"Many probably expected that we would buy our way into the market with sizeable ad campaigns," says Dell, who serves as chairman of her firm. But she insists that she keeps a tight rein on business expenses. "It’s really important to me that this business is managed just like any other entrepreneurial start-up," she says. "We make hard decisions on where to spend our budget every day, which forces us to grow the opportunity organically."

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Yet even with significant funds and boldface monikers, these women are finding that building a profitable fashion house presents infinite challenges. Creating a signature design—Burch was inspired by a 1960s tunic she found in a French flea market—is only the first step. After making samples, a designer must convince buyers to write orders, and then find a way to actually deliver the merchandise to the stores. The final product must match the quality of the samples and reach the selling floor on time, and at the expected price. Even well-funded small firms find it difficult to attract attention from factory owners who can make money more easily on massive orders from larger design companies. "Production is the hardest part," says Jeffrey Kapelman, principal of Hilldun, which provides factoring (a form of financing) services to small fashion designers. "Getting attention is important, but it’s not going to amount to anything if the product isn’t really good."

Dell, an outsider from Austin, Tex., has found the New York scene less welcoming. Her CEO, Hansen, previously worked at Zoot Sports, an athletic apparel firm, and Levi Strauss before teaming with Dell in 2003. In her former jobs, she enjoyed what she calls a healthy level of competition between her employers and rivals such as Adidas. Hansen expected to find the same atmosphere in Manhattan among the companies she considered her new peers. Instead, she has been surprised by a chilly reception to her outreach efforts. "In some cases they’ve been cordial, and in a lot of cases they haven’t," she explains. "Seventh Avenue really doesn’t have to be so catty; I would never close my door to somebody reaching out to me."

Phi represents the culmination of Dell’s lifelong passion for clothes. She studied fashion at Arizona State University, and launched an eponymous collection in 1999. Yet she struggled to find a winning formula, tinkering with her namesake brand under designers Ellen Enders and Steven Slowik before scrapping it altogether. Dell, a competitive amateur athlete, met Hansen on the elite triathlon circuit and recruited her as president and CEO to help rebuild the company. Realizing they needed a new label, Hansen drew on her branding experience at Levi Strauss.