Category: Fashion Brand
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 […]
SFD118 How to build a sustainable clothing line (in Latin America)
October 26, 2020
Juan Pablo Martínez is a Colombian designer who has worked in sustainability for more than 10 years, and in the fashion industry for more than two decades. One of the first sustainable designers in Latin America, he has also designed for Christian Lacroix, owned a successful boutique, shown his designs at a New York fashion […]
SFD116 How to start your clothing line on Etsy (and then build an empire)
September 28, 2020
Anna Triantafellou designs fantasy couture dresses for girls, and her business is now so successful that she supports her family of 3 on only her income. If you’re thinking this kind of success is only possible for lucky people with trust funds, you’ll definitely want to hear Anna’s story. Coming from a traumatic childhood in […]
SFD115 How to Start a Clothing Line with (practically!) No Money
September 14, 2020
When you think about starting your own clothing line, you probably imagine garments you designed completely from scratch gracing a magazine page or floating down a runway. But starting a fashion brand takes years… and a major investment of cash. If what you really want is to get something of your own design out into […]
SFD114 How to Predict Textile Design Trends and Colors
August 31, 2020
Understanding trends and the direction the market is going to go is vital for anyone working in fashion. Print and textile designers need to understand what consumers are going to be looking for next. Thea Perez founded Polychrome.Design to provide prints as true digital working tools for fashion designers. Along the way, she has honed […]
SFD113 How to fund your fashion brand with a freelancing career
August 17, 2020
Need funding to launch your fashion brand? Mat Booth, founder of UK-made luggage brand Both Barrels, funded his startup brand by working as a freelancer. Listen to the story of how he shifted from employment to freelancing, and then started a successful label without any outside funding.
SFD112 How to launch a shoe brand without any fashion experience
August 03, 2020
Not all successful fashion designers go to fashion school. Lila Stewart used to do marketing in the music industry, and her husband Jeremy was a political consultant. But when they decided they wanted to start a business with philanthropy at its heart, they found themselves entering the fashion industry with zero experience. In this episode […]
SFD109 How to Get Your Clothing Line into Production with The Chicago Patternmaker
June 22, 2020
If you want to see your garments and accessories in the hands of more than just a few customers, you need to understand how to get your fashion designs into production. On this episode of the Successful Fashion Designer podcast, patternmaker and designer Xochil Herrera Scheer of The Chicago Patternmaker draws on over a decade of experience to share what she’s learned about factories, production, and bringing your designs to life!
SFD106 How This Designer Launched a Bespoke Dress Brand (while still in college)
May 11, 2020
Noemie Jouas is a self-taught designer who runs a bespoke dress brand that keeps her steadily busy with several clients a month. The incredible part? She’s still in college! In this episode, she talks all about how she got started, where she finds her clients, and the number one thing she credits for her early success.
SFD105 How to Predict Fashion Trends (and work as a trend forecaster)
April 27, 2020
If you want your designs to stand out and capture your market, you can’t just know what’s big now; you have to know what’s going to be big next. From her 2+ decades of experience in trend analysis and fashion marketing, including working at WGSN, guest Wendy Bendoni shares how trend forecasting has evolved over the past 20+ years, and how you can sharpen your eye to spot what’s next in YOUR niche.
SFD104 What Is a Fashion Tech Pack (and do you really need one)?
April 13, 2020
Most aspiring fashionistas don’t envision their fashion career and think, “I can’t wait to create an amazing tech pack!” But love them or hate them, tech packs are a crucial part of getting your garments from your head into your customers’ hands. In this episode you’ll hear from Belinda Jacobs of Tech Packs Co on what a tech pack REALLY needs, why they are SO important, and how you can be sure yours gets the job done RIGHT!
SFD102 How to Copyright Your Fashion Designs and Protect Your Brand
March 16, 2020
How do you prevent your fashion designs from being stolen and safeguard your brand? And as a business owner, how do you legally protect yourself and your assets? On this episode of the SFD Podcast, you’ll hear from fashion industry attorney Andrea Sager on copyrights, trademarks, and other ways to be smart and protect your […]
SFD101 How to Build a Direct to Consumer Clothing Line
March 02, 2020
When you’re starting a clothling line, there are so many options and details that it can overwhelm even the most savvy designer. One of the questions you may be asking is, “Should I sell my clothing line wholesale or direct-to-consumer?” On this episode of the Successful Fashion Designer podcast, you’ll hear from Ellie Mae Waters, […]
SFD099 Why this Startup Fashion Brand Makes Clothes for Short Men Only
February 03, 2020
Steve Villanueva is an entrepreneur with a history of success in multiple industries. And, like at least 40% of men, he’s also less than 5 foot 9 inches tall. Frustrated with clothes that just weren’t made to fit short men, Steve set out to find a better way to design clothing for this underserved market. […]
SFD094 This Dirndl Designer Grew a BIG Fashion Brand with a TINY Niche
October 28, 2019
Is it possible to start a successful fashion brand when your niche is super small? On this episode we hear from Erika Neumayer Ehrat of Rare Dirndl. Her full time job is designing and selling dirndls. If you’ve never found yourself desperately scouring the web for the perfect dirndl, we’re not surprised! It’s such a tiny […]
SFD092 Should you sell your clothing line on consignment?
September 30, 2019
Sometimes it seems like there are as many ways to sell your clothing line as there are types of fabric! But when you’re starting a clothing line, should you sell your pieces on consignment? On this show, you’ll hear from Sam Murkoff. Sam’s brand, Manhattan Knights, was born when he started refashioning vintage tee shirts […]
SFD091 100 Ways NOT to Start A Clothing Line: These Guys Learned Firsthand What Works and What Doesn’t
September 16, 2019
Starting a clothing line from scratch is a massive challenge. And when you don’t have big investors and influential connections, it can seem impossible. But these three young entrepreneurs found a way to beat the odds and make their brand a reality. Meet Salvatore Graci, Angelo Acquista, and Luca Graci, founders of luxury streetwear brand […]
SFD088 How to Build Your Fashion Business with Festival Vending
May 13, 2019
Kimberly Ponniah didn’t take the typical route into the fashion world. Yet through grit and perseverance, she went from knowing almost nothing about the industry to running a successful fashion design business. She now works full-time designing her own line of accessories, Wild June. Through years of experience, Kimberly learned how to use festival vending […]
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 […]
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 […]
