Frequently asked questions

AMA Design Consulting helps brands and retailers innovate without compromising performance. We partner with fashion, footwear, accessories, home and lifestyle businesses at moments of growth, transformation and reinvention, identifying where product, process or team effectiveness is constraining performance and building the solution.

  • What does AMA Design Consultancy do?

Our work spans three areas. Creative direction and brand transformation cover brand DNA, positioning, creative vision and team briefs. Consumer insight, trend and product strategy, plus market analysis, range and price architecture, whitespace and hit-rate improvement. Infrastructure, sourcing and organisation cover critical path, PLM and AI adoption, supplier and fabric platforming, and fractional creative leadership. Founders can also work with me directly through Mentoring. We also offer collection design and development, delivered with specialist freelancers.

  • What services do you offer?

We partner with brands and retailers in fashion, footwear, accessories, home and lifestyle across Europe, the UK, South Africa, Australia and Southeast Asia. Through Mentoring, I also work one-to-one with founders who are starting or growing a brand.

  • Who do you work with?

Fractional leadership places a Head of Design, Design Director or Chief Design Officer inside your business on a short-term, full-time or part-time basis. We own product and design direction alongside your team, delivering executive-level leadership without the commitment of a permanent hire. Founders can also access a hands-on version through Mentoring, where the focus is on supporting your own decisions rather than taking an embedded executive role.

  • What is fractional leadership?

  • What's the difference between advisory and mentoring?

Strategic advisory is for brands and retailers: we address a defined business challenge across brand, range, process or team. Mentoring is one-to-one guidance from me for founders who are starting or growing a brand, covering their plan, their sourcing and their market.

No. Mentoring is experience-led. You receive practical, candid guidance from me, drawn from more than twenty years of leading product and design globally, rather than from an accredited coaching programme or a formal methodology.

  • Is mentoring the same as coaching?

Advisory and fractional engagements begin with an initial complimentary 20-minute discovery call. Mentoring begins with a free 20-minute intro call. In both cases, we start by understanding your business and objectives, so you can decide with confidence before committing.

  • How do I get started?

Book a free 20-minute intro call and complete a short brief so I can prepare properly. We then meet for your session, and you leave with a written summary and clear next steps.

  • How does mentoring work?

Five formats are available, so you can choose the level of support that fits your stage. The Clarity Session is a 90-minute session with me on a single question, followed by a written summary and next steps.

The Market and Competitor Analysis is a fixed-fee written study of your market and closest competitors.

The Blueprint Intensive is four 90-minute sessions over four to six weeks, focused on one outcome such as a business plan, a sourcing base or a market read. It includes an audit of your collection, supply chain or go-to-market strategy and ends with a 12-month roadmap.

The Founder Advisory Retainer offers monthly sessions for a flat fee, with a set number of strategy calls and support by email or Slack in between. For founders who want hands-on involvement, Fractional Leadership includes reviewing lookbooks, developing ranges, joining factory negotiation calls and introducing you to retail buyers, billed monthly.

  • What mentoring formats are available?

Fees are set by the scope of the work, so we do not publish fixed rates. Every engagement begins with a complimentary call to establish your objectives. Mentoring fees are provided on enquiry, and advisory and fractional engagements are scoped to your goals.

  • How much does it cost?

Yes. We deliver collection design and development through a network of trusted freelance designers and technical experts, working to a brief we develop with you. Scope and fees are agreed upfront, and the service can sit alongside Mentoring or Advisory.

  • Do you offer collection design and development?

Yes. We identify, vet and manage the right manufacturing partners and establish your sourcing base. Our experience spans partners in India, China, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Indonesia, South Africa and Thailand. In the interest of full transparency, we receive a commission from the factories we place work with. This is always disclosed upfront, and our recommendations are based on quality, capability, compliance and fit for your brand.

  • Can you help with sourcing and manufacturing?

We apply AI where it adds real value, across forecasting, 3D design, PLM and design workflows, always with human validation. It shortens development timelines without compromising creative judgement.

  • Do you use AI?

We are based in the south of France and work remotely with brands and retailers worldwide. We have led teams across India, Australia, Southeast Asia, South Africa and Europe, so working across time zones is standard practice. Where a project calls for it, we also work in-house with your team, on a short-term, project-by-project basis.

  • Where are you based, and can you work in-house?

  • Is what I share with you confidential?

Yes. Everything you share with us is treated as strictly confidential, and we are happy to sign an NDA before we begin.

  • How can I contact you?

Reach us through the contact form, by email or by booking a call. We aim to respond within one business day.