Fostering the Spirit of Creativity: Macy's Fashion Incubator Expands Coastally

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It all started in this room on the 11th floor at Macy’s State Street flagship in 2008. A group of burgeoning designers took up residence here, participating in a program that is quickly becoming a resource for designers in other cities and now is a nationally recognized program.

The Chicago Fashion Incubator at Macy's has now grown to Philadelphia which opened last week and San Francisco which will open at the end of March.
Macy's in each of those fine cities is providing a select group of designers with work space and guidance on many aspects of the industry like legal, accounting, trend forecasting, business development and public relations.

The Designers at the Philadelphia incubator will be Melissa D’Agostino, Autumn Kietponglert, Kaitlyn Doherty, and the sister designer duo Latifat Obajinmi and Moriamo Johnson. At the San Francisco Fashion Incubator, there will be six designers: Justin Jamison, Tamara Jaric, Bethany Meuleners, Sabah Mansoor Husain, Tony Sananikone and Paloma Von Broadley.

Chicago's own, Andrea Schwartz, a Macy’s VP for media noted in an interview with WWD that The Incubator process and programs are not to be perceived as competition but rather as a collaborative and supportive community. The designers are selected based on their talent, fashion vision and overall business concept.

· Macy's Expands Fashion Incubator [WWD]
· Chicago Fashion Incubator [Official Site]
· Philadelphia Fashion Incubator [Official Site]
· Macy's [Official Site]