Category: Blog
SFD084 How to Become an Event Planner for New York Fashion Week
March 18, 2019
Emily Burton lives in Georgia, is barely 5′ tall, and has a thick southern accent. She’s pretty far from what you would coin as a stereotypical “fashionista”. But she’s a spitfire of a woman and through pure perseverance and hard work, built an event planning company that now works with brands at New York Fashion […]
How to Draw Fashion Flats in Illustrator (In 20 Mins!)
March 14, 2019
If you want a job in any part of fashion, knowing how to draw fashion flats in Illustrator is a mandatory skill. The problem? Adobe Illustrator can be a really frustrating software to learn. And it can feel like everything takes FOREVER. But it doesn’t have to! CUT YOUR ILLUSTRATOR TIME IN HALF WITH THESE TUTORIALS ⏰ Oh. […]
8 More Strategies to Land Your Dream Fashion Design Job
March 07, 2019
No matter your skill level or where you live, you can use these strategies to land your dream fashion job. If you haven’t noticed, there are a few themes that come up over and over in this book to land your dream fashion design job. Beyond the required technical skills of sketching fashion flats in […]
SFD083 How This Designer Built a Vegan Luxury Shoe Brand
March 04, 2019
Bebe Mehr’s fashion entrepreneur journey began in 2001 while she was in college and started selling stuff on Ebay. Little did she know, that 13 years later, after a lot of different fashion careers, it would turn into her own line of vegan luxury shoes, Cult of Coquette. Coming from an entrepreneurial family, Bebe’s journey […]
How to Land a Fashion Design Job If You’re 35+
February 28, 2019
Have Experience But in Between Jobs? Take Time Off for a Family? This Chapter is For YOU! An interesting thing happens when you hit a certain age in fashion. Well, the word “interesting” may not be quite right. Arguably, “depressing” is more appropriate. Whether you happen to be a more seasoned candidate or took some […]
How to Find Your First Fashion Design Job (or Internship!) After College
February 21, 2019
Even If You Have No Experience You know one of the hardest things to do in the fashion industry? Land your FIRST job. It’s the whole chicken and egg thing: “I can’t get a job without experience. But how can I get experience without a job?” Getting your foot in the door when you’re just […]
SFD082 Fashion Startup Trade Shows: Are You Ready (and what’s the cost)?
February 18, 2019
When it comes to trade shows, there are SO many questions. How much is this going to cost? How does this all work? How do I make sure it’ll be a success? Am I ready? In my interview with Danielle Licata and Kelly Helfman, we talk about these exact questions and more. Danielle and Kelly […]
Seven Awesome Fashion Jobs You Never Knew Existed
February 15, 2019
Because Being a Fashion Designer Isn’t Your Only Option! We just reviewed what a day in the life of a fashion designer looks like. And it may have left you feeling a little flat. Which is why we’re going to go through 7 awesome fashion jobs you never knew existed. The best part about these […]
How to Get a Fashion Design Job
February 07, 2019
You want to know what happens when you go to fashion school? They teach you how to tap into your creativity by hand sketching, draping, and sewing beautiful designs. And while you may walk away with gorgeous portfolio from your senior collection, a book full of amazing sketches and photos of your runway show is not going to get you a job.
SFD081 When Your Parents Don’t Support Your Fashion Design Dream
February 04, 2019
Kayla’s fashion career journey has been an uphill battle. First, her parents didn’t support a “artsy” degree. Not that uncommon. But then? During her senior year of highschool, her dad became incarcerated. There was no money to pay for her college education. Kayla explored alternate, more “practical”, career paths like accounting and biology, but they […]
SFD080 Production & Manufacturing Processes for Small Batch Fashion
January 21, 2019
Jessica Osborn is the CEO and founder of Privy Label, a company that help brands and boutiques create their own custom clothing lines from design to delivery. She works closely with small-batch manufacturers in the USA in order to cut down on the wasteful practice of overseas manufacturing. Jessica has six years of experience in […]
SFD079 Three Years as a Freelance Fashion Designer
January 14, 2019
Kimberly Dippel was on the Successful Fashion Design podcast in August 2017, and we talked about her success finding freelance projects on UpWork. Since then, she’s come such a long way! In this episode of the podcast, we’re doing our first (!) follow-up with a past guest. Kimberly has slayed the freelance game this last […]
SFD078 Working with Factories as a Freelance Fashion Designer
January 07, 2019
There are a lot of different paths to becoming a freelance fashion designer. And Heather Royer took one I’d never heard of before. Instead of working directly with brands, she got her first freelance opportunity designing for a factory in China. The best part? There are ways you can create the same freelance opportunities for […]
SFD077 Interview with Project Runway Juniors Winner Chelsea Ma
December 17, 2018
Chelsea Ma won Project Runway Juniors when she was just 15 years old…and with no previous fashion experience. Like a lot of designers, she had an interest in fashion, but had no idea where to start. After convincing her parents to let her trade figure-skating lessons for sewing lessons, she began one step at a time by learning […]
SFD076 Six Steps to Starting a Fashion Line that Sells
December 10, 2018
Designing and starting a fashion line is exhilarating and inspiring and something most of us want to jump right into. Starting a fashion line that sells is something completely different–but it’s something you can do. Robyn and I are BACK with a podlet that sums up six easy steps to starting a fashion line that sells. The Successful […]
SFD075 How to Be a Lingerie Designer with Laurie Van Jonsson
November 26, 2018
Being a lingerie designer is its own unique and interesting niche of working in the fashion industry. There are tons of different things you have to think about compared to designing – let’s say – shirts or jackets. But it’s a pretty cool job! Laurie Van Jonsson knows this firsthand. From launching her own lingerie […]
SFD074 Mailbag: Fashion Design Career Advice on 3D Prototyping, Kickstarting Your Career, and Productivity
November 19, 2018
Many of you have loads of Q’s about working in fashion…and I know it can be hard to find answers. Maybe you don’t know any industry experts to ask. Maybe your coworkers are tight lipped and not willing to share their secrets. Maybe you just don’t even know where to go. Which is why I’m […]
SFD073 Accounting Advice for Fashion Designers and Businesses
November 12, 2018
Guess what? If you want to have a fashion brand, you’re going to have to deal with fashion business accounting. And while it’s not the sexiest topic around, it’s a fact of doing business. But the good news? It doesn’t have to be complicated or overwhelming. And in this interview with accountant Peter Lang, who […]
SFD072 This Fashion Designer Applied to Puma 7 Times. How He Finally Got His Dream Job.
November 05, 2018
It’s easy to see someone who’s living their fashion design dream and think, “they got lucky, but that could never happen to me.” But that couldn’t be further from the truth. The reality? You have NO idea what their back story is. You have NO idea how hard they worked to get there. And you […]
SFD071 A Fashion Design Dream Come True: From the Honduras to NYFW, With Guillermo Irias
October 22, 2018
When it came to success in fashion, Guillermo Irias had nothing going for him. Raised in the Honduras by a single mom who didn’t think a fashion career was a good idea, he didn’t have the financial or emotional support he needed. But he is hardworking, driven, and passionate. And he wasn’t willing to let […]
