It was informed by sources that Fashion Incubator San Francisco is considering altering its goals and objectives.
Its designers-in-residence programme may change or cease to exist in its current form depending on what happens next.
The nonprofit’s registration in the State of California’s Registry of Charitable Trusts is scheduled to expire in mid-May, but not before it turns inward for some introspection.
This follows a year and a half of other changes, such as the departure of Macy’s as a major Fashion Incubator SF supporter, the dissolution of its studio space inside Bloomingdale’s San Francisco department store, the loss of a designers-in-residence programme in 2023, and the leadership change from founding chair Betsy Nelson, a Macy’s native, to current president and board chair Jeanine Barnett Silberblatt, a former Williams-Sonoma executive.
Silberblatt refuted the idea that Fashion Incubator SF or its incubator was in danger of collapsing when contacted for comment.
Rather, she informed WWD that Fashion Incubator SF is “entering an exciting new chapter of the organization,” wherein the non-profit is actively charting its course for the future.
Silberblatt stated that all of the taxes and paperwork needed to keep the business running have been finished, even though as of the time of publication, its renewal filings were not visible in the state’s open database. The organisation is currently reviewing the designers-in-residence programme. The idea that it might close infuriated the board chair. Rather, she stated that the show “is on hiatus” as the team considers what to do for its next phase.
Silberblatt claims that Fashion Incubator SF is currently changing. Established as a charity in 2011 to foster emerging talent in the fashion industry, the organisation soon realised that a growing number of its designers were hailing from global artisan communities and desired to provide help to their home countries. Being designer-led companies, they created business strategies that give their craftspeople financial and environmental autonomy.
She claimed that thanks to technology, they were able to preserve their cultural customs and traditional handicraft. FiSF, which had been concentrating on local companies with nearby customers and local manufacturing, had an epiphany as a result of all of that: it saw that even small enterprises could now have an international impact.
In light of this, the group questioned why, in the era of remote work, it required actual studio space.
Fashion Incubator San Francisco
Silberblatt said, “We know that the programme will not return in this exact form.” “Our previous approach to working with designers involved face-to-face meetings in our studio for a year or year and a half, which was very ‘Project Runway.'” The cutting boards and cutting tables we used to have are insufficient for today’s enterprises.
This insight seemed to align with Macy’s retreat, maybe to concentrate on its own Macy’s Workshop accelerator initiative. The retailer aided the nonprofit in leaving its studio at Bloomingdale’s on Market Street Fashion Incubator in San Francisco in October, but it is no longer in close contact with the group.
Maybe this was the best moment for Fashion Incubator SF to assess its mission, if it was in need of one. In an effort to bring the two communities together, the nonprofit launched a collaboration with the Human Rights Foundation this week, marking the beginning of its new chapter.
