Manufacture New York (MNY), the American fashion design and production incubator for independent designers, is set to build a new fashion manufacturing and design hub to support up and coming designers and apparel makers.
The industrial space, which will be built on an area of about 160, 000 square feet in Brooklyn, NYC, will aim to provide research, design, development and manufacturing resources at affordable prices for the city’s emerging design talents and manufacturers.
Named as ‘Manufacturing Innovation Hub for Apparel, Textiles and Wearable Tech’, the fashion epicentre, which is expected to create about 300 jobs, will include a workforce-development centre to train skilled workers who can earn well-paying jobs and a research-and-development centre to develop avant-garde fashion and wearable technologies.
The hub will also feature a small sample making factory, a design accelerator to educate fashion and manufacturing talents, and a special incubator space which will include 12 private studios, classrooms, conference rooms, a computer lab, an industrial sewing room, and storage and work areas that can accommodate nearly 50 designers.
Supported by the City of New York, via the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), the industrial space will also include a special 30,000 to 40,000 square feet area dedicated to the headquarters for MNY.
The hub follows in the footsteps of NYC’s several prior fashion initiatives, including the Fashion Manufacturing Initiative, a public-private program designed to support and promote growth of small businesses in the city's fashion and manufacturing sectors, as well as seed funding for the Council of Fashion Designers of America incubator, professional mentorship in design and fashion management and networking and educational programs.
The Brooklyn-based Manufacture New York aims to reawaken and rebuild the fashion industry, foster the next wave of businesses and create a transparent, sustainable global supply chain. The company is also actively involved in the design and production of wearable technologies. (PB)
