In this episode, Victoria sits down with designer and founder Rebecca Minkoff to break down what it really takes to build a fashion brand and keep it alive through industry curveballs. Rebecca shares how an internship led to her first break, the celebrity moment that helped launch her label, and why success is a slow build of momentum over time. They dive into the business realities fashion school doesn’t teach like costing, pricing, profitability, and why she believes founders should bootstrap before raising money. Rebecca also pulls back the curtain on the true cost of Fashion Week, navigating fast fashion copycats, using AI to pitch and work smarter, and the resilience required to play the long game.

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In this episode, Victoria sits down with Cynthia Rowley, CFDA award winning designer, to talk about building a fashion career the scrappy way. Cynthia shares how she got started making clothes, her accidental path to New York, and what it really takes to sustain a long-term career in fashion. She breaks down the realities behind runway shows, navigating changes in the global fashion industry, and why small wins, consistency, and risk-taking matter more than chasing instant success. Cynthia also offers advice for breaking into the fashion industry without a traditional background, moving to New York, and balancing creativity with the business side of fashion.

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Fashion Career Playbook to break into fashion in 2026. How to break into the fashion industry in 2026. Part One out now on Substack.

Link Here: https://fashionandfounders.substack.com/p/the-fashion-career-playbook-part

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In this episode, Victoria sits down with Gabriella and Janelle, co-founders of Isle of Monday, to discuss how they’re making runway vintage and archival fashion accessible through their fashion tech rental platform. They share how backgrounds in fashion resale, finance, and tech led them to build a fashion tech company centered on access, preservation, and circularity. The founders break down the viral Roberto Cavalli moment that validated their idea, the importance of building a network when building a business, and what it really takes to source one-of-one archival pieces. They also discuss fundraising, advisors, launching in beta, and why the future of luxury fashion lies in vintage, rental, and circular fashion models.

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In this episode, Victoria sits down with Alex Bushman, founder of Influencer Social Responsibility (ISR), to talk about transforming the creator economy through meaningful social impact. Alex shares how a single cold DM to Danielle Bernstein led to the start of We Gave What, impact branch of WeWoreWhat. Her previous work in the nonprofit sector led her to launching ISR, an agency that connects creators, brands, and nonprofits for community-centered events. With one of the first events with Bridget and Danielle Pheloung with Girls Inc. and Pickle. As well as events with the Nader sisters, Lexi Wood, and Miranda Mckeon.

After experiencing the loneliness that comes from being a founder Alex co-founded Good Ole Girls Club and started the Girl Dinner Series to create a community for other founders to come together. Looking to the future, Alex shares her vision for ISR and the innovative approach Gen Z is taking to nonprofit work.

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In this episode, Victoria sits down with Nabihah Ahmad, SSQRD to talk about building a fashion tech startup. Nabihah shares how she broke into the fashion industry and then the tech industry by teaching herself how to code. She dives into how she taught herself to code, why she’s committed to democratizing fashion, and how one TikTok brought in 300+ partner brands overnight. They dive into unpaid work in fashion, mission-driven entrepreneurship, hiring with intention, and what happens when women start building the tech products we all use. A sharp, honest, energizing conversation for anyone interested in fashion, tech, or carving their own path.

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In this episode, Victoria sits down with Eshita Kabra, founder and CEO of By Rotation, the world’s largest peer-to-peer fashion rental platform. Eshita shares what it really takes to build a profitable, sustainable, community-driven fashion tech company in today’s economy. She breaks down how By Rotation grew from a honeymoon idea into a global marketplace where women earn real income sharing their wardrobes. We dive into why affordability beats sustainability, how peer-to-peer fashion is reshaping the industry, and what most founders get wrong about brand building, community, and social strategy.

Eshita also gives an unfiltered look at raising venture capital, protecting your equity, and how she secured seven figures from angel investors while staying true to her values. Her advice covers negotiation, long-game leadership, and building a company without hype or performance. If you’re interested in fashion tech, sustainable fashion, resale and rental, entrepreneurship, fundraising, or real talk about being a founder without the Instagram gloss this episode is for you.

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In this episode of Fashion and Founders, Abby Price the founder of Abbode shares her founding story. From starting a business right after graduating from Parsons to scaling into a seven figure business. Abby shares the honest reality of being a founder and the hardworking that goes into having a successful New York fashion business. You may have seen Sabrina Carpenter wearing her pieces on SNL or your favorite influencer in an embroidered tank top, either way Abby has tapped a whole new market for embroidery.

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