St. Louis nonprofit lands visit from fashion icon for upcoming event series
As seen in the Saint Louis Business Journal
The Saint Louis Fashion Fund is planning a series of 10 events to promote the local fashion industry and its impact on the regional economy, including a presentation and trunk show by American fashion designer Michael Kors.
The fashion events will begin in October and run through 2024, under the banner "10 for the 10th Anniversary," which SLFF celebrates next year.
SLFF unveiled its plans for the fashion series at a Tuesday afternoon presentation at the Missouri History Museum attended by fashion designers, students, industry-related businesses and community leaders, officials said.
The event headlined by Kors, who designs luxury accessories and ready-to-wear, will be part of SLFF's Speaking of Fashion speakers' series in partnership with Washington University, and there will be no admission charge. The event is scheduled for April 1 at WashU's Graham Chapel, and a portion of sales proceeds from a related Kors trunk show on campus will go toward SLFF and WashU's Women's Society scholarships, officials told the Business Journal. During his visit, Kors also will meet with young designers and students.
“We are launching Saint Louis Fashion Fund’s year-long celebration to spotlight and position St. Louis’ fashion industry’s current and future program of work as educators, collaborators and connectors that are and will continue to make a major impact on our region’s economic ecosystem," SLFF's co-founder, chair and interim CEO Susan Sherman, said Tuesday in a statement.
SLFF's budget for the 10 for the 10th Anniversary is $150,000, Sherman told the Business Journal in an email. The organization has raised over $100,000 and hopes to add more sponsors in addition to its current underwriters, which include Caleres, Edward Jones, Greater St. Louis Inc, Lewis Rice's DeLux design and luxury practice group and U.S. Bancorp, she said.
Saint Louis Fashion Fund says it advocates for the region's fashion industry and its more than 800 fashion-related businesses, also providing education, mentorship and programming to help promote job creation and regional economic growth. The nonprofit has stated that it wants to boost St. Louis' fashion industry to $6 billion by 2030 from the current $3.3 billion, citing figures from economic development group AllianceSTL.
The SLFF also wants to develop local internships and jobs in the fashion industry, officials said. SLFF is working with businesses to access internships, especially in light of Gov. Mike Parson's signing last month of the Intern and Apprentice Recruitment Act, Sherman said in her email.
“We want to continue this momentum by accelerating the creation of internships and local fashion jobs to encourage our youth to stay or return to St. Louis for their fashion careers and contribute to our fashion industry and our region’s economic growth,” Sherman stated. “Our intention is to make St. Louis 'hum' with the sound of sewing, production, and design like never before."
Sherman said that SLFF continues to advocate for St. Louis, especially in New York. "We must have a strong workforce – sewing training will be a big focus going forward – before big brands and companies will move here," she said in her email. "But we have seen brands such as Artemas Quibble move to St. Louis from Brooklyn, and Tufts and Batson from Portland – both are doing great work in accessories."
Some of the 10 for the 10th Anniversary events will be fundraisers and others will be free and open to the public, officials said.
Some events in the series include a fashion runway show with St. Louis City SC players and participants in the MLS team's Futures Program, to be curated by Dwight Carter of Gent Men's Fashion Week; an open house in January hosted by FWRD Society, which represents designers who are Black, indigenous and people of color and small fashion businesses; and a trunk show of St. Louis based brands at Saks Fifth Avenue for the holidays.
Also partnering with SLFF on the events include FWRD Society Focus, The Collective Thread, STL Fashion Alliance, Missouri Historical Society, Mother Model Management, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and a statewide Fashion Lobby Day in Jefferson City, officials said.
Founded in 2014, the fund reported revenue of $209,111 and expenses of $215,349 for 2022, according to its most recent IRS filing.