CFDA Fashion Incubator – located at 209 West 38th Street in New York City’s Garment District – has started its operation with its first 12 tenants.

 

The inaugural participating designers are: Alice Ritter; Bibhu Mohapatra; Rachel Dooley of Gemma Redux; Grant Krajecki of Grey Ant; Waris Ahluwalia from House of Waris; Joel Diaz from Jolibe; Prabal Gurung; Dao-Yi Chow & Maxwell Osborne of Public School; Yuvi Alpert & Danna Kobo from Ruby Kobo; Sang A Im-Prop of Sang A; Justin Giunta from Subversive Jewelry; and Tom Scott.

 

The CFDA Fashion Incubator accommodates up to 12 designer brands, each of which will retain a separate design studio, ranging from 250 to 700 square feet in size. Newmark Holdings is providing each brand with a two-year lease at below-market rates ranging from $1,000 to $2,000 per month, depending on the size of the studio space. NYCEDC is providing the CFDA with a $200,000 grant to establish and further develop the CFDA Fashion Incubator.

 

To be eligible for consideration, designers had to be in business for a minimum of one and one-half years and have paid and/or volunteer professional staff. Designers were also asked to demonstrate their potential through substantive editorial coverage and orders from top retailers.. Tenants were chosen by members of a Selection Committee and an Advisory Board comprised of fashion industry experts, including retailers, editors, and business leaders. The Selection Committee assisted in the initial development of the initiative; evaluated and assisted in selecting CFDA Fashion Incubator designers; and will participate in bi-annual reviews of tenants. The Advisory Board evaluated applications, based on designers’ business model and plans; assisted in selecting CFDA Fashion Incubator tenants; and will participate in quarterly reviews of tenants.  Advisory Board members will take on strategic planning, sponsorship, funding, and other responsibilities, as needed.

 

Selection Committee members include: Designer John Bartlett; Kirna Zabete’s Beth Buccini and Sarah Easley; Bloomingdale’s Operating Vice President and Men’s Fashion Director Kevin Harter; CFDA Executive Director Steven Kolb; Elle Style Director Kate Lanphear; Harper’s Bazaar Executive Editor Kristina O’Neill; Neiman Marcus Senior Fashion Accessories Editor Roopal Patel; Style.com Executive Editor Nicole Phelps; CFDA Associate Executive Director Lisa Smilor; and designer Peter Som.

 

Members of the Advisory Board include: Marc Beckman, Designers Management Agency; Joseph Ferrara, Ferrara Manufacturing; Eric Gural, Newmark Knight Frank; Douglas Hand, Hand, Baldachin & Amburgey, LLP ; Karen Harvey, Karen Harvey Consulting Group ; Steven Kolb, CFDA; Trey Laird, Laird+Partners; Seo Hyun Lee, Chiel Industries ; Barbara Randall, Fashion Center Business Improvement District ; Lisa Smilor, CFDA; Steven Strauss, Center for Economic Transformation at NYCEDC; Gary Wassner, Hilldun Corporation ; amd Denise Williamson, Denise Williamson Showroom.

 

The Incubator is designed to support the next generation of fashion designers in New York City. It is one of a series of City-sponsored business incubators launched since February 2009, when Mayor Bloomberg announced a suite of initiatives to support entrepreneurship and encourage start-up companies to locate and grow in New York City.  The CFDA Fashion Incubator will provide a creative professional environment to foster promising talent in the field of fashion; help emerging fashion designers grow and sustain their businesses in New York City by offering low-cost design studio space; and provide business mentoring, educational seminars, and networking opportunities to selected designers so that they may reach their full potential and become an integral part of the New York fashion community.

 

Contact:

David Lombino/Libby Langsdorf  212 312-3523
Souri Kim (KCD for CFDA)  212 590-5113

 

About NYCEDC
New York City Economic Development Corporation is the City’s primary vehicle for promoting economic growth in each of the five boroughs. NYCEDC’s mission is to stimulate growth through expansion and redevelopment programs that encourage investment, generate prosperity and strengthen the City’s competitive position. NYCEDC serves as an advocate to the business community by building relationships with companies that allow them to take advantage of New York City’s many opportunities. Find us on Facebook to learn more about NYCEDC projects and initiatives.

 

About the CFDA
The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc, (CFDA) is a not-for-profit trade association that leads industry-wide initiatives and whose membership consists of more than 350 of America’s foremost womenswear, menswear, jewelry, and accessory designers. In addition to hosting the annual CFDA Fashion Awards, which recognize the top creative talent in the industry, the organization offers programs which support professional development and scholarships, including the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, the Geoffrey Beene Design Scholar Award, the Liz Claiborne Scholarship Award, and the CFDA/Teen Vogue Scholarship. Member support is provided through the Business Services Network, a high-profile group of companies offering designers strategic opportunities. The CFDA Foundation, Inc. is a separate, not-for-profit organized to mobilize the membership to raise funds for charitable causes. Through the Foundation, the CFDA created and manages Fashion Targets Breast Cancer; raises funds for HIV/AIDS organizations with 7th on Sale; addresses the issue of model health with The CFDA Health Initiative; and is a key participant in other programs such as the annual Fashion’s Night Out. For more information, please visit www.CFDA.com.

 

Calamo Silk is a full service silk and silk blend fabric company offering a wide selection of solid, printed and novelty silk fabric stocked here in USA. They offer a rare high quality of silk fabrics and garments at very competitive prices utilizing the highest quality pringting and dying facilities located in both China and South Korea.

 

Calamo Silk offers both solid and printed silk and silk blend fabric. They stock 96 of the most gorgeous and tantilizing colors based on the season's trend in both New York and Los Angeles warehouse. Custom colors are dyed in all of their items for very low minimums and 2 to 4 weeks. Calamo Silk operates wholly owned state of the art beam-dying factory in Suzhou, China dedicated only to Calamo Silk and its clients. The factory in Suzhou, China is staffed and managed by Calamo Silk employees to maintain the industry-famous high quality. They also offer custom weaving of fabric that they do not carry in stock for low minimum to satisfy clients' silk and silk fabric blend needs.
 

Many "open line" prints are available and it is continually updated to reflect the current fashion trend. They also offer custom print development with low minimums and surcharge.

 

They undertake these services:

- Custom Jacqaurd Designs
- Discharge Printing
- Dye and Discharge
- Overprinting
- Border Print
- Flocking
- Embossing
- Panel Printing
- Ombre Dying
- Roller Printing
- Hand Painting
- Tie Dying
- Garment Construction
- Same Day delivery, pick up or shipping
- Scarf and accessory package
- Global shipping solutions
- Embroidery
- Beading
- Washing
- Crinkling
 
Calamo Silk clients may also take advantage of Calamo Silk's extensive garment program which features a dedicated factory in Suzhou, China with capacity of 15,000 to 20,000 garment pieces on monthly basis.

Sales sample production is available with reasonable minimums of 200 to 300 pieces per style owing to the complexity of the designs our workers are trained to produce. Pattern making, marking and grading is done at their factory if desired along with sources of trims, buttons, zipper and other necessary requirements. 

For more information, visit their website at www.calamosilk.com

KBL Group International is the premier global supplier of sweaters in the world. As of September 2010, their new location will be 1407 Broadway, Sixth Floor, New York, NY 10018

For more information please visit their website at www.kblgroupintl.com

  Outside KBL de Mexico 

If you are working in the Garment District, you probably have visited 7th Avenue Stationers. They are located on 210 West 35th Street and of course on the 7th Avenue. I regularly buy my Pantone color swatches from them, and they have much more to offer.

You can also shop from their website www.7thavenuecollector.com  

If you need special pricing, call Eli Murad at 212-695-4900
 
 
 

   

Doucette Duvall practices environmental and social responsibility by manufacturing the entire collection in New York City's historic garment district, using pre-existing fabric and trim, shunning extraneous garment bags and hang tags, and shipping in recycled boxes only.
Check them out at www.doucetteduvall.com

A new company which registered in our directory is "Woodbuttons" by Buttonwood Corp.



Established in 1937, Buttonwood Corp remains the world's largest manufacturer of fine wood buttons and toggles. Natural and ecologically sound products entirely Made In USA. Their factory is in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn and their showroom is at the heart of the Garment District in NYC at 260 West 39th Street 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10018. 

Below is a short video on how buttons are made in their factory (placating to watch...)


 

The Design Trust for Public Space, a nonprofit devoted to improving New York City's public realm, has partnered with the Council of Fashion Designers of America to create Made in Midtown, a study of how the industry works and why it's an integral part of the City's economy, identity, and sense of place. The project website, www.madeinmidtown.org launches in May.

Made in Midtown from Design Trust for Public Space on Vimeo.

FASHION 26 - A Wyndham Hotel

One of New York City's newest hotels, Fashion 26 is a Wyndham Hotel offering stunning design, exemplary service and four-star amenities in the heart of the fashion capital of the world. Located on West 26th Street in one of Manhattan's most remarkable neighborhoods, Fashion 26 is steps away from the Fashion Institute of Technology, The Empire State Building, Herald Square and the renowned Macy's flagship. Times Square, Central Park, Tribeca, Soho, Chelsea Market and everything New York City has to experience are simply a cab ride away.

Boasting 280 custom tailored guestrooms, the shimmering glass and brick tower is set back from the hustle and bustle of the city streets. Fashion 26 charms guests with public and private spaces patterned by the renowned Glen Coben after the great garment center of New York City. Fabrics, furnishings and a soft color palette soothes the senses as such embellishments like the front desk reminiscent of a fashion studio's cutting room table and floor patterns resembling the "weaves" of traditional garments intrigue the mind.

Do you love Schmatta Stories? Then take a look at Gabriel Russo's blog for some www.gabrielrussoclothing.com

Gabriel Russo started his career in the clothing industry as a 16 -year -old kid from Brooklyn working as a fabric cutter in New York while taking night classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology. He worked for Anne Klein and Perry Ellis before heading to Los Angeles in the 70’s where he freelanced for various clothing companies including Guess? developing the company’s first pair of jeans. He then started his own line of clothing in the 80’s which continues today. Gabriel has taught design, patternmaking and draping at both the Academy of Art and Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in San Francisco, and was voted the best teacher in the fashion department by his students in 2005.

Gabriel has been employed as a patternmaker, designer, and for the last several years as director of technical design in companies as varied as The Gap, Pottery Barn, Forever 21, and held a senior directors position at BCBG.