Our Founder's
Story
Imagine a world where every aspiring fashion designer feels seen, supported, and empowered – this is the journey from solitude to community that I wanted to nurture.
– Britta Cabanos, Founder of Inside Fashion Design &
The Conscious Fashion Design Academy
You can feel very alone in this industry, especially when you're trying to create something meaningful.
I know because I've been there. I didn't have mentors. I didn't have a support system; I had just ambition, drive, and a deep desire to create something with purpose. From my early days as an assistant designer in NYC to becoming a design director and entrepreneur, I was always searching for connection—for collaboration, emotional support, and wise, compassionate mentorship. But for years, I navigated it alone. This was the reality of the fashion industry. Highly competitive and fast-paced, with pressure to meet deadlines. These struggles and the journey to overcome them are what inspired me to create IFD and TCFDA.
In 2016, my partner and I were brainstorming how to promote our design consulting business, Creative Capital Design. We decided to do what I've always loved—host an event. We called it the Open Studio Social. It was a small gathering, but the energy was electric. Designers, creatives, and industry pros were excited by the meaningful connections made at the event. "Why don't we do this more often?" someone asked. That moment, a lightbulb lit up-the sense of community, the sharing of ideas, the collective encouragement—was what I had needed all along.
A Seed Takes Root: The Birth of IFD
That event planted the seed. Over the next two years, I began organizing more. I created a series of events during Design Week Portland, including panel talks with industry veterans, textile showcases, and happy hours that evolved into creative networking hubs. We held exhibitions, launched mini-workshops, and hosted community conversations that fostered deep connections and a sense of purpose. What started as a simple gathering quickly grew into a new purpose.
That movement evolved into Inside Fashion Design (ifd)—a multi-platform space dedicated to supporting fashion professionals at every stage of their careers. IFD is more than an educational platform. It's a global community hub where students, entrepreneurs, and industry veterans come together to learn, collaborate, and inspire each other. Through workshops, online learning, in-person meetups, blog storytelling, mentoring opportunities, and thought-leadership content, IFD was designed to be precisely what I once needed—and what many others are still seeking.
The Conscious Fashion Design Academy (CFDA)
In 2024, I took the next step. I officially launched The Conscious Fashion Design Academy (TCFDA)—a hands-on, step-by-step learning experience for today's fashion professionals who want to build a brand that aligns with values, vision, and viability. The TCFDA provides a path to do just that—offering industry-informed, ethics-rooted training in sustainable product development, business building, marketing, sourcing, and more. Whether you're starting from scratch or transitioning mid-career, our courses help you build not just a business, but a legacy.
Why This Is Personal: A Life Shaped by Purpose
Looking back, I credit both my parents for planting these seeds within me, though in very different ways.
From an early age, I was drawn to both creativity and consciousness, long before these concepts became buzzwords. My mom, a talented seamstress, taught me to sew. I made my own clothes, chose my fabrics, and dreamed of runways while standing in small-town fabric shops in Minnesota. My dad was a college professor who recycled before anyone else did—back when it was considered a hippie and tree-hugging (and not in a good way). Little did I know that those roots would become the foundation of everything I stand for today.
At 15, my dad introduced me to a fellow professor who had attended FIT. She took me to lunch and we had pizza at a local Pizza Hut, where she explained the design program in New York to me. That lunch changed my life—from that moment on, I knew what I wanted to do. I applied to FIT, got accepted, moved to New York, studied fashion, and eventually worked on projects for major global brands. I landed a job with a company whose main sales came from Walmart, which required mass production and multiple trips overseas per year to work on the product with factories in Asia. What I witnessed—poor conditions, waste, and an overwhelming pace—shocked me. I didn't yet have the words for it, but I knew: this wasn't the kind of fashion I wanted to create.
Years later, I found success in my career, but at the expense of my mental and physical health, ongoing burnout, and exhaustion. At one point, my stress levels led to health issues, and eventually landed me in the hospital after having a SCAD heart attack. (Learn about SCAD here) It was a wake-up call. Something had to change.
The Power of Community, Mentorship, and Support
Whether you yearn for mentorship—or don't yet realize how much it can change your life—the difference between having it and not having it is profound. With support, you grow faster. You recover stronger. You stay grounded in your purpose. Without it, the pressure, pace, and isolation can erode your creativity, mental health, and confidence.
This is especially true in today's fashion landscape, where pressing issues such as climate change, labor injustices, and resource waste necessitate innovative solutions. We can't solve these problems alone.
We need collaboration. We need mentorship. We need each other.
A New Chapter: COVID and the Future of IFD
The second major turning point occurred in 2020 with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The world paused—and so did much of our client work. But in that pause, I found clarity. I poured my energy into building Inside Fashion Design into a full-time venture. I launched online programs, built a global community, and reimagined what learning and mentorship could look like in a remote, digital-first world. Today, ifd and the TCFDA offer courses, resources, events, and community spaces that span continents and time zones—but still feel personal and powerful.
Where We're Going—and Why
Today, Inside Fashion Design is a thriving media and education platform. We offer:
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Online and in-person courses
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Conscious design resources and toolkits
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Weekly blog content and industry insights
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Live expert sessions and mentorship
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A growing community of professionals committed to purpose-driven fashion
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In-person meetup to connect and enjoy each other's company
Through the Conscious Fashion Design Academy, we're expanding our impact with a curriculum rooted in Sustainability, circularity, emotional well-being, and responsible business practices.
Now, in 2025 and beyond, we're focused on scaling impact. That means expanding our course library, offering more expertise, growing our global membership community, and collaborating with values-aligned partners to build a thriving ecosystem for the next generation of conscious fashion professionals.
Whether you're a student, a teacher, an entrepreneur, or an industry veteran with wisdom to share, there's a place for you here.
If you're a designer trying to find your way in an overwhelming industry, ifd is the community you didn't know you needed.
We believe fashion can be a force for good.
We believe in designing with purpose.
And we believe in walking the journey together.
Brand Work
