Podcast Summary
The fashion industry has a trust problem. Consumers are no longer sure what their clothes are made of, whether sustainability claims are real, or whether the brands they buy from are telling the truth. In this episode of the Business Legacy Podcast, Paul Dio sits down with Rachel Erickson, CEO and founder of Unmarked Street and The Business of Apparel, to talk about what it takes to bring kindness, transparency, and accurate information back into an industry that has been questioned for years.
Rachel and her team spent more than a decade each inside major corporate fashion brands before building their own company. Unmarked Street is their done for you product development agency, handling fit, factory documentation, and contracts for smaller apparel brands. The Business of Apparel is their mentorship and coaching arm, created because so much of the information available to new founders online is simply wrong.
The conversation covers where the mistrust began, from the rush toward sustainability without regulation to the greenwashing lawsuits that followed. Rachel then lays out the order of operations every new apparel founder should follow: target customer first, budget second, product creation third. She makes the case that creativity only survives when the margins are healthy, and she challenges consumers and brands alike to measure value by cost per wear rather than cost per garment.
Rachel’s deepest passion is fit, and she explains why it is the fastest path to a loyal customer base. She shares how her team solved a running short fit issue in two rounds after a brand had struggled through five or six prototypes, and how one client built her size charts by personally measuring her ideal customers. On legacy, Rachel wants to be remembered as the person who opened the door for apparel founders, and on a personal level, she is close to her goal of retiring her husband.
Episode Highlights
Where the Mistrust in Fashion Began
Rachel explains how the push toward sustainability, without regulation or required proof, opened the door to greenwashing and eroded consumer trust.
The Right Order of Operations for New Founders
Target customer, then budget, then product. Rachel explains why skipping straight to design puts new brands in trouble fast.
Selling Out Is Not a Business Plan
Why launching and selling out a first collection means little if the pricing and margins cannot fund the next purchase order.
Cost Per Wear Versus Cost Per Garment
A $10 shirt worn twice costs more per wear than a $50 shirt worn for a decade, and that shift in thinking could change the economics of ethical fashion.
Fit Builds Loyalty Faster Than Anything Else
Rachel explains why a great fit turns customers into repeat buyers and word of mouth advocates.
Why There Is No Standard Sizing
Every brand builds its size chart around its own target customer, which is why the same person can be a small in one store and a medium in the next.
Legacy as the Person Who Opened the Door
Rachel’s professional legacy is giving founders access to the right information, and her personal legacy starts with retiring her husband.
Timestamps
00:00 Welcome and introduction to Rachel Erickson
00:45 Bringing trust back into the fashion industry
02:00 Unmarked Street and The Business of Apparel
03:00 Where the mistrust in fashion started
05:00 Greenwashing, plastic, and what our clothes are made of
06:00 Where new apparel founders should begin
07:00 Target customer first
08:00 Why budget comes before design
09:30 Balancing creativity, originality, and profitability
11:00 Cost per wear versus cost per garment
12:30 Selling to the parent, not the kid
13:30 Paul’s progress over perfection hat
15:30 Rachel’s passion for fit and pattern engineering
17:00 Solving a running short fit in two rounds
18:30 Why great fit builds loyal customers
20:00 The new Wild Rye collaboration
21:00 Inventory waste and bad fit
22:00 Why there is no standard sizing
23:30 Building size charts by measuring real customers
25:00 Gratitude for her husband and team
27:00 Professional and personal legacy
28:30 Where to connect with Rachel
Connect with Rachel:
Website: kamenscpa.com
Website:
https://thebusinessofapparel.com
Product Development Agency:
https://unmarkedstreet.com
Connect with Paul Dio
🌐 Website: https://innovativewealth.com
🎙️ Podcast Hub: https://businesslegacypodcast.com
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Episode Resources
Explore how Rachel helps apparel founders build profitable, trustworthy brands with the right information, the right fit, and the right foundation from day one: https://thebusinessofapparel.com
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For more information: Visit https://businesslegacypodcast.com to access the show notes and additional resources on the episode.
