashion brand that does not align with your values?

Conclusion

Creativity is key for fashion brands. While in other industries, including real estate and wellness, consumers prefer single English word names, in fashion a short, made-up new word was the preferred name style. This also makes it easier for new fashion brands to discover available .com domains for maximum trust online. Get started by exploring Atom’s collection of premium fashion industry domain names.

If you’re interested in digging deeper into our findings, or asking your own questions on consumer, branding and worklife topics, contact thom@atomradar.com to learn more.

Want personalized insights?

Run your own brand surveys and more with AtomRadar. Our data can power your brand development.

Get Started

Schedule a Consultation

×

Need data now?

Run your own surveys and discover deep insights with Atom Surveys

Get Started

About The Author

Thom Davies

Thom Davies is a researcher at AtomRadar and content strategist for Atom.com. His background in quantitative and qualitative analysis is the foundation for data-led brand strategy.

View All Posts