How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits

As people in creative fields, many of us can look back and see how our activities and interests as a child led to the work we do today. We may have grown up and grown out of clothes along the way, but some things never change. Creativity and other values that are important to us show up in our adult life through our fashion businesses.

This is certainly true for today’s guest Bergen Anderson. Her brand, Lilla Barn, makes colorful and sustainable clothes for kids and grownups alike.

As a lifelong sewist, Bergen Anderson started Lilla Barn in order to make colorful, genderless, sustainable, baby clothes that stand out in a world of pinks and blues. In the last 12 years, she has grown her brand to include grown-up clothes, accessories, and homegoods including a storefront/studio in Andersonville, Illinois.

Inspired by visual artists who play with color and texture, her work is intended to bring joy, creativity, and individuality into everyday life. Bergen enjoys exploring the overlaps between traditional craft ("women's work"), modern textiles, and functional fine art. As a slow fashion advocate, she believes the personal is political and that our consumer habits and creating habits should align with our values.

This episode explores:

Fitting the customer

Why Bergen designs what she likes even though she is technically no longer her own target customer

Bergen’s process for patternmaking and sizing and its pros and cons for fit

Fitting the lifestyle

The hardest part about hiring a small team for Lilla Barn

The extent that creative habits are intertwined with personal and business lifestyles

The projects Bergen wants to take on in her business once she has a bigger team

How opening a retail space changed Lilla Barn’s business model

Fitting the values

How to communicate brand values in a way that is meaningful and relevant even as the broader culture changes around us

People and resources mentioned in this episode:

Lilla Barn website

Lilla Barn email

Lilla Barn Instagram

Do you want fashion business tips and resources like this sent straight to your inbox? Sign up for the How Fitting newsletter to receive new podcast episodes plus daily content on creating fashion that fits your customer, lifestyle, and values.

Fashion expects a lot from designers. It expects you to release new collections at a set seasonal schedule. It expects you to just know the right people and know where to find a good production partner (because as you know, some of the best factories don’t even have websites). It expects you to show up on social media to sell. These expectations can run your life if you let them.

Dana Mortada doesn’t let them. She gave up the traditional wholesale calendar and the pressure that came with it. Her four-year-old brand, dal the label, now releases new capsules on a flexible schedule that works for her. In episode 128, Dana shares how far she’s come by following intention instead of expectations.

dal the label is a California womenswear brand redefining modern luxury through elevated essentials. Founded by designer Dana Mortada, the brand focuses on timeless, ethical pieces designed in Los Angeles and made to be worn again and again. Each collection reflects a commitment to intentional design, quality craftsmanship, and a slower, more thoughtful way of dressing.

This episode explores:

Fitting the customer

Why simple designs are harder to fit

The marks of craftsmanship that Dana designs for and looks for in clothing

Fitting the lifestyle

Why Dana doesn’t want the traditional fashion calendar to run her life and instead releases capsules whenever she is ready

What makes Dana say dal has come a long way since first launching in 2022

The biggest challenge Dana is trying to solve on the business side

Why Dana moved some of her production overseas

Fitting the values

How long clothes last depends on the designer and the consumer

How Dana answers the question of “does the world need another fashion brand?” based on her values

People and resources mentioned in this episode:

Dal the Label website

Dal the Label email

Dal the Label Instagram

Do you want fashion business tips and resources like this sent straight to your inbox? Sign up for the How Fitting newsletter to receive new podcast episodes plus daily content on creating fashion that fits your customer, lifestyle, and values.

Changing algorithms, the constant time investment, and, with the rise of AI, even more content to compete with for customers’ attention make many of us want to avoid social media altogether. However, it can seem like a necessary evil. Isn’t every brand on social platforms? But what if staying off socials as a fashion brand isn’t just the right choice for your mental health as a founder, but also for your business strategy?

This is the choice that Maria Alejandra Alvarado has made for her luxury workwear brand ZADIMA. In episode 127, she shares how she’s connecting with people to market her brand instead of competing with algorithms. For Maria, it felt like a natural fit that aligns with her business.

María Alejandra Alvarado is a marketing leader with nearly 15 years of experience shaping brand and product launch strategies for global companies. For the past three years, she’s been building ZADIMA — a brand born from her desire to help modern professionals dress beautifully and intentionally, without adding more decisions to already full days.

Frustrated by the lack of color, personality, and quality in workwear, María set out to create pieces that combine great tailoring, elegant silhouettes, and luxurious Italian fabrics. Each garment is crafted from exquisite Italian deadstock textiles in a woman-owned atelier in Manhattan’s Garment District, designed to make women feel confident, polished, and effortlessly themselves.

This episode explores:

Fitting the customer

The smart questions Maria asked while gathering customer research

The ways that knowing her customer helped Maria make decisions about fabric, designs, and colors 

Fitting the lifestyle

How the lifestyle of the Zadima customer shaped the marketing strategy

The practical ways Maria generates word-of-mouth referrals

How Maria represents her brand as the founder

How Maria prioritizes tasks in her business

Fitting the values

Why Maria decided to produce her collection in NY

How Maria uses AI tools in alignment with her relationships and quality-focused business values

People and resources mentioned in this episode:

ZADIMA website

ZADIMA email

Maria’s LinkedIn

Do you want fashion business tips and resources like this sent straight to your inbox? Sign up for the How Fitting newsletter to receive new podcast episodes plus daily content on creating fashion that fits your customer, lifestyle, and values.

In slow fashion, we like being intentional with our clothing choices. We want our wardrobes to be aligned with what we care about and how we live. It is a reassuring kind of intention. Then there is another type of intention that affects fashion founders – the way we intend things to go. We have intentions for the launch, product development timelines, or what it means to be a good founder.

But as anyone who has started a business knows, things don’t always go quite as intended. So how do we balance intention and reality? In episode 126, ARIMMA founder Lucielle Salomon shares how she moved past her assumptions about what it means to be a founder and finally launched her brand. Through the process, she now sees fashion in a new light.

Lucielle Salomon is a Dominican-American founder, fashion editor and storyteller advocating for a slower, more soulful approach to style and business. With a background in journalism and a sharp editorial eye, she blends thoughtful design with meaningful storytelling, inviting her audience to dress with intention, find beauty in the everyday and redefine what success looks like through a values-first lens.

She is the founder of ARIMMA, an on-demand women's wear brand rooted in romantic silhouettes, timeless details and environmental responsibility. Every piece is crafted only after it's ordered—minimizing waste, reducing overproduction and creating space for clothing to be made with care. ARIMMA designs use natural or low-impact materials and are constructed with durability, emotion and longevity in mind.

Through her Substack newsletter, Woven Letters, and growing digital platforms, Lucielle shares a curated blend of sustainable fashion finds, emerging brands, and everyday rituals—from what she's wearing to how she's slowing down. As a mother of two, she also explores the intersection of creativity, motherhood and entrepreneurship, offering a rare behind-the-scenes look at building a conscious business without burning out. Lucielle is available for interviews, panels, collaborations, and essays that explore the future of fashion, identity-driven entrepreneurship and intentional living.

This episode explores:

Fitting the customer

How Lucielle follows feelings, not trends with her designs

The part of development that was the biggest challenge for Lucielle

Fitting the lifestyle

What Lucielle would do differently now if she was starting over

How our mindset can hinder or help us in entrepreneurship

What Lucielle thought a good founder lifestyle should look like and why that didn’t work for her

Why Lucielle didn’t go all out for the launch

Fitting the values

How becoming a founder changed what Lucielle values about fashion

Why Lucielle reached out to factories before she even had designs

People and resources mentioned in this episode:

Arimma website

Arimma Instagram

Lucielle’s Instagram

Do you want fashion business tips and resources like this sent straight to your inbox? Sign up for the How Fitting newsletter to receive new podcast episodes plus daily content on creating fashion that fits your customer, lifestyle, and values.

Newness builds excitement, but consistency builds trust. Which one will get your brand to a decade in business? Erin Gray Morton just celebrated ten years of her gold-filled jewelry and premium tee shirt line erin gray. The brand has grown to being stocked in over 800 boutiques. To get there, Erin and her team have prioritized relationships while figuring out how to make each wholesale show feel new with basics products that are more timeless than trendy.

In episode 125, hear the ways erin gray builds trust with customers and the boutiques that buy wholesale from them, how Erin keeps herself from a lifestyle of overworking even when she loves what she does, and how Erin structured the business model and pricing from the very beginning to allow giving back to causes she values.

erin gray is a female-owned and operated brand from Atlanta designing elevated essentials with a touch of luxury. Their customers primarily love them for two things: their cult-favorite Pima cotton tees and refined tops that offer high-end style at accessible prices and our 14k gold-filled waterproof jewelry, which wears like solid gold without the high cost.

Erin built this brand from the ground up and the brand is now featured in more than 800 boutiques nationwide. Giving back is our heart - Erin lost her mother to cancer, so supporting cancer research is at the core. The atmosphere at erin gray's Atlanta warehouse is fun, respectful, flexible, family-oriented and customer-focused. The team gets things done without compromising the things and people who matter to them the most.

This episode explores:

Fitting the customer

The ways erin gray builds trust with customers and the boutiques that buy wholesale from them

The effort that went into developing the best basic white tee (because simple is never simple!)

How erin gray creates newness at each wholesale market with a basic, timeless product

Why Erin thinks wholesale shows will never go away

Fitting the lifestyle

What they did differently when erin gray introduced apparel alongside their jewelry line

How Erin keeps herself from overworking even when she loves what she does

How Erin has expanded her team over the years

The benefits of a long wholesale design and development calendar

What to do when you get bored of your product before it even launches

Fitting the values

How Erin structured the business model and pricing from the very beginning to allow giving back to causes she values

Ways your business can give back to causes you care about beyond cash donations

Why customer service is so important for the success of erin gray 

People and resources mentioned in this episode:

Erin Gray website

Erin Gray email

Erin Gray Instagram

Erin’s LinkedIn

Do you want fashion business tips and resources like this sent straight to your inbox? Sign up for the How Fitting newsletter to receive new podcast episodes plus daily content on creating fashion that fits your customer, lifestyle, and values.