Informa Markets Fashion has selected participants for its incubator programme that include an accessories brand focused on creating durable and sustainable handbags, and the first sustainable denim-based brand made in Harlem, New York.
The IMFC initiative fosters allyship, inclusion, and equality within the fashion community through programmes that support, nurture, and elevate minority-owned, women-owned, and LGBTQIA+-owned fashion brands across men’s and women’s apparel, accessories, and footwear categories.
The programme will highlight up-and-coming contemporary brands, with the 2021 edition featuring black-owned designers and brands, who will each receive complimentary space for one season at the upcoming Project Las Vegas event on 9-11 August.
In addition to physical space and presence during market, the participating brands will be highlighted via an omnichannel approach through various custom content, marketing, and social media promotions leading up to and throughout the live event. They will also receive mentorship and leadership guidance provided by the IMFC Committee, which consists of executives from across Informa Markets Fashion with backgrounds in branding, marketing, social media, finance, and sales.
“Investing in initiatives that support diversity and inclusion needs to be top priority for all of us in the fashion industry,” says Kelly Helfman, commercial president at Informa Markets Fashion. “We recognise the responsibility we have as a key connector of the industry to use our resources and platforms to elevate and better support design talent.”
Some of the participants include:
Oak and Acorn – The first sustainable denim-based brand made in Harlem, New York where genderless, luxury denim pays homage to the legacy of the enslaved African & Black Indigenous contributions to American denim.
Ollivette – an accessories brand focused on creating durable and sustainable handbags that are both beautiful and classic.
Chelsea Grays – a menswear designer whose passion for change and positive influence is expressed through creative design, using fashion to address social issues from around the world in creating protective and political fashion.
Melrose High – an American luxury brand based around streetwear infused with elevated fabrics from around the world, founded by Daryl Mapp.