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Who is Charmaine Mischel?
Over several decades as a Founder & Brand Consultant, Charmaine Mischel's passion and vision of transparency and inclusion in the ever-secretive Fashion industry has continued to grow. It has blossomed into a multi-faceted effort to facilitate the dreams of emerging Designpreneurs via her New York based consulting firm, CM Design Agency.
At CMDA she takes the guesswork out of the brand launch process via her accelerated Label Launch BLUEPRINT program which was created so Designers can have the guidance they need to build strong, mission-driven brands while avoiding common mistakes along the way. Here Designpreneurs immerse themselves into foundational brand building strategies, key resources, industry best practices, entrepreneurial-mindset and operational support as they position each collection for a robust launch.
Early in her career, Mischel honed her creative direction skills in the NYC Garment District, where she established a crucial level of expertise and rapport across the industry. She deepened her design repertoire during sourcing trips to Paris and London as she prepared to present each new collection to boutique & big-box store buyers each season.
Her experience at Vogue Apparel, Body Force and Fortune 500 apparel companies Sara Lee Corp. and Kellwood Co. was invaluable. She designed private label womenswear collections for Brooks Brother's, Callaway, Danskin, Hanes Her Way and J. Jill, just to name a few, plus the branded Bill Burns sportswear collection for Nordstrom, which landed her designs on the coveted cover of Women's Wear Daily (WWD).
After eleven formative years in corporate, "life" happened... and her career needed to be put on hold to focus on caring for her young family. Once things began to settle down at home, the deep desire to CREATE resurfaced and it couldn't be denied!
Mischel then pondered the breadth and wealth of experience she enjoyed as a "unicorn" in the industry all those years ago. Back then, a Black woman of Caribbean descent, holding a prominent Fashion Designer position in the NY Fashion Industry was virtually unheard of. She decided that this blessing would not be wasted, and in 2003 her renowned namesake bridal & evening wear brand was founded.
Out of a deep desire to pay it forward, CM Design Agency was founded in 2020. At CMDA Charmaine Mischel lifts the veil on the inner workings of the Fashion Industry to support the journeys of self-taught as well as "fashion-schooled" Designers. guiding them toward the proven processes & insider secrets she keenly leveraged to successfully launch her own label direct to customer (DTC), and scale it into retail stores.
She has since collectively taught thousands of aspiring and emerging Designers at Embark.Live, Retail Boss, Kent State University, Fashion Institute of Technology, Black Fashion World Foundation, Startup Fashion, 383 Design Studio, and Fashion Brand Incubator about the critical steps in the label launch process.
Her ultimate goal is to "kick the door of the real Fashion Industry wide open" so that more passionate BIPOC and women Designpreneurs can develop the expertise to leverage their creativity in the most meaningful, efficient and profitable manner.
She maintains, "The secrecy stops here! Talent has been left on the table for far too long because of the gatekeeping that still persists in this industry. Now, it's our time."
