Low MOQ · Small batches
Small batches made in Italy, from 1 garment
Test a style before you commit to a run, keep a range in small numbers, or reorder only what sold. Unit cost moves with quantity, and you get the price per piece before you decide.
Made for operating businesses that want fewer pieces per style rather than the lowest price at volume. Still pre-launch? Begin with the free learning path.
- Minimum order: 1 garment
- Unit cost quoted first
- Reorder what sells
The problem today
Why Italian minimums keep small brands out
The minimum multiplies
A quoted minimum usually counts per style and often per colour, so a modest capsule becomes hundreds of pieces before anything has sold.
Cloth sets a floor of its own
Mills sell by minimum cut length. A cloth milled to order can commit you to more garments than you planned, just to use the metres.
Sizes nobody asked for
A full size run in every colour means paying for the outer sizes too, and those are the pieces that end on the sale rail.
Every test becomes a bet
When the smallest order is a production run, trying a new style means wagering on a whole batch rather than a few pieces.
What changes with Caprice
How a low minimum works with us
Order from 1 garment
Order exactly the quantity you can sell, up to a whole range. No contract minimum applies, and nothing commits you to a reorder.
Unit cost quoted before you commit
Price per piece moves with quantity. You see it for the batch size you have in mind before anything is made.
Small batches, then reorders
Make a few of a style, watch how it sells, and repeat only what sold through. The range grows from evidence rather than a forecast.
Cloth in stock keeps the floor low
Cloth already in stock has no cut-length minimum to clear. A cloth milled to order can bring one, which is why stock matters when you choose.
Larger runs from 50 pieces
When a style proves itself, runs of 50 pieces or more are planned on a schedule of their own, agreed per order.
Same network at any quantity
A small order is routed through the same Italian production network as a large one, to a workshop that makes that garment type.
How to order small
From a trial piece to a repeat order
- 01
Pick the style to test
Tell us the garment, the cloth you have in mind and how many you want to start with.
- 02
Get the price per piece
You receive the unit cost for that quantity before anything is cut.
- 03
Sample, then the batch
You approve a sample, and the batch is made to it and checked before it ships.
- 04
Reorder what sold
Repeat the styles that sold through, in the quantities your sales justify.
Low MOQ questions
Small batches in Italy, answered
Is there really no minimum order?
There is a minimum, and it is 1 garment. Nothing multiplies it: it does not apply per colour or per size, there is no contract minimum, and you are not committed to a reorder. Two constraints can come from suppliers rather than from us: a fabric milled to order can carry a minimum length set by the mill, which choosing a cloth already in stock avoids, and custom trims such as woven labels can have minimums of their own. Unit cost does change with quantity, so the price per piece is quoted for the batch you want before you commit.
Why do Italian workshops usually ask for high minimums?
Three costs sit behind them. Mills sell cloth by minimum cut length, which sets a floor before any garment is cut. Setting up a pattern, a marker and a line costs much the same for a short run as for a long one, so small quantities look expensive to a factory. And trims such as buttons, labels and zips carry minimums of their own. Minimums usually apply per style and per colour as well, which is why a stated figure grows so quickly across a range. Our guide to minimum order quantities in Italy works through the published figures and how to get under them.
How much more does a small batch cost per piece?
It depends on the garment, the cloth and the construction, so there is no honest single figure to publish. What is fixed is the order of events: you get the price per piece for the quantity you want before anything is made, and you decide with that number in front of you. If you are weighing two batch sizes, ask for both. Choosing a cloth that is in stock helps, because it removes the mill minimum that can force a larger cut.
How long does a small batch take?
Lead times are measured from the moment measurements and specifications are confirmed, and a small batch follows the same groups as any other order. Shirts, overshirts and ties take 2–3 weeks. Suits, jackets, blazers, trousers, polos, knitwear and leather goods take 3–4 weeks. Bespoke pieces that need fittings take 8–12 weeks. Sampling comes before all of this, and its length is agreed per project. A run of 50 pieces or more gets a schedule agreed for that order instead of being stretched from these figures.
Small-batch enquiry
Start with the quantity you can sell.
Tell us the style, the cloth you have in mind and how many pieces you want first. A reply comes from manufacturing@capricebespoke.com with the price per piece for that quantity and the lead time for its garment group.
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