Columbia College Chicago is proud to announce the introduction of the Chicago Fashion Incubator (CFI) Series, an annual program aimed at aspiring and established local designers. The series is made possible thanks to a generous endowment from the CFI, a nonprofit organization founded in 2008 to provide designers with technical product development, business tools and training to create collections and launch competitive businesses based in Chicago. The first event is planned for 2024 and will be free and open to the public.
“The decision to re-envision the CFI and bring it to Columbia College Chicago as a gift will ensure that CFI’s original mission of supporting Chicago-based designers continues,” said Andrea Schwartz, Chicago Fashion Incubator board president. “It is a perfect fit.”
The Incubator will be operated by Columbia’s Fashion Department and will include workshops for students and Chicago-area fashion designers, as well as conferences and lectures by industry-leading designers, scholars, and fashion business experts. Furthermore, funds from the endowment will support new acquisitions for Columbia’s Fashion Study Collection, an archive of significant fashion artifacts.
“The Chicago Fashion Incubator gift will be transformative for the department of Fashion Studies,” said Colbey Reid, chair of Fashion Studies at Columbia. “It will allow us to bring extraordinary fashion industry changemakers of a national and international caliber to Chicago and Columbia each year, and elevate our programs at Columbia in ways that align with other achievements that have positioned us as a nexus of emerging thought, business and design leadership in fashion.”
The CFI is a product of former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s Fashion Initiative and was founded to build an active community of locally based fashion designers and those who support them. The CFI provides emerging Chicago-based designers with resources, business acumen, and mentoring to launch their careers in Fashion. To date, more than 60 fashion designers have gone through this program with many successfully building their fashion businesses, according to Schwartz.
Columbia College Chicago is thrilled to be the new home of the Chicago Fashion Incubator and is dedicated to providing students and local designers with the opportunity to develop successful businesses in today’s global economy.
Columbia College Chicago has announced the introduction of the Chicago Fashion Incubator (CFI) Series, an annual program offering lectures and workshops for aspiring and established local fashion designers. The series is made possible thanks to a generous endowment from the CFI, a nonprofit organization founded in 2008 to provide designers with technical product development, business tools and training. The first event is planned for 2024 and will be free and open to the public.
“The decision to re-envision the CFI and bring it to Columbia College Chicago as a gift will ensure that CFI’s original mission of supporting Chicago-based designers continues,” said Andrea Schwartz, Chicago Fashion Incubator board president. “It is a perfect fit.”
The Incubator will be operated by Columbia’s Fashion Department and will include workshops for students and Chicago-area fashion designers, as well as conferences and lectures by industry-leading designers, scholars, and fashion business experts. Funds from the endowment will also support new acquisitions for Columbia’s Fashion Study Collection, an archive of significant fashion artifacts.
“The Chicago Fashion Incubator gift will be transformative for the department of Fashion Studies,” said Colbey Reid, chair of Fashion Studies at Columbia. “It will allow us to bring extraordinary fashion industry changemakers of a national and international caliber to Chicago and Columbia each year, and elevate our programs at Columbia in ways that align with other achievements that have positioned us as a nexus of emerging thought, business and design leadership in fashion.”
The CFI is a product of former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s Fashion Initiative and provides emerging Chicago-based designers with resources, business acumen, and mentoring to launch their careers in Fashion. To date, more than 60 fashion designers have gone through this program, with many successfully building their fashion businesses.
Columbia College Chicago is proud to be the new home of the Chicago Fashion Incubator and is dedicated to providing students and local designers with the opportunity to develop successful businesses in today’s global economy.
Derick is an experienced reporter having held multiple senior roles for large publishers across Europe. Specialist subjects include small business and financial emerging markets.