Fashion Founders Academy
Fashion product and business education from Lauren Jones. For founders turning an idea into a first product, founders selling but struggling with margins, and growing brands whose development, costing, and production systems haven’t kept up.
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Built for the work
A good idea is only part of the work. Behind every collection are decisions about the customer, assortment, development, vendors, margins, and production timing.
Whether you’re preparing your first product, introducing a new category, or scaling an established brand, the Academy helps you see how those decisions connect, and which ones matter next.
The product-development framework
These are the connected decisions fashion founders face. Fashion Founders Studio works through them across eight weeks, with space to apply each step to your own business.
Clarify the brand you’re building and who it must matter to.
Turn the idea into a focused, commercially sound product plan.
Create a development process that moves ideas toward samples.
Find and evaluate the right materials, makers, and partners.
Understand the numbers and build margin into every decision.
Review, refine, and approve products with a clear standard.
Map quantities, timelines, risks, and production readiness.
Leave with priorities, milestones, and a practical next move.
Meet Lauren Jones
Lauren spent more than 20 years working inside global fashion brands in design and product development, then founded Elle & Reid Consulting.
She built Fashion Founders Academy to translate the industry’s working methods into practical education for independent founders, from assortment and samples to costing, production flow, and stronger operating systems.
More about LaurenChoose your path
Start with a free introduction, diagnose where your business stands, learn independently, or bring the work into a live room. No offer is a prerequisite for another.
01 / Free live webinar · Registration open
Start with the real decisions behind building a fashion brand, from product planning to costing and production. Choose one of three upcoming live sessions and register free.
02 / Live three-hour working session
See where your business stands across brand, product, costing, sourcing, and operations; leave knowing which decisions matter next.
03 / Self-Paced Course · Six recorded modules
Learn the connected product-development process and apply it to your own line independently, without live sessions or feedback.
04 / 8-Week Live Cohort
Bring your real work into eight live cohort sessions for implementation, feedback, and accountability. LaunchPad access is included.
The Blueprint: Digital Edition · Coming Soon
A practical step-by-step guide for fashion founders who want to turn an idea into a real, profitable brand, from positioning and product strategy through development, costing, sourcing, production, launch, and growth.
Join the waitlist for first access when The Blueprint launches.
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