Meet our Launch Team
SOME OF MY FAVORITES
Fashion Designers
Elie Sab & Monique Lhullier
Next Travel Destinations
Versailles & The Amalfi Coast
Flowers
Peony & English garden rose
Season
Spring
Dog Breed
Labradoodle
Drink by Day
Unsweetened Iced Tea & Iced Caffe Latte
Drink by Night
Bellini
Football Teams
FSU Seminoles & NC Panthers
Lisa Springsteel Dupre
Founder
CAREER BACKGROUND & EDUCATION
Lisa is the founder and CEO of Launch Your Collection (LYC) and the acclaimed author of Becoming a Fashion Designer (Wiley), a globally recognized book published in 2013 and later translated into Mandarin (2015) and Arabic (2019). She also serves as an adjunct professor at the Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship at Florida State University, where she teaches Apparel Entrepreneurship.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in Fashion Merchandising from Florida State University with several continuing education courses completed at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT).
Over her 19-year career in the New York fashion industry, Lisa held pivotal roles at the corporate headquarters of leading brands including Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs, Banana Republic, J. Crew, and J. Mendel. Her expertise spans fashion design, merchandising, product development, fabric and trim research and sourcing, sample development and production, branding, sales, promotion, and marketing.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
During her tenure at Ralph Lauren Corporation, Lisa was among a select group of employees invited into design meetings with Mr. Ralph Lauren and was appointed the company’s first Fabric Archives Manager—a position personally created by Mr. Lauren.
She went on to serve as Fabric and Trim Manager for J. Mendel, leading the research, development, sourcing, and procurement of materials for four seasonal New York Fashion Week collections each year, as well as for celebrity clients, editorial features, red‑carpet events, and global wholesale and retail partners.
Her creative talent was further recognized when Oscar de la Renta invited her to present her original designs and illustrations for his Spring/Summer 2002 runway show.
ROLE AT LYC
In her role as founder of LYC, Lisa oversees the full apparel launch process for clients across the emerging, established, and public‑figure brand divisions. Her mission is to simplify the complexities of building an apparel brand, turning the journey into a seamless, engaging, and collaborative educational experience from concept to launch and beyond. Lisa is based in Raleigh, N.C. where she lives with her husband, Joe and two sons.
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SOME OF MY FAVORITES
Fashion Designers
Ann Demeulemeester
Haider Ackerman
Next Travel Destinations
Antwerp
Buenos Aires
Marrakesh
Prague
Flowers
Miniature White Rose
Season
Summer & Fall
Books
Atomic Habits by James Cler
Jump by Kim Perell
Drink by Night
Prosecco
Nicole Melendez
Technical Designer
CAREER BACKGROUND & EDUCATION
Born and raised in Ponte, Puerto Rico, Nicole moved to New York to pursue her education. She graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) with dual degrees in fashion design and fashion merchandising.
Nicole's specialty is leveraging 3D technology to aid apparel brands in fit solutions, technical packages, and prototyping services for design and development.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Nicole is a creative thinker and a results oriented fashion industry professional with sharp skills in designing and developing trend-focused sportswear and knitwear with a high rate of product adoption. Additionally, she has a successful track record as a technical designer and patternmaker. Nicole works with ongoing emerging and established fashion brands through her company, Habito Group and was honored to be hired by Lululemon for a recent technical design project. Nicole is the winner of the ELLE + Byco Design Challenge.
ROLE AT LYC
Nicole joined Launch Your Collection in 2022, as a technical designer. She works alongside our emerging fashion brand clients to produce their tech packs, lead each fit session, and communicate fit comments to the factory until final sample approvals. Her attention to detail is unmatched and she is a highly respected technical designer in the industry.
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SOME OF MY FAVORITES
Fashion Designers
Azzedine Alaïa
Christian Dior
Peter Do
Next Travel Destinations
Paris
Madrid
Florence
Vienna
Marrakesh
Animal
Horse
Mary Bridgman
Fashion Illustrator
CAREER BACKGROUND & EDUCATION
Mary received a degree in studio art from Connecticut College and a degree in fashion design from Parsons School of Design in New York. In addition, she studied painting and drawing at the School of Visual Arts and the Art Student's League in New York City.
Mary is a fashion illustrator and a professor of fashion design art at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City and Marist College, a private university in Poughkeepsie, New York.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
May worked as a fashion designer at Ellen Tracy and Ralph Lauren and has created fashion illustrations for Ralph Lauren, Ann Taylor, Liz Claiborne and the Worth Collection.
ROLE AT LYC
Mary brings our client's clothing designs to life with her full color fashion illustrations that she creates of each of the designs in our client's apparel collections. We then use these fashion illustrations on the client website, in a media kit, social media, and in various marketing initiatives.
MEET OUR TEAM • MEET OUR TEAM • MEET OUR TEAM • MEET OUR TEAM • MEET OUR TEAM • MEET OUR TEAM • MEET OUR TEAM • MEET OUR TEAM • MEET OUR TEAM • MEET OUR TEAM • MEET OUR TEAM • MEET OUR TEAM • MEET OUR TEAM • MEET OUR TEAM • MEET OUR TEAM • MEET OUR TEAM • MEET OUR TEAM •
SOME OF MY FAVORITES
Fashion Designers
Chanel
Oscar de la Renta
Next Travel Destinations
Italy
Spain
Paris
Dominican Republic
Flowers
Peony
Sweet Juliet Rose
Season
Summer & Winter
Dog Breed
Long Hair Chihuahua
Football Team
San Francisco 49ers
Elizabeth Micheli
Brand Designer
CAREER BACKGROUND & EDUCATION
Elizabeth is a seasoned branding expert with a dynamic career in journalism, public relations, and marketing. She earned her degree in Journalism and Communications with a concentration in Public Relations and a minor in Marketing from Florida International University. During her final year of college, Elizabeth joined Boxycharm, a burgeoning beauty brand, as an intern. Her exceptional skills and dedication quickly propelled her from intern to marketing manager, and ultimately to Chief Operating Officer. Elizabeth played a pivotal role in the company’s startup phase, immersing herself in every facet of branding, marketing, sales, and operations.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
In 2014, Elizabeth ventured out on her own, founding EM Branding to guide others in launching their businesses and refining their marketing strategies. After a year of navigating the challenges of marketing brands with weak branding, she pivoted her focus solely to branding design. In 2019, Elizabeth rebranded her business to EM Branding Studio, and in 2024, it evolved into Paire Design. Over nearly a decade, she has successfully led over 350 branding projects, both nationwide and internationally, establishing herself as a leader in the field of graphic design and brand styling.
ROLE AT LYC
Elizabeth joined LYC in 2024 as the Brand Designer, where she specializes in developing and refining fashion brand identities. Understanding that branding is the cornerstone of a successful business, she approaches her role with dedication and passion. Elizabeth thrives on creating beautiful and impactful brand identities that resonate with clients and elevate their fashion brands to new heights.