Custom clothing manufacturing for fashion brands

Scale your fashion brand

 

Leverage the benefits of China clothing manufacturing with Highlife

Whether you have a finished tech pack ready for production or an early-stage clothing concept that still needs development, Highlife can help you bring your product to market, leveraging the benefits of production in Asia

With over a decade of experience in the industry in SE Asia, a portfolio of satisfied clients, and offices in China, Hong Kong and Australia, Highlife is here and ready to help you with your custom clothing manufacturing needs.

Manufacturing clothing in China and SE Asia can offer a significant competitive advantage for fashion brands wanting to scale their businesses; the quality is excellent and prices are still advantageous. We know because we manufacture our own quality retail labels in China and SE Asia before shipping to retailers in Australia.

Highlife helps brands realise their ambitions with our full design to shipping service, drawing on our own in-house experience of garment design, sourcing fabrics, manufacture, QC and shipping.

Custom clothing manufacturing in China and SE Asia - Highlife has helped many brands produce some of their best selling lines

China custom clothing manufacturing can offer a significant competitive advantage for fashion brands who want to scale their businesses – we are here and ready to help

Highlights of working with Highlife

Full service from concept to delivery with in-house design and QC teams, and a dedicated shipping division - Highlife Freight Management

Expert guidance, experience and our connections allow you to leverage the benefits of clothing manufacturing in China and SE Asia

Our extensive supplier network enables us to source a wide range of fabrics, trims, production techniques and specialist finishes.

Working with start-up and established international labels. Discretion is assured.

You can count on us for performance fabrics, specialist construction, custom washes and finishes, branding applications, quality trims, Western sizing and custom packaging.

Australian / Chinese owned and managed ensuring clear communication throughout

Delighting clients since 2013

Who we work with

From fashion startups to established international fashion labels

Jeans on display in a retail store

How we work - a process that focuses on quality

When you work with Highlife, we take care of it all, from design to delivery. With more than a decade of experience in garment manufacturing, we have set up an efficient production process that ensures quality checks and sign offs are made at all the key points with a focus on delivering quality garments to schedule.

The several stages in the production of garments are outlined and explained below.

Understanding your requirements

In the design stage we work to understand your requirements and to create an accurate specification.

We can work from your completed tech pack, an existing reference sample, sketches or an initial product concept. Where required, our team can also help develop the specifications and technical information needed for sampling and production.

As we have produced so many garments we already have specs for most items – another benefit of working with Highlife!

The approval of patterns and fabric samples gets us ready for the important Sampling Stage.

Depending on your project, we may follow the following processes:

  • Understanding your requirements
  • Design concept or reference sample
  • Sketch designs & estimate
  • CAD / Digital mockup
  • Logo and label designs
  • Fabric & design approval
  • Sourcing of fabrics and accessories, trims & notions. Note that we will always use quality items such as YKK zippers.
  • Quotation and payment terms
  • Tech Pack with full specification for non-standard items
  • Pattern making for non-standard items
Fashion designer looking at fabric swatches

Pre-production checks

Sampling is important in eliminating errors and ensuring estimates are accurate. At each stage errors and assumptions are ironed out so you can be assured that you know what you are getting once production starts.

Depending on the complexity of your garment design, the following stages may be applied:

  • Prototype (Muslin) samples
  • Fit samples
  • Sew-by sample
  • Grading and size set samples
  • Sales samples
  • Pre-production samples
  • Mark making

Your concept becomes a reality!

Once manufacturing starts sampling is still done to ensure that the quality is maintained and the garments stay true to the approved pre-production samples. Pre-shipment inspection by the Highlife QC team before packing is the final step in the rigorous QC process.

  • Cut & sew
  • Top of Production (TOP) samples
  • Cut & sew inspections
  • Finishing – buttons, YKK zippers
  • Garment printing / embroidery
  • Assembly & finishing inspection
  • Pressing & finishing
  • Pre-shipment inspection by the Highlife Team
  • Packing with accessory labels, custom packaging

Final checks and your shipment is on its way

Shipping is managed by Highlife Freight Management, a division of Highlife Trading Company. Your order will be shipped via road, rail, sea- or air-freight depending on the schedule and budget as outlined in your original proposal.

Highlife fulfilment services

We are also able to fulfill individual garment orders directly to customers for online stores, shipping from our factory saving time and handling costs.

Garments in a warehouse ready for shipping
Packed garments on conveyor rollers for shipping

If you’d like to learn more or you would like to request a quotation, please complete our enquiry form and let’s get the conversation started!

Send in your enquiry!

Frequently asked questions

Most factories in our network are based in southern China with some located in Indonesia and in India. These areas have well-developed supply-chain infrastructure and good transport links. In addition, our China office is located in Shun De, Guangdong, which means that our team can easily visit the factories for checks and to maintain relationships.

Our due diligence checks include a physical visit to the factory by our Mandarin speaking team as well as an audit of the facility’s organisational structure, human resource management, factory resources, performance, environmental responsibility practices and financial position.

Highlife continually checks and can provide documentation that our factories do not use child or forced labour. Employees must have the Freedom of Association, the Right to Collective Bargaining, access to fair compensation and be exempt from discrimination on any basis, harsh disciplinary practices, and unreasonable working hours. Above all else, it is imperative that manufacturers provide a safe and healthy working environment for all employees.

Yes we organise international shipping through our Highlife Freight Division which specialises in shipping, whether by road, rail, sea or air. 

Highlife Freight Management also provides a standalone shipping service for other factories and brands and we are renowned for our efficiency, favourable costs and on-time delivery.

We take pride in our work and your satisfaction is a top priority for us so we have procedures in place to minimise errors and ensure that you are delighted with your delivery.

Those procedures include the vetting we do of our factories, the pre-production checks and sign offs as well as the checks that are done during production and finally, the checks done by our own in-house QC team before shipping. This allows us to boast 99% satisfaction levels with our orders.

We can accept very low quantity garment orders but of course the cost will be higher per piece than for large orders. This is simply because admin, production and shipping costs are split over fewer items. However, the cost is often still competitive.

Most of the factories we use are optimised for very large orders and their core business is supplying garments for large brands worldwide. 

Because of our relationships with these factories they can also support us with smaller MOQs, which is usually a bigger challenge in sourcing.

Yes we can help with design. Firstly, we have produced so many garments that we probably have a pattern that is a close match for your design which can then be customised for your specifications. Alternatively, our pattern makers can work from a sample or your sketches to create patterns and samples for your design.

We can also help brands create brand artwork, labels, hang tags and packaging.

Yes we can and we can organise certification such as that provided by the Global Recycled Standard. Some of the fabrics we have used include ‘Better Cotton Initiative’ fabrics and EcoGreen and REPREVE which are both performance polyester fabrics made from post-consumer recycled plastic.

Maurio Bamboo Black Dress Shirt - Bamboo Polyester Mix. Sizes - 2-11XL
PERRONE floral patterned long sleeve dress shirt. BCI (Better Cotton Initiative) cotton
Maurio Menswear Jacket
Atlas Menswear Kirra shorts - Fixed waist in 4-way stretch cotton
Atlas 1/4 Zip Fleece Top, sizing S-11XL

Highlife's Fashion Labels

Highlife designs, manufactures and distributes a range of high quality ready-to-wear menswear for retailers in Australia and New Zealand under the Maurio, Perrone, Cartane, Fred Stuart and ATLAS labels.

Maurio Menswear

The Maurio menswear brand has been a success for Australian and New Zealand retailers since 1994 with its line of well-cut suits, dress shirts and casual wear that meet an everyday budget. The Maurio range includes a range of sustainable popular bamboo fabric shirts.

Perrone

Perrone is a more premium label where you can expect higher-end fabrics such as 100% cotton, more intricate trims, embroidered labels and shirt decoration. Perrone is available through our seasonal indent catalogues.

ATLAS

The ATLAS label offers core men’s casual wear such as polo shirts, shorts and fleece tops. Our labels are known for their timeless, functional designs with larger sizing up to 11XL on some ranges.

Fred Stuart

Maurio Menswear represents the Fred Stuart label in Australia and New Zealand. Fred Stuart is an essential leisure lifestyle menswear brand with a washed aesthetic, redefining everyday basics with sustainable materials and new dye techniques. 

Request our most recent retail catalogues

Maurio Perrone AtlasW27 Catalogue

Southern Winter 2027 Indent collection is now available for retail orders. Catalogues are available in either AU$ and NZ$ – please specify which one you need on the contact form.

Request Catalogues
Maurio Logo
Perrone logo
Atlas logo
Fred Stuart logo