How to Launch a Fashion Brand with 4 Weeks and No Website
Project Info
Meg Ferguson got on Project Runway. Great news, except the show was premiering in four weeks and she had no way to sell her clothes online.
The Atelier Co. made beautiful, sustainable fashion for people who wanted clothes that actually fit their bodies and values. But everything was in-person, small batch, made-to-order. Now she needed to handle potential national TV traffic without compromising what made her brand special.
The Challenge:
Build an e-commerce system that could handle TV traffic spikes while staying true to sustainable, small-batch production.
Services we provided
Timeframe:
1 month
The Results
The launch worked better than expected. Traffic from the show didn't crash anything, email signups converted to sales, and the limited-drop model created anticipation rather than frustration.
More importantly, six months later Atelier Co. was still growing using the same approach. The "constraint" of sustainable production had become their competitive advantage.
Project Strategy
Instead of rushing to build a complete e-commerce platform, we treated the Project Runway opportunity as a validation experiment with three key strategic decisions:
- Validate Interest Before Building Infrastructure
Rather than assuming TV exposure would convert to sales, we started with a simple landing page to capture genuine interest. This let us build an audience while developing the actual shopping experience. - Embrace Production Constraints as Brand Differentiators
Instead of hiding the realities of sustainable, made-to-order production, we positioned limited availability as premium positioning. This aligned business operations with brand values. - Design for Consideration, Not Impulse
We built for customers who research before buying, not impulse shoppers. This meant prioritizing storytelling and education over typical e-commerce conversion tactics.
Week 1: Capture the Interest
Instead of rushing to build a full e-commerce site, we started with a simple landing page and email signup. The logic was straightforward: if someone's interested enough to visit after seeing you on TV, they'll give you their email to hear when you're ready to sell.
We used Meg's existing photos and brand voice to create something that felt like Atelier Co., not a generic "coming soon" page.
Week 2-3: Build the Shop
While collecting emails, we built the actual store. The key insight: Atelier Co. wasn't Amazon. People weren't buying on impulse - they were making considered purchases from a brand they believed in.
So we designed for that reality:
- Clear story about sustainable production
- Easy way for Meg's team to create and manage collections
- Simple ordering process that felt personal, not transactional
- Mobile-first because that's where fashion shoppers actually browse
Week 4: Launch
As the Project Runway episode aired, we swapped the landing page for the full store and sent an email to everyone who'd signed up. No dramatic countdown timers or fake urgency, just "we're ready when you are."
Client's Feedback
Wabbit did such amazing job getting my store set up, and their marketing guidance is utterly game-changing! I'm stunned at how many sales come through our site.
The Real Lesson
Most e-commerce advice assumes you're selling widgets that you can manufacture endlessly. But if you're making something meaningful — whether that's sustainable fashion, handcrafted products, or indie games - those assumptions don't apply.
The solution isn't to fake being a big company. It's to be honest about your constraints and turn them into reasons people want to buy from you instead of Amazon.
Atelier Co. proved you don't need to choose between your values and your growth. You just need systems that align with both.
