Custom Collaborative's innovative programs provide women the opportunity to achieve viable livelihoods in fashion and to succeed in greater society. Your donation propels a new generation of fashion professionals and creatives, trained by Custom Collaborative.

OUR MISSION

Custom Collaborative trains, mentors, and advocates for and with no/low-income and immigrant women to build the skills necessary to achieve economic success in the sustainable fashion industry and broader society.  

WHAT WE DO

Custom Collaborative supports women to launch fashion careers and businesses through three innovative programs:

    Training Institute | A full-time, 15-week training program that teaches the art, craft, and technique of fashion design. Participants receive a stipend to attend and MetroCards to make sure they can get to class each day—our students graduate equipped with the toolkit to begin a career in fashion.

    Business Incubator | Training Institute graduates receive mentorship, technical assistance, advanced training, professional equipment, and placement in internship/apprenticeships to launch their fashion careers or grow their own business.

    Fashion That Works | We develop and incubate worker-owned cooperatives. We launched Fashion That Works Production in 2020, a worker-owned sewn-goods cooperative comprised of Custom Collaborative Training Institute graduates.

WHO WE SERVE

The women who participate in our programs come from 23 countries, including the United States.

    100% are ambitious women

    97% are racial/ethnic minorities

    80% are immigrants – first generation

    80% of the participants live below the federal poverty level

    50% live in unstable housing

By learning business practices of the fashion industry and professional design skills our participants overcome barriers to employment, and ultimately change the economics of the fashion industry and subsequently the world.