How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits

We’re told in fashion business that your brand’s patterns are your IP, don’t let anyone else have access to them. It is true that your patterns are one of the most legally protectable aspects of your brand’s unique fit and design aesthetic, but is gatekeeping patterns really necessary for fashion business success?

Today’s guest, Megan McCullough took the opposite approach for her brand The Sample Room. 100% of styles are available as both the finished garment and the sewing pattern. Not only that, but Meg designs each pattern and style to be upcycled so that the final garment is not its final form. The unique business model means The Sample Room operates half way between an apparel company and an indie pattern company.

In episode 135, we talk about the reasoning behind her decision to sell her patterns and ask the question: ‘Is there any financial benefit to working with upcycled materials?’. It’s an interesting conversation about business, fit, circular design, and more. Hear how this all fits together in her signature Workwear Jacket.

Meg McCullough is a clothing designer and the founder of The Sample Room, a circular fashion brand focused on designing garments that can be remade, repaired, and eventually returned to the earth.

She also runs Studio M, a freelance apparel design studio where she helps small brands design and tech pack clothing. With over a decade in the fashion industry, her work focuses on better design, natural materials, and clothing made to last.

What we learn about fit in this episode:

Fitting the people

The Sample Room customers’ response when she designed the Workwear Jacket to be upcycled

Why Megan shifted from using GOTS certified cotton to upcycling garments in her fashion brand

What The Sample Room’s fit testing process looks like given that they sell both garments and patterns

How Megan balances fitting each individual fit model versus fitting her customer across the board

How Megan keeps the fit and sizing consistent across her fashion brand while working with a variety of fit testers

Fitting the performance

The regional lifestyle that influenced the amount of ease in the Workwear Jacket

How The Sample Room’s different income streams fit together in the business

Fitting the purpose

Why Megan sells The Sample Room patterns as well as finished garments

How Megan designs her patterns so that the garment can be upcycled

Fitting the production

The production costs of using upcycled versus production using virgin materials

How Megan handled conversations with her factory when there was pushback on the sustainable way she wanted her apparel manufactured

People and resources mentioned in this episode:

The Sample Room website

The Sample Room Instagram

The Sample Room Youtube

Meg’s email

Meg’s LinkedIn

Circular Factory biodegradable trims

Clo3D fashion design software

Optitex patternmaking software

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It’s an art, and a science. And something we don’t talk about enough in fashion. What do the physical properties of the fabric mean for the physical support of the body? We can read the info on the fabric header like the fiber content, stretch percentage, knit or weave structure, and gsm weight, but do we know how to use those to our advantage to achieve the look and feel we want in a garment?

The data is structured, but the answers are squishy. Today’s guest, Karen Poirier, proved it is possible to engineer a garment – using the physics, fabric properties, and seam structure – for a feeling. Her brand, Embargo, re-engineers support for full-busted women with bra-alternatives that prioritize comfort and wellbeing. In episode 134, we talk about the engineering that went into their Full Support Bra-Free Top and discover what good fit looks like for Embrago.

Karen Poirier, the visionary designer behind Embrago (em-BRA-go), is transforming women’s fashion with her innovative and sustainable approach. Embrago is more than just a clothing line; it’s a movement towards ethical and compassionate living that empowers women to embrace a minimalist fashion footprint.

For Karen, sustainability means creating multifunctional pieces that adapt to the natural changes in a woman’s body. After years of managing a fuller bust through the changes of pregnancy, breastfeeding, and midlife, she dedicated herself to developing a bra-alternative that supports overall health and comfort without compromising on style.

Her patented Body Responsive Fit™ system uses a new approach to built-in bust support that feels like a gentle embrace and ensures a perfect fit every day. This re-imagined system eliminates the pain and discomfort caused by traditional bras and automatically adapts to a woman’s body changes as she experiences hormone and weight fluctuations, from pre- to post-menopause. Embrago’s designs are crafted to be versatile, reducing the need for excess consumption.

Each piece is ethically produced in small batches, using the softest organic cotton and high-quality materials that prioritize both the planet and personal well-being. Karen’s mission is clear: to empower women to feel confident and comfortable, while also benefitting their health and the environment. Through Embrago, Karen is not only reshaping fashion categories but also transforming the way women think about getting dressed, encouraging mindful choices for a more sustainable future.

What we learn about fit in this episode:

Fitting the people

How Embrago creates support without restriction for full-busted women

The moment Karen knew that the product was finished

The mindset shift that happens when women start wearing Embrago

Fitting the performance

Why Karen focused on seams in a market category that typically favors seamless construction 

How to use the grainline of the fabric strategically for the garment’s function

Fitting the purpose

How Embrago helps women break free from the social pressure to hide or compress a larger chest

Why Karen started Embrago in the first place

Fitting the production

The factors that went into Embrago’s pricing

The fit-testing process for this innovative product

People and resources mentioned in this episode:

Embrago website

Embrago Instagram

Embrago Youtube

Embrago email

Karen’s LinkedIn

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If you are anything like me, you’ve started paying way more attention to the ingredients in our food and realized just how many nasty ingredients are hidden within. If comprehensive ingredient labels existed for clothing, they would be equally shocking. Even in garments labeled as “natural fibers”, there are hidden sources of plastic and chemicals that have a negative effect on our health and the health of our planet.

For Meli and Rensso Hinostroza, this realization turned into curiosity and a deep dive into 100% plastic-free clothing production. The two siblings have started two brands – Arms of Andes and Eco Aya. In episode 133, we go into the nitty gritty details of eliminating all plastic from the clothing they make down to every thread, zipper, button, and fabric finishing and how they had to set up their manufacturing to do it.

Melissa and Rensso Hinostroza are the sibling co-founders of Eco Aya, a plastic-free non-toxic lifestyle brand, and Arms of Andes, home of the world’s only 100% alpaca outdoor apparel. In an industry dominated by synthetic fibers and microplastics, the sibling duo have returned to their roots to offer a high-performance alternative that is entirely natural and biodegradable.

Born in California and raised between the U.S. and Peru, they have spent their lives navigating two worlds, a perspective that allowed them to see how heritage-driven techniques could solve the modern environmental crisis in the global outdoor market.

Meli Hinostroza is the brand’s creative force and strategic visionary. She leads marketing, sales, and the customer experience, ensuring that every campaign reflects their deep-rooted commitment to the planet. For Meli, the mission is to dismantle the industry's reliance on plastics by building a brand that connects people back to nature through sustainable, purposeful design.

Rensso Hinostroza is the operational backbone of the company. With a background in international business, he manages the entire supply chain directly from Peru. He is the guardian of the brand’s transparency, overseeing everything from sourcing raw fibers to final production. A believer in a minimalist approach to adventure, Rensso is dedicated to proving that performance gear doesn't need chemicals or plastics to excel in the world's harshest environments.

Together, Meli and Rensso are bridging the gap between ancestral wisdom and modern technical performance, proving that the future of the outdoors isn't synthetic, it's natural.

This episode explores:

Fitting the customer

Who Meli and Rensso designed Arms of Andes and Eco Aya for

The questions Meli and Rensso wish customers would ask of brands

The questions brands should be asking of their suppliers

Fitting the lifestyle

How the sustainable lifestyle Meli and Rensso grew up with influenced their early business decisions

Why Meli and Rensso decided to bring all their textile and garment production in-house in a single country

The nitty gritty details of how Rensso and Meli got rid of the hidden sources of plastic in their brand’s clothes

Fitting the values

Why Meli and Rensso put so much value (and effort) into making clothes plastic-free

The balance between longevity and biodegradability

People and resources mentioned in this episode:

Eco Aya. website

Arms of Andes website

Eco Aya Instagram

Eco Aya email

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The custom fit of bespoke clothing with the efficiency and scale of factory production: this is the sweet spot that so many fashion businesses are aiming for. However, finding this sweet spot can be as difficult as finding a pair of jeans that fits just right. Daniela Rodriguez and Andre Ramirez-Cedeno of Neems Jeans have found both. Traditional manufacturing is still evolving and the technology is still emerging. In episode 132, we look at what is working and what still needs work when it comes to custom clothing production.

Daniela Rodriguez-Firmani and Andre Ramirez-Cedeno are the co-founders of Neems Jeans, a fashion-tech company using AI body-scanning technology to create custom-fit jeans for every body. Both Miami natives and Northwestern graduates, Dani and Andre worked as management consultants before their personal frustrations changed everything: they could never find jeans that fit perfectly.

In 2020, they launched Neems together - armed with zero fashion experience but fierce determination to solve a problem millions face every time they shop for denim. Together, they've scaled Neems into a rapidly growing seven-figure brand serving thousands of customers internationally, challenging the myth of standard sizing while proving that innovation and sustainability can coexist. Their mission: make clothing that fits people, not the other way around.

This episode explores:

Fitting the customer

Why Neems isn’t constrained to fitting one customer niche

The biggest customer segments for Neems and what that says about the fit of off-the-rack options

How Daniela and Andre overcome skepticism from customers

Fitting the lifestyle

The point-of-no-return investment that Daniela and Andre made

How Neems production has evolved through different stages of the business’ life

How Daniela and Andre arrived at the price point for their custom jeans

Fitting the values

The vision and values that keeps them going even when things are hard

The different reasons why customers buy Neems

People and resources mentioned in this episode:

Neems Jeans website

Neems Jeans Instagram

Choozr body scanning/measuring technology

Tukatech pattern software and machinery

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If there is one thing that entrepreneurs face every day, it is choices. Some choices are deliberate and planned in advance. Others are made last-minute when something unexpected happens – like a 13 second video going viral when the featured product is already sold out. With every choice, you get to choose the type of life and business you want to run.

This is just what Kelsey Campion has been doing for the past 10 years. She is the founder and Chief Sequin Officer of Fringe + Co and my guest in this episode 131. What started in her spare bedroom, grew into a thriving brand that supports color, celebration, and her local New Orleans community. With each stage of her business – even when the decisions haven’t been so sparkly and fun – Kelsey has chosen to transparently live by her values.

Kelsey Campion is the founder and Chief Sequin Officer of Fringe + Co., a New Orleans–based fashion brand rooted in celebration, color, and community. She started Fringe + Co. over 10 years ago out of her 200-square-foot spare bedroom, building the business from the ground up with creativity, grit, and a belief that getting dressed should feel like a party.

As the brand grew, Kelsey faced a turning point: scaling production without sacrificing her values. Determined to keep manufacturing local and ethical, she partnered with a New Orleans manufacturer for four years. In 2021, a single viral video changed everything — accelerating the business and creating the opportunity to purchase that very manufacturer in 2022.

Today, Kelsey not only produces Fringe + Co. locally, but also manufactures for other brands, helping founders bring their ideas to life while keeping production ethical, transparent, and community-driven. Her work and story have been featured on The Today Show, she’s been scouted by Shark Tank, and she continues to advocate for small-batch manufacturing, creative entrepreneurship, and building businesses that don’t require burning out or going it alone.

This episode explores:

Fitting the customer

How Kesley designs pieces that go beyond parades and special occasions

Why Kelsey is super transparent with her customers about the behind the scenes of her business

Why Kelsey describes herself as a “selfish creative” and how that has served her business

How Kesley makes Fringe + Co more accessible to people despite a higher price point

Fitting the lifestyle

Why Kelsey has been feeling a bit bored in her business right now and what she’s doing to bring creativity back

How going viral forced Kelsey and her team to systematize the business

How the city Fringe is part of (New Orleans) influences the brand

How running a fashion business for over a decade transforms your lifestyle

Fitting the values

The values Kesley will never leave behind as her business grows

How Fringe customers became some of the biggest advocates for Kelsey’s business values

The points where growth can test your values

People and resources mentioned in this episode:

Fringe + Co. website

Fringe + Co. Instagram

Fringe Factory Instagram

Kelsey’s email

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