Ralph Lauren and fashion designer’s group launches grants to boost U.S. fashion manufacturing

The Council of Fashion Designers of America announced January 7 it would launch a pair of grant programs in a push to advance clothes manufacturing in the United States. The CFDA x NY Forward Grant Fund will provide additional funding for designers and manufacturers in New York, and the U.S. Fashion Manufacturing Fund will be available to clothing manufacturers elsewhere in the country. Both funds are receiving additional money from the Ralph Lauren corporation.

According to the January 7 announcement, the new funds follow the CFDA’s previous Fashion Manufacturing Initiative, launched in 2013 in New York, which granted $2 million to 54 factories.

In statements, Steven Kolb, the CEO of the CFDA, said the grants are meant to give fashion designers local partners based in the United States. Katie Ioanilli, Chief Communications Officer for the Ralph Lauren Corporation called it an investment in “American culture.”

What people are saying

“Strengthening American manufacturing to ensure designers have local partners has long been at the core of CFDA’s mission,” said Steven Kolb, CEO and President of the CFDA. “We are proud to extend our decade-plus work with Ralph Lauren Corporation and expand to a national level while also continuing our local NYC investments alongside our first-ever partnership with the New York State Department of State.”

“Our expanded partnership with the CFDA reflects Ralph Lauren’s enduring commitment to advancing innovation and supporting American fashion,” said Katie Ioanilli, Chief Global Impact & Communications Officer, Ralph Lauren Corporation. “This is not only an investment in our industry — it’s an investment in a vital part of American culture that we share with the world.”

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