How to Start a Fashion Brand
With Zero Experience
From idea to launched fashion brand, your 6-Month private mentoring experience built around The LAUNCH Method™
If your head's full of ideas or you’ve been endlessly researching how to start a fashion brand, saving inspiration and thinking “I just need to begin”, then you're in the right place.
Launching A Fashion Brand Is Not Linear...
Most aspiring founders think launching a clothing brand is only about ideas and finding a manufacturer.
But brands don’t struggle because of creativity; they struggle because they skip important stages.
Often founders will...
• Jump into sampling without validating demand
• Build a logo before defining positioning
• Focus on Instagram before understanding margins
• Launch without a commercial strategy
Fashion businesses fail quietly when their foundations are weak and launching successfully requires capability in six key areas, not just motivation.
That’s why I built a whole system around it - The LAUNCH Method™
Six Milestones - One outcome
The Fashion Startup Academy is built around my signature LAUNCH Method™. A structured six-milestone framework that guides you from idea to launch no matter what stage you're at.
L – Lay the Foundations
You clarify your goals, capacity, expectations and commitment. You stop treating this like a side idea and start treating it like a business.
A – Analyse the Market
You define your ideal customer, study competitors, assess pricing landscapes and identify where your brand genuinely fits.
U – Understand Your Brand & Offer
You refine your concept, define your positioning, establish your brand identity and structure your product offering properly.
N – Navigate Product Development
You move into design, tech packs, sampling, supplier communication and costing with professional oversight.
C – Confirm Production & Commercial Strategy
You finalise margins, pricing, manufacturing timelines, logistics and ensure your numbers support long-term sustainability.
H – Hit the Market Strategically
You build a structured launch runway, refine messaging, prepare your website and execute a launch plan designed for traction – not guesswork.
This Is Where The Real Progress Happens
The LAUNCH Method™ gives you the structure, but the magic happens in our 1:1 sessions.
Every fortnight, we sit down and look at your brand properly.
• Your positioning.
• Your product.
• Your pricing.
• Your factory decisions.
• Your launch strategy.
You're not left interpreting information alone or second-guessing whether something looks right.
In The Fashion Startup Academy you'll have:
• My industry experience
• My Eyes on your ideas
• Personalised feedback on your product direction
• A sounding board for decisions
• Strategic steering when you’re about to overcomplicate things
• Honest direction when something won’t work commercially
It’s like having your very own fashion industry mentor in your pocket.
HERE'S HOW YOU'LL BUILD YOUR FASHION BRAND
You’ve been dreaming about launching your own fashion brand for months, or even years... but something’s holding you back.
Right now you're here...
X You’ve had a brand idea for months (sometimes years) but it still feels out of reach.
X You’re constantly researching but never quite sure which step comes next.
X You don’t know if you need a designer first, or a factory, a tech pack... or something else entirely.
X You’re scared to make the wrong choice and waste your startup savings.
After six months in the Academy
✓ You finally have a path that makes sense.
✓ You understand the industry, the sequence, the decisions and the timeline.
✓ You know what to do each week, and why it matters.
✓ You’re turning ideas into sample development rather than endless researching.
✓ You’ve got me in your corner checking in, guiding your decisions, keeping you grounded and moving.
✓ You feel capable. Supported. And actually on your way to launch.
Does this sound like you?
"I can’t recommend Michelle highly enough! She designed the tech packs for my new brand, and I was absolutely delighted with every single one. Beyond that, she has been an incredible source of guidance and support throughout the entire setup process."
Sabrina Campbell, Founder of Solly Little, via Truspilot.
THIS ISN'T ANOTHER GENERIC COURSE, IT'S A HYBRID PROGRAMME OF LEARNING AND 1:1 MENTORSHIP, GUIDED EVERY STEP OF THE WAY BY YOUR FASHION STARTUP FAIRY GODMOTHER.
What you get inside The Fashion Startup Academy
✓ 6 months private 1:1 strategy sessions (fortnightly)
✓ The LAUNCH Method resource hub - 6 key milestones broken down into on-demand videos, worksheets, checklists and planning tools to support your knowledge gaps
✓ Entry at the milestone that matches your current stage
✓ 12 months access to the full LAUNCH Method™ resource library
✓ Lifetime access to 1:1 session recordings
✓ Accountability check-ins
✓ E-book: The Startup’s Guide to Fashion Manufacture
✓ 10% off design services for your first collection
This programme is perfect for you if…
✓ You’re brand new to the industry and feel overwhelmed
✓ You’ve got an idea but no experience in design or production
✓ You’re short on time and need someone to guide you
✓ You want real support and structure – not another DIY course
✓ You’re ready to take action and make your idea real
Who is The Fashion Startup Academy for?
Meet your mentor Michelle.
I’m Michelle Ramsay, The Fashion Expert®, a fashion designer, consultant, and startup mentor with over 20 years of experience in the industry.
For the past decade, I’ve helped hundreds of first-time founders, just like you, launch their brands with clarity, confidence, and commercial edge, even if they started with nothing but an idea.
I created the Fashion Startup Academy to bring together everything I’ve learned into this step-by-step programme, so you can get expert support without wasting time or money figuring it out alone. I can't wait to help you start your clothing brand.
""Michelle’s expertise has been invaluable throughout the process for my first collection. As a start-up, it’s often hard to know where to begin, but Michelle provides a range of services that are crucial in bringing your business concept to life, by developing ideas into something tangible, equipping you to approach manufacturers, and making it much easier to get things right first time. Her work is thorough and professional and I highly recommend her.""
Anna, Founder of Aquanissos, via Google.
Want a sneak peek before joining?
If you’d love to see what it’s like inside the programme, you can book a sneak peek call with me.
I’ll show you around the member's portal, talk through what’s included, and answer any questions you have.
No pressure. Just a proper look to see if it's a great fit, before you join.
What happens next?
After payment, you'll get ready to step into your founder era:
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You’ll receive a welcome email with instructions on how to login to your private online portal within 24 hours
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You’ll be invited to book your first introduction session
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You’ll receive access to The LAUNCH Method online resource hub
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We’ll map out your personalised launch timeline