Hi! I’m LY, the founder of Zerone Design. As I look back on the past two years of building this little polewear brand, I honestly can’t believe how far we’ve come. It still feels surreal. And I figured… maybe it’s time to start sharing some behind-the-scenes stories, the real journey beyond the pretty things.

 

Zerone officially launched in March 2024, but the story began at least a year earlier.

At the time, I was struggling to find polewear I actually liked. Not just tiny clothing — but pretty, high-quality pieces that felt comfortable and flattering for everyday training. After spending $40 just to return two pieces that completely failed my expectations… I realized:

If I couldn’t find the polewear I wanted, I had to create it myself.

I’ve loved fashion since high school. My very first “business” was sewing clothes for dolls — I charged $10–$15 per outfit, and making other kids happy by dressing their favorite dolls is still one of my core memories. Life moved on, and fashion became a quiet hobby. But when pole dancing entered my life, the spark came back.

So I picked up sewing again.

I studied body structure, lingerie design, construction lines, and garment engineering.

I experimented with patterns on muslin.

I made my own polewear.

 

And this became the start of building a polewear brand made for real dancers.

 

I talked to over 100 manufacturers — rejected by 99.

Once my designs became more complex, I knew I needed a professional production team — one that specialized in performance clothing. So I started sourcing manufacturers.

And that’s when I learned the reality of fashion manufacturing.

Most manufacturers have minimum order quantities (MOQs) in the hundreds or even thousands per style — completely impossible for a self-funded brand. I explained I was starting small, that I cared about quality more than everything, and that I was willing to pay high unit costs for small batches.

Most politely declined.

Some not-so-politely declined.

Some never replied.

Some ghosted halfway through.

Over 100 conversations…

and only a tiny handful were willing to do small-batch production.

Finding those few felt like finding needles in a haystack — and then realizing every needle had its own quirks, limitations, and challenges.

 

Sampling: The Most Humbling Learning Curve of the Entire Journey

Your first instinct is:

“Once I find a manufacturer, things get easier.”

The truth is:

things get harder.

Communicating with manufacturers was THE most difficult part. I had to learn the jargon — stitches, binding widths, seam types, elastic specifications, tension percentages. I remember feeling embarrassed at first because I didn’t understand the professional terminology.

On top of that, you must be extremely precise and create good tech packs. A good tech pack means:

• specifying stitche
• sexact lengths
• fabric composition
• elastic types
• reinforcement points
• coverage angles

It’s a long journey from sketches on an iPad to an actual garment.

 

The Price of Getting It Right Before Anyone Ever Saw a Product

Sampling costs were no joke.

Each sample was around $100. And one sample is never enough — you go through multiple iterations, and each iteration is another $100.

I tested 8 different manufacturers, and from those, only 1 truly matched the quality I needed.

Before Zerone ever launched:

• Sampling alone cost thousands.
• Small-batch deposits came with unit prices 2× higher than mass production.
• Fabric and garment testing required both time and money.
• And every mistake — and there were many — added even more to the bill.

And at every step, I had to make decisions that didn’t feel small.

Because every detail — fabric texture, stitching reinforcement, elastic placement, crotch coverage, hardware quality — affects whether a dancer feels good in the final piece.

Starting a polewear brand is not just sewing clothes.

It’s engineering movement.

It’s designing confidence.

It’s creating comfort.

 

The hardest part wasn’t manufacturing. It was believing it would all be worth it.

There were nights I stared at rejected samples and wondered:

“Who do I think I am to start a polewear brand?”

But then:

Every time a sample got closer to my vision…

Every time a dancer tried something on and smiled…

Every time someone said, “This is so soft”…

I knew the work mattered.

After more than a year of trial, error, crying, excitement, and determination… Zerone was finally ready to launch.

And this is just the beginning.

We’ll save the rest of the story for Part II.