'According to Hovet Dias, the goal of the Chicago Fashion Incubator is to support fashion designers with mentorship, education, and physical studio space to help them launch and grow their apparel brands.' | chicagolooks
“The CFI played a pivotal role in my transition from aspiring designer to working designer,” says Anna Brown, aalum. “Some of my most meaningful professional relationships were formed through the CFI, and my time there provided me with fundamental industry knowledge that I still rely on.”
Brown is one of the many successful fashion designers trained by CFI, a nonprofit arts organization. Other talented alumni include Agnes Hamerlik, Shelby Steiner, and Rakan Shams Aldeen, who, like other CFI graduates, went on to become a Project Runway contestant. Executive director Anna Hovet Dias, 36, says that the nonprofit has trained and supported more than 50 designers through its designer-in-residence program, which started in 2008 and keeps going strong.
According to Hovet Dias, the goal of the Chicago Fashion Incubator is to support fashion designers with mentorship, education, and physical studio space to help them launch and grow their apparel brands. There, they learn how to build a brand around their fashion product through manufacturing, marketing, sales, and business skills. Designers-in-residence commit to a six-month residency, which can be extended for up to three years.