Fashion incubator nurtures Philadelphia talent for second year

    Philadelphia is not typically seen as a hotbed of high fashion design, but Macy’s Center City has been trying to change that with its Fashion Incubator initiative, now in its second year.

    The program, a collaboration between the city, Center City District, Macy’s Center City, and several educational institutions with fashion design programs, was created to help support emerging local talent and build Philadelphia’s reputation as a center of design.

    The second class of students began on Friday. As if in a scene out of Project Runway, the new class of designers in residence were shown to their work stations in the Philadelphia Fashion Incubator’s 800-square-foot production center, housed in Macy’s Center City. For the next year, leading business professionals and fashion industry insiders will mentor and critique them.

    We were able to check in on one of the teams, Melissa Choi and Pia Panaligan from Philadelphia University. They founded their company, Senpai + Kohai, last fall.

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