In episode 37, Laura Briggs talks about the fun, work, challenges, and rewards of starting her petite fashion brand, The Shortlist, without any fashion industry experience. The Shortlist creates gorgeous, limited edition fashion exclusively for petites. In this episode, you’ll learn: People and resources mentioned in this episode: Do you want fashion business tips and […]
Design may be the fun part, but costing is what makes sure your business is making enough money to cover your expenses, pay your people, and make a profit. Target and actual costs each serve different purposes, but both work toward the same goal of keeping your customers happy and your business profitable.
Fittings are the part of the development process where you get to evaluate your garment, test it, and make changes as needed until it is approved. Even during fittings, though, mistakes can happen. Here are five fitting mistakes you might be making and how and why to avoid them.
In episode 35, Terri Stipanovich, founder and CEO of small-batch manufacturing factory The Collective Thread, shares how her background in the non-profit world and mission to empower women to earn a living wage led her to start The Collective Thread as a resource for emerging designers, training ground for industrial sewing, and a place for […]
In episode 32, Elizabeth Frenchman shares what worked and what didn’t about starting a sleepwear brand in her home town of NYC after retiring from a career in graphic design. Elizabeth Frenchman is an apparel designer who adheres to the “less is more” philosophy as well as G-d being in the details. She was born […]
Starting your own fashion business involves many steps. You as the founder have to make the decisions to move your business towards your goals. But even before you start working through the spreadsheets, sticky notes, voice memos, or whichever method you use to track your to-dos, there are some questions you need to answer first.
The feast turned out great all around and we’re still enjoying the leftovers, but all the debate, guesswork, and phoning a friend about the family recipes got me thinking about how not having a tech pack results in similar commotion for similar reasons.
In episode 30, Alexa McNeal of Cedar & Sand Swimwear (now Bold Beach Swim) shares why and how she launched a swimwear brand in October 2020 where every suit is made to adjust to your body – not the other way around. Alexa has been designing adjustable swimwear for every body type since October 2020 […]
Whatever prompted you to start this business and however eager you are to get your design ideas out into the world, you need a realistic timeline for developing your collection so you can plan your launch. Getting a first collection ready to launch may take longer than you think.
In general, I think that when people think of quality production, they think of quality sewing. While this is certainly true, it is what’s upstream of the sewing – like the pattern – that has the most control over the quality of the finished garment.
