Emerging NYC-based designers complete program at FIT

The 35 designers who participated in DENYC span a wide range of fashion categories including accessories, jewelry, children’s wear, men’s apparel, and women’s apparel. They studied throughout the world, including Canada, Italy, Ireland, and Turkey, though the majority comes from New York City schools, including Columbia, FIT, NYU, and Parsons. To participate, designers were required to have New York City-based companies that have been in business for at least one year; the majority of the selected participants have been in business for fewer than four years.

Design Entrepreneurs NYC is one of six initiatives that resulted from Mayor Bloomberg’s Fashion.NYC.2020 plan, which is designed to sustain and grow the fashion industry in New York. The fashion industry employs 173,000 people in New York City, accounting for 5.7 percent of the city’s workforce, and generating nearly $2 billion in tax revenue annually.

In addition, the city is home to one of the world’s largest wholesale fashion markets, which attracts more than 500,000 visitors a year to its trade shows, showrooms, and retail stores. The Fashion.NYC.2020 initiatives address the industry’s challenges in two ways: by further positioning the city as a hub of innovation for emerging designers as well as specialty and multi channel retail, and by attracting the next generation of design, management and merchant talent.

The industry chairs for Fashion.NYC.2020 are Richard Darling, CEO of LF USA; Diane von Furstenberg, chairman and founder, Diane von Furstenberg Studio L.P., and president, Council of Fashion Designers of America; Terry Lundgren, chairman, president and CEO of Macy’s, Inc.; Andrew Rosen, CEO of Theory; and Kevin Ryan, CEO of Gilt Groupe.

Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)