# Episode 33 – Jaclyn Brautigam β€’ Fordham Fashion | Why Emerging Designers Struggle with Wholesale, Pricing & Sales Strategy Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-fashion-translator-7762815/episode-33-jaclyn-brautigam-fordham-fashion-why-emerging-designers-struggle-with-wholesale-pricing-sales-strategy Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-fashion-translator-7762815/episode-33-jaclyn-brautigam-fordham-fashion-why-emerging-designers-struggle-with-wholesale-pricing-sales-strategy.md Podcast: [The Fashion Translator](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-fashion-translator-7762815) Published: 2026-05-28T13:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://clairelysbastienwald.substack.com/p/episode-33-jaclyn-brautigam-fordham Audio file: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/198736311/75d87a455726d635c8c61a1977cc8a11.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-fashion-translator-7762815/episodes/episode-33-jaclyn-brautigam-fordham-fashion-why-emerging-designers-struggle-with-wholesale-pricing-sales-strategy Duration seconds: 1620 ## Resource πŸŽ™οΈ In this episode of The Fashion Translator , I spoke with Jaclyn Brautigam, Founder of Fordham Fashion, about the operational blind spots that prevent emerging designers from turning strong creative work into viable businesses. Many designers are trained to develop products β€” but not to sell them. They are often left navigating wholesale, pricing, margins, and distribution without a clear roadmap. From wholesale entry strategy to pricing structures, the conversation highlights how commercial viability in fashion depends less on the product itself and more on the systems built around it. We explore: β€’ Why many designers underestimate the complexity of B2B wholesale β€’ The operational foundations required before approaching retailers β€’ How pricing and margins shift when moving from DTC to wholesale β€’ Why expensive showroom strategies often fail emerging brands β€’ How designers can leverage direct outreach and network-driven growth instead At its core, this conversation reframes fashion not as a product-driven industry, but as a system-driven one β€” where understanding distribution mechanics, financial structure, and market timing determines whether a collection becomes a business or remains an idea. For those looking to move from collection to commercial strategy and growth: ✨ Exclusive offer for The Fashion Translator community Use code: FTC26 Receive $500 off The Fashion Visionary Experience, Jaclyn’s signature package designed to help fashion brands grow and strategically build their business. Valid through year-end. Guest: πŸ‘€ Jaclyn Brautigam πŸ”— Instagram: @fordham_fashion πŸ”— LinkedIn: Jaclyn Brautigam Brand / Platform: 🌐 Fordham Fashion πŸ”— Website: https://www.fordhamfashion.com/ πŸ”— Substack: If you’re currently trying to turn a collection into actual sales and feel stuck… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-fashion-translator-7762815/episodes/episode-33-jaclyn-brautigam-fordham-fashion-why-emerging-designers-struggle-with-wholesale-pricing-sales-strategy/transcription-requests` β€” Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-fashion-translator-7762815/episode-33-jaclyn-brautigam-fordham-fashion-why-emerging-designers-struggle-with-wholesale-pricing-sales-strategy.md` β€” Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.