Category: Blog
SFF138 How She Did It: A Fashion Freelancer with No Industry Experience
September 13, 2021
“It’s practically impossible to break into fashion.” If you’ve ever believed this myth, you’re not alone. And that’s how today’s guest, Brittany, felt after she graduated from fashion school. For 15 years, Brittany couldn’t get her break. But within two months of launching her freelance career, Brittany has already landed her first client and completed […]
SFF137 Fashion Freelancer Q&A: I feel like I’m losing my skills and confidence…
August 30, 2021
If you’ve ever felt rusty or worried that you’re losing your edge in your fashion career, this episode is for you. Tina is a freelancer in Germany. Coming from the activewear category, she now exclusively designs workwear, and loves it! But will her workwear clients notice that she’s “lost” her activewear skills? And how can […]
SFF136 Creating Stability and Fulfillment as a Fashion Freelancer
August 16, 2021
You shouldn’t have to choose between your fashion career and your family. That “9 to 5” (more like 7 AM to 10 PM!) corporate job might feel stable and safe, but sometimes sticking with what you know isn’t worth the trade off. As a freelancer, you CAN build a stable, fulfilling career in fashion–and still […]
SFF135 Fashion Freelancer Q&A: What should my services be? (The skills I have or what I LOVE?)
July 29, 2021
As a freelancer in fashion, should you offer the skills you already know how to do well, or learn new skills so you can do what you really love? Some aspiring freelancers get so stuck on this question that they end up doing neither (and putting off their freelance goals yet another year… or two… […]
SFF134 How to Be a Remote Freelance Patternmaker
July 19, 2021
Freelance patternmaker Alexandra doesn’t have a fashion degree, and she doesn’t live in a fashion hub. Yet with only a couple years of experience, she is now making more in one day as a freelancer than she made in two weeks at her old full-time job. Better yet, she loves the freedom to make her […]
SFF133 The Fashion Freelancer Who Never Wanted to Be a Freelancer
July 05, 2021
If you’ve never considered freelancing as an option for your fashion career, you’re not alone. Today’s guest, Amy, liked working in-house and was never interested in becoming a freelancer. But when she became a mom and needed just a little more work-life balance, she came face to face with how inflexible this industry can be. […]
SFF132 Fashion Freelancer Q&A: Pricing and retainers, WTF to do!?
June 21, 2021
In this Fashion Freelancer Q&A you’ll hear from Mari, a freelance knitwear designer who’s working on perfecting her pricing strategy. She’s built a successful freelance business, and she loves her work and the “limitless opportunities” that freelancing provides. But like most newer freelancers, she still has questions about charging for her services. From undercharging to […]
SFF131 How this fashion freelancer is charging $85/hr (during the pandemic!)
June 07, 2021
One of the most common myths about freelancing in fashion is that brands won’t pay a fair hourly wage. Today’s guest blows that myth out of the water–sharing how she’s been charging up to $85 an hour over the past year (yes, during the pandemic!). From tips on finding clients, to pricing, retainers, and contracts, […]
SFF130 Fashion Freelancer Q&A: What if brands think I’m an idiot?
May 24, 2021
Sometimes the thing you think you’re stuck on is just a distraction from what’s really holding you back. In this Fashion Freelancer Q&A, technical designer Jaylene asks where to find freelance clients. But over the course of the conversation, she realizes that it’s not finding the brands that’s most challenging, but putting herself out there […]
SFF129 How this designer freelanced while starting her fashion brand
May 10, 2021
Launching a fashion brand is expensive. And many designers who dream of having their own brand find themselves stuck in this dilemma: You need to work to support yourself while you’re starting your brand. But a full time job hardly leaves any time to work on your line! In this interview, Atlanta-based sustainable designer Christina […]
SFD128 Saying Goodbye to the Successful Fashion Designer Podcast
April 26, 2021
This is a very special episode–and the last episode of the Successful Fashion Designer Podcast. But don’t worry. Better things are coming, and we hope you’ll be along for the ride! In this episode, Heidi & Tara chat about the future of Successful Fashion Designer, and what this huge change means to you. Click here […]
SFD127 How this 22 year old designer got featured by Vogue
April 12, 2021
This is my second interview with Noémie Jouas, a young designer who started creating bespoke dresses from her college housing in small-town Scotland. Since I spoke to her last, she’s had her first runway show, adapted to the pandemic, and gotten her work featured by both Teen Vogue and Vogue. You can listen to the […]
SFD126 How to Find Freelance Fashion Design Clients
March 29, 2021
Learn new strategies for finding freelance fashion design clients, charging a retainer for consistent income, and growing your freelance fashion business even when it seems like there’s no work out there. Sophia is a full-time fashion freelancer who moved from NYC to Texas and grew her freelance business–during Covid! If you’ve been struggling to find […]
SFD125 How to Start a Luxury Sleepwear Brand
March 15, 2021
Canadian designer Alexandra Suhner Isenberg studied fashion in Toronto, London, and Paris. She’s worked for brands including Burberry, freelanced, and taught fashion. But when an antique men’s chemise became her favorite thing to sleep in, Alexandra was inspired to start her brand, The Sleep Shirt. Listen for her fascinating story and how she built a […]
SFD124 How this Pattern Drafter Grew Her Freelance Business with Generosity
March 01, 2021
Karen LePage is a freelance patternmaker and grader who specializes in size inclusivity and sustainability. She’s also a fit consultant, a sewing and fit teacher, an author, and a mom. Karen broke into the industry without going to fashion school, and she has built a thriving freelance business doing meaningful projects for clients she loves. In […]
SFD123 How This Power Lifter Launched a Muscular Men’s Clothing Line
February 15, 2021
Atlas Menswear founder Aaron Woolf has been athletic his whole life. Although this father of 4 has been an entrepreneur in other industries since 2014, he never thought he’d get into fashion. But he was fed up with dress shirts that didn’t fit his build. And when he started talking to other men at the […]
SFD122 Working as a Freelance Pattern Maker with Shilo Byrd (+ Tips on Starting Your Own Brand)
February 01, 2021
Shilo Byrd has been in the industry for a decade and a half, and she knows her stuff. She’s a freelance pattern maker, product developer, supply chain & production consultant, and a contributor at Vogue Business. In this episode of the SFD Podcast, Shilo chats about everything from understanding fit and the best way to […]
SFD121 How to be a fashion freelancer (if you don’t know anyone in the industry)
January 18, 2021
Alex is a self-taught freelance technical designer living in Ottawa, Ontario. He didn’t go to fashion school, and he never held a job in the industry. Yet he’s working with small fashion brands, helping them get their ideas into production alongside his full-time job. Even if you don’t know anyone in the fashion industry, you […]
SFD120 How this accountant launched a handbag brand (with no experience or money)
December 07, 2020
Have you ever found yourself sitting at your day job, feeling like something is missing? Have you always been full of ideas, daydreaming about a more creative life? My guest on this episode, Tara, pursued an accounting career for stability. But she could never shake the creative ideas that came to her, tempting her to […]
SFD119 How to advance your fashion design career (from assistant to director)
November 09, 2020
Oni Auer is a design director and fashion career mentor in NYC. She got started in fashion by scoring a position with BCBG when she was a mere 18 years old. She had an associates degree, but no industry connections or advantages to help her get ahead. Since then she has worked with a huge […]
