Fractional Head of Product

Most fashion brands don't fail at the idea. They fail in production.

I embed with emerging fashion brands as their senior product operator — guiding development from samples through manufacturing so costly mistakes never reach the factory floor.

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15+
Years in Fashion & Apparel
20+
Brands Across Every Channel
Full
Pipeline — Concept to Production
Brand Experience
Elizabeth & James Frame Steve Madden Dickies Chico's Electric & Rose The Avenue XCVI Healing Hands Raising Cane's

The Problem

The gap between samples and production is where brands break.

Founders who know their customer, their aesthetic, and their market still run into the same wall — the technical and operational complexity of getting product out of development and into real production. This is where money disappears, and where most emerging brands don't have the senior expertise to navigate it alone.

01
Incomplete tech packs
Missing specifications create factory confusion, rejected samples, and expensive revision cycles that push timelines back by weeks.
02
Unrealistic production timelines
Without factory-level experience, lead times get miscalculated. Retail windows close. Launch dates get missed. Relationships suffer.
03
Margin erosion at production
Costing assumptions that look right on a spreadsheet fall apart when actual invoices arrive — because no one caught the gaps early enough.
04
Factory miscommunication
Without fluent factory management, quality issues compound. What gets approved at sampling doesn't match what ships to the warehouse.

How We Work Together

Senior expertise, without the full-time hire.

Two ways to engage — both built around getting your product through development and into production without the mistakes.

Start Here

Production Readiness Intensive

$3,500 / project

A focused 30-day engagement before you place your manufacturing order. I audit your development status, identify every gap and risk, and hand you a clear production roadmap.

  • Full development status audit
  • Tech pack review & gap analysis
  • Factory communication framework
  • Production timeline & risk map
  • Written recommendations & next steps
Get Started

Ongoing Partnership

Fractional Head of Product

$4–6k / month

Embedded, ongoing senior product oversight across one or more active collections. The expertise of a VP of Product, without the full-time cost.

  • Active collection management
  • Vendor & factory oversight
  • QA & compliance management
  • Sourcing & costing strategy
  • Retail readiness & delivery management
Let's Talk

Not sure which is right for you? Start with a 20-minute discovery call — no commitment required.

The Process

How the first 30 days work.

No long ramp. No guessing. From day one, I'm in the work with you.

01
Discovery call
We spend 20 minutes talking about where you are in development, what's blocking you, and whether there's a clear fit. I'll tell you honestly if I can help.
02
Development audit
I review your tech packs, sampling status, factory communications, timelines, and costing — mapping every gap against what production actually requires.
03
Roadmap delivery
You receive a written production roadmap: prioritized actions, corrected specs, factory guidance, and a realistic timeline to production-ready goods.
04
Execution support
For brands who want ongoing support, I stay embedded through production — owning the factory relationship, QA, and delivery so you can focus on the business.

About Wendy

15 years watching this exact problem happen — and fixing it.

My experience spans the full apparel development pipeline — fabric sourcing, product development, manufacturing, QA, costing, and large-scale production — across contemporary fashion, luxury, mass retail, off-price, workwear, and uniform programs.

I've developed product for brands including Elizabeth & James, Frame, Steve Madden, Electric & Rose, XCVI, Olive & Vine, Chico's, The Avenue, Dillard's, Dickies, Champion, Healing Hands, Raising Cane's, Cracker Barrel, and Classroom Uniforms — across fashion, denim, plus-size, medical, and regulated workwear categories. On the retail side, my work has sold through Ross, TJ Maxx, Burlington, Marshalls, Nordstrom Rack, and Neiman Marcus Last Call.

My category depth includes plus-size and extended sizing, denim development, workwear and uniform programs, off-price retail development, and QA/compliance for regulated industries — the technical areas most emerging brands encounter and few consultants have lived inside.

Wendy Escobar
Denim & contemporary fashion
Developed for Frame, Electric & Rose, XCVI, Elizabeth & James, and Steve Madden across contemporary and premium categories — including denim construction, wash development, and fit programs.
Full product development lifecycle
Concept through retail-ready goods across fashion, denim, workwear, uniforms, and medical apparel. I've owned every stage of the pipeline and know exactly where emerging brands are most exposed.
Plus-size & extended sizing
Deep grading and fit expertise across plus-size categories from The Avenue, Chico's, and Christopher & Banks. One of the most technically demanding — and most underserved — areas in emerging brand development.
Workwear, uniforms & compliance
Developed regulated programs for Raising Cane's, Cracker Barrel, AT&T, Dickies, Champion, Healing Hands, and Classroom Uniforms — categories where spec precision, durability standards, and compliance aren't optional.
Off-price & multi-channel retail
Extensive experience developing for Ross, TJ Maxx, Burlington, Marshalls, Nordstrom Rack, and Neiman Marcus Last Call — understanding the margin, quality, and compliance standards each channel demands.

Get Started

Your next production run
shouldn't be a gamble.

Let's spend 20 minutes talking about where your brand is and where it needs to go. No pitch. Just a real conversation.

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