The second class of designers for the city- and donor-funded Fashion Incubator program in the Garment District has been announced, WWD reports.
The CFDA has chosen 2011 CFDA/Fashion Fund finalist Antonio Azzuolo; Arielle Shapiro of Ari Dein; Benjamin and Doug Burkman of Burkman Brothers; 2010 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist Christian Cota; Emanuela Duca; Ricky Hendry and Marc Daniels of Isaora; Luis M. Fernandez of Number:Lab; Reece Solomon of Reece Hudson; 2011 Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation winners Maayan Zilberman and Nikki Dekker of The Lake & Stars, and Timo Weiland and Alan Eckstein of Timo Weiland.
Beginning in May, the group will move into subsidized adjoining studio spaces at 209 West 38th Street in the Garment District, where they'll work on the business side of their operations with the NYU Stern's Consulting Corps in the Target-sponsored program.
According to Gary Wassner, a mentor for first-round participant Bibhu Mohapatra and president of factoring firm Hilldun Corp., the program's mission consists of “[building] sustainable companies who are going to manufacture a good percentage of product in New York City and can use the infrastructure in the Garment Center to leverage their business.”
The second batch of designers resembles the first in terms of profile, with a range of lesser-known labels and brands that have already garnered substantial editorial and critical recognition like The Lake & Stars, Antonio Azzuolo, Timo Weiland and Christian Cota—a much more established roster than we'd originally expected when the program first launched last year.
