NYC Fashion Incubator
We have a few more tidbits of information on Mayor Bloomberg’s much anticipated Fashion Incubator initiative. We gave you the full scoop on this project here when it was announced back in October. The CFDA along with the New York City Economic Cooperation and our Mayor, have created this program to support emerging designers. We love the idea of creating a place that is literally an incubator of creativity. Plus, it’s set up in a way that not only encourages the entrepreneurial spirit, but backs it up with concrete support systems.
More specifically, this program will financially aid up-and-coming designers who want to stay in the Garment Center and produce their goods locally. Twelve lucky designers (and we made it clear in our previous post how we felt about that skimpy number) will get some much coveted studio space in the heart of the Garment Center. The Fashion Incubator will be our neighbor, located at 209 West 38th Street. So, what’s the unbelievably low rent at this location? Amazingly, only $1500 a month, which is a dream come true for any young designer. But it gets even better; the CFDA has just announced that they will also be providing mentoring to the Fashion Incubator designers. Having a top American designer as a mentor is a priceless advantage.
Of course, this kind of award is not available to just anyone with good fashion sense and a dream. This is a huge economic and political investment for the city and the CFDA. This is a business proposal and not a Project Runway type contest, so designers must have a solid work history. To qualify, the designers need to have sustained their businesses for a minimum of 1.5 years, achieved media coverage, and worked with successful retailers as well as have a record of employing employees. For the right candidate this is an excellent opportunity. Hopefully these twelve designers will prove successful enough, that the program will continue and expand so more candidates of various levels can participate.
(view original source here)
