Fashion Institute Midwest Announces Rebrand and Launches New Website
Fashion Institute Midwest (FIM), a provider of mentoring, training, resources, and industry network opportunities to regional fashion designers, announced in November the official launch of a redesigned website and it’s new branding—Fashion Arts Collective (FAC, fashionartscollective.org). The new name emphasizes what embodies the group.
“The new name truly describes exactly who we are in our DNA. Fashion— the industry that is our core; Arts—because fashion is a true artform; and Collective—as it takes each and every one of us to make this work to support designers and the fashion design community,” said Mentoring & Opportunities Chair Sam Hohman.
The new website (fashionartscollective.org) highlights FAC’s purpose and supportive entities: The Fashion Guild (formerly Fashion Institute Guild), The Workroom (physical workspace open to the public), and Marketplace (new entity to employ local designers for production).
Starting out in 2012 to provide resources to designers, Fashion Institute Midwest opened its physical space, The Workroom, in 2016. The Workroom spans the entire second floor of the Midco Building located in Omaha’s Makerhood District in North Downtown, filled with industrial grade sewing machines, large pattern-making tables, fabric for sourcing, dress forms, a computer lab and board room as well as a Salon for private client fittings.
“FAC has been affected by COVID. Although Metro cancelled all in-person continuing education classes since March and our funding has been reduced, we’ve continued to keep The Workroom open and mentor fashion designers. Along with those cancellations the University of Nebraska at Lincoln is proposing to cut the entire Textiles Department, so we have launched our own class offerings in order for the education of our design community to keep growing and these designers have a place to learn and build their skills,” said The Workroom manager, Denise Ervin.
The Fashion Arts Collective is a nonprofit committed to nurturing aspiring designer talent and supporting the Midwest fashion ecosystem. To learn more, visit fashionartscollective.org or call (402) 342-4487.