The Successful Fashion Designer

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 variety of companies including Bebe and UnderArmour. In the interview, she shares the skills and strategies she used to launch her career, keep working through the recession, and advance herself to design director, in the category she wanted most, at a company she loves to work for.  For the complete show notes, including links to the resources mentioned, head over to Successful Fashion Designer!

Juan Pablo Martínez is a Colombian designer who has worked in sustainability for more than ten 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 show, and now he works to help educate brands on sustainable fashion. He has consistently found ways to succeed in all of his endeavors, and in this interview he shares all of the valuable lessons he’s learned over his prolific career.  For the complete show notes, including links to the resources mentioned, head over to Successful Fashion Designer!

*Note: This episode has a slight tic on the guest’s audio that we were unable to repair. But the interview is way too good not to share, so thank you for understanding!*    Freelancing is a hot topic in the fashion industry right now. With almost everyone working from home, more and more companies have realized that remote work and flexible schedules can actually work for their business. And more employees are starting to realize that there are possibilities beyond that 9 to 5 grind! In this episode of the Successful Fashion Designer Podcast, I talk to Kristen Anderson. She’s a successful full-time freelancer, and she shares all the details of how she got here, what she’s learned, and what you can do to launch your freelancing career, and ditch your day job for good!   For the complete show notes, including links to the resources mentioned, head over to Successful Fashion Designer!

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 her native Russia, Anna has worked hard for everything she’s created. You may not think you can start a clothing line on Etsy, but from dog clothes to tutus to high-end couture, she made it happen. Anna creatively adapted to every change and weathered every setback. Listen to the story of how she found her passion, fought for it, and forged her own path to success.  For the complete show notes, including links to the resources mentioned, head over to Successful Fashion Designer!

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 the world, there are ways to get a taste of having your own line without the huge risk. In this episode of the SFD podcast, you’ll hear from Etsy success guru Jenni Waldrop of Fuzzy & Birch on how you can use the marketplace to start a clothing line with (almost) no money.  For the complete show notes, including links to the resources mentioned, head over to Successful Fashion Designer!

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 a process for print and color trend research that gives Polychrome an edge in the fashion industry. In this episode of the Successful Fashion Designer Podcast, Thea shares how she started her business, how they bring beautiful new prints to the market, and the market research process they use to deliver beautiful, on-trend prints to their clients.  For the complete show notes, including links to the resources mentioned, head over to Successful Fashion Designer!

Mat Booth started his fashion career with a product design degree, some knowledge of sports, and a lot of passion. More than 15 years later, he’s a successful freelancer and has his own brand of men’s luggage and accessories. And he does it without living in a fashion hub. Hear Mat’s story of how he got into the industry, his shift into freelancing, and how he funded launching his fashion brand with his freelancing work.  For the complete show notes, including links to the resources mentioned, head over to Successful Fashion Designer!

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 of the SFD podcast, Lila tells the story of how they built HariMari shoes from the ground up. From completely unknown to being carried in every Nordstrom’s in the US, Lila and Jeremy have learned so much about what it takes to launch a fashion brand when you have no experience in the industry.  For the complete show notes, including links to the resources mentioned, head over to Successful Fashion Designer!

Like many people working in the industry, Emilee Goff always knew she wanted to go into fashion. But when she managed to score an internship with Scott Sports right after she finished high school, Emilee’s career trajectory changed in ways she never imagined. In this episode of the SFD podcast, she shares what she’s learned along the way.   For the complete show notes, including links to the resources mentioned, head over to Successful Fashion Designer!

Selena Leong has worked her way up from production associate, to product development, to technical design, to apparel design. Along the way she’s worked with brands on both coasts including Aeropostale, Forever 21, and even Ralph Lauren. And she did it all without ever going to fashion school.  For the complete show notes, including links to the resources mentioned, head over to Successful Fashion Designer!

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! For the complete show notes, including links to the resources mentioned, head over to Successful Fashion Designer!

Note: This episode was recorded several months ago, before the influx of major current events took over our collective awareness. While we know how seriously these issues are affecting the fashion industry and our individual listeners, we hope that you enjoy this break for a bit of normalcy. From internship to senior designer by the time she was 27? Outdoor and motorcyle apparel designer Kelsey Runge did it, and in this episode of the SFD podcast, she shares exactly what she’s done to design her perfect career. She says she’s had a lot of luck, but it took a ton of work and smart moves to get her where she is today.   For the complete show notes, including links to the resources mentioned, head over to Successful Fashion Designer!

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 as a freelance fashion designer. For the complete show notes, head to Successful Fashion Designer!

Noemie Jouas is a self-taught designer who runs a bespoke dress brand that keeps her steadily busy with several clients a month. She describes her business as “a dream come true!” The incredible part? She’s still in college! Learn how she got started, where she finds her clients, and the one thing she says has made everything she’s accomplished possible.  For the complete show notes, including links to the resources mentioned, head over to Successful Fashion Designer!

Note: This episode was recorded a few months ago, before the world got turned upside down. While we don't discuss how Covid-19 is affecting the industry, we hope you enjoy taking a break from the constant coverage for some fashion and normalcy. Understanding trends is so important when you work in fashion. 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. That’s where trend forecasters like Wendy Bendoni come in.    From her two+ decades of experience in trend analysis and fashion marketing, including working at WGSN, Wendy shares why trends are the lifeblood of fashion, how trend forecasting has evolved over the past 20+ years, what to do if trend analysis sounds like work you want to pursue, and how as a designer you can sharpen your eye to spot what’s next in YOUR niche. For the complete show notes, including links to the resources mentioned, head over to Successful Fashion Designer!

Note: This episode was recorded several months ago, before the Covid-19 pandemic took over all of our lives. While we know your world may be turned upside down right now, we hope you’ll enjoy a break from the 24/7 coverage of current events for a little bit of fashion talk and simple normalcy!   In this episode of the Successful Fashion Designer Podcast, 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!   For the complete show notes, including links to the resources mentioned, head over to Successful Fashion Designer!

Freelance pattern maker and product development specialist Alison Hoenes left her full-time job after just 3½ years in the industry to pursue a freelance career. Since then, she has perfected her niche, gone from zero customers to a steady clientele, and she now makes more than her full-time job working just 40 mostly-remote hours per week! Want to know how she got from fashion school to a freelancing dream life in just 5 years? Listen to this episode of the Successful Fashion Designer podcast!   For the complete show notes, including links to the resources mentioned, head over to Successful Fashion Designer!

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 fashion designs, business name, and more.  For the complete show notes, including links to the resources mentioned, head over to Successful Fashion Designer!

When you’re launching a label, 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 fashion brand wholesale or direct-to-consumer?”   On this episode of the Successful Fashion Designer podcast, you’ll hear from Ellie Mae Waters, founder and creative director of slow fashion brand Ellie Mae Studios. Through trial and error, Ellie Mae found that direct-to-consumer, small-batch, slow fashion was the best model to get her designs into the hands of both celebrities like Mila Kunis and everyday women who want modern staples made to last a lifetime. In the interview (which you’ll love), we will cover: How Ellie Mae got started in fashion (even after she decided university wasn’t for her!); The ways the fashion industry has broken her heart, and why she stuck it out; The ups and downs of the first year of her brand; How one person almost destroyed Ellie Mae Studios from within!; The winding path she took to perfect her

In this special episode, Heidi chats with her husband Marc about her journey in fashion. Heidi talks about the one thing that has contributed to her success more than anything else, and how you can do the same for yourself!   In this episode, Heidi and Marc talk about: How the history of the SFD podcast mirror’s Heidi’s overall journey in fashion; How Heidi broke into fashion with NO experience; Her journey from that first step to the pinnacles of her career (so far!);  The most important factor Heidi credits with achieving her biggest goals; Some of the “wrong” steps she took, and how they still played a role in her success; How you can apply what she’s learned to your own career; And more!   For the complete show notes, including links to the resources mentioned, head over to Successful Fashion Designer!