Just a quick Christmas Eve shoutout to everyone. Hope you have an awesome holiday! Merry Christmas and/or Happy Kwanzaa to those who celebrate. Happy Hannukah to those who celebrated. And for those who are not celebrating anything except some time off, have a wonderful woosah moment! Happy Holidays,Mikelle

AI is having a moment in fashion, Reader, and if you’re a designer, it can feel overwhelming fast. Most of what we see focuses on visuals, but that’s not where AI is making the biggest impact. In this week’s YouTube video, I share how fashion brands are really using AI inside their workflows, and why some of the most valuable applications aren’t the most visible ones. I also talk about: where AI can genuinely save designers time where it creates more problems than it solves and how it fits...

December is one of those strange months in fashion, Reader. Things slow down. Production pauses. Sales fluctuate. And for a lot of designers, it can feel like you’re “falling behind.” But guess what? You're not, friend. December is actually one of the best times to learn. When the pressure is lower, you can finally focus on building skills that make everything easier later: clearer design communication, stronger technical foundations, and systems that reduce guesswork. What I see again and...

Is Affinity Designer ready to replace Illustrator for flat sketching? I finally took some time after the semester wrapped to put Affinity’s Pen tool to the test, and the results were . . . interesting. After hearing about Affinity Designer for months (and now that it’s free), I wanted to see whether it could realistically replace the OG tool fashion designers rely on: Adobe Illustrator. In this week’s YouTube video, I walk through a real flat-sketching workflow step-by-step, from building the...

Hi Reader, You may or may not know this, but I teach flat sketching in Adobe Illustrator at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and every semester, I’m reminded why this skill is still so essential for designers and fashion entrepreneurs. Tomorrow is our last day of class, and my students will be turning in their final project:a complete tech pack for an outerwear jacket. The project is intentionally complex. Outerwear forces them to think like designers. Not just creatives with ideas, but...

You know one of the biggest misconceptions I see among new and emerging designers,Reader? The idea that a tool can replace foundational knowledge. People come to me wanting to dive straight into the end result: “Teach me how to sketch in Illustrator.” “I want to build a gown in 3D.” “I want to create a 3D runway show today.” And trust me, I love the excitement. BUT . . . TOOLS don’t make you a better designer. Understanding your craft does. Because if you don’t know how a garment is built, no...

There’s this misconception, Reader, that merchandising is something only big fashion brands worry about. But the truth is every designer needs merchandising, no matter your size or niche. Because merchandising isn’t just about selling product. It’s about understanding what your customer wants, designing with intention, and making decisions that actually support your business, instead of stressing you out. It’s how you:✔ identify your bestsellers✔ plan collections that make sense✔ price...

Hey [Name], You know what keeps fashion entrepreneurs up at night? The sample budget. I've heard the stories. Designers spending $10,000, $15,000, even $20,000 on samples for a single collection. Three rounds of revisions. Six months of back-and-forth. And sometimes the fit still isn't right. That's exactly why I love CLO3D. In CLO, I can create, fit, and perfect an entire collection in weeks. Test unlimited variations. Show buyers photorealistic samples. All before spending a dollar on...

Hey Reader, Quick note: the Illustrator deal just ended. I hope you grabbed it if you needed it! Now let’s talk about why factories aren’t responding to your emails . . . It’s not because they’re “too busy” or “don’t work with small brands.” It’s because your tech pack isn’t speaking their language. I remember being on a virtual panel a few years ago listening to a designer who learned this the hard way. She spent thousands trying to get one design right. One design?!?! And when I asked her...

Hey Reader, You know what's frustrating? Having brilliant design ideas but watching factories butcher them because your sketches weren't clear enough. Or worse, having buyers pass on your collection because your presentation looked "homemade." Listen, clean, technical fashion sketches are what separate serious fashion entrepreneurs from hobbyists. Not artistic sketches (though those are nice). I'm talking about the flats and technical drawings that make factories quote lower MOQs and buyers...