Learn why you need a cost sheet for fashion design, how to create one, and download my free cost sheet template.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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.
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 […]
Do you really need a contract as a freelance fashion designer? What should your contract include? On this episode of the SFD Podcast, you’ll hear from small business attorney Andrea Sager on contracts, design ownership, payment disputes, and the best ways to protect yourself and your assets when you’re freelancing in fashion.
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 […]
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 […]
You’re someone who spends hours getting lost in a fashion idea, drawing and redesigning a garment over and over again until it’s just right. But once those ideas are perfected you’re not sure how to go from hand drawing on a napkin to holding that garment in your hands. But you can wade through the uncertainty […]
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 excited […]
The fashion industry is a nasty mix of secretive behavior and cutthroat competition. We feel like the more tight lipped we are, the further we’ll get in our fashion design career. But the fascinating truth? Doing the complete opposite of what everyone else in the fashion industry does is how you get ahead. What does that mean? It means talking, […]
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 adding a […]
Figuring out how to survive as a fashion designer is like figuring out how to survive Black Friday madness: But instead of just one day a year, it’s every day. All year long. This business is brutal and there’s no mercy. People will push you over and punch you to get what they want. And they couldn’t […]