New York State Fashion Innovation Center to launch new grants for textile innovation

The New York State Fashion Innovation Center will deploy a series of grants meant to boost the state’s farm-to-fashion ecosystem, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday.

The Center plans to award grants of up to $10,000 for innovation in agricultural production and processing; new materials and manufacturing; manufacturing and textile technology innovation, improvement and expansion; and fashion use of sustainable materials.

The program is offering pilot grants for startups, small businesses, farmers, researchers and others working in textile fiber innovation, per the release. Applications for the first round of grants opened Sunday, and the deadline to apply is Nov. 15

In addition to the grant, awardees will become part of a cohort to receive mentoring from experts in their industries, access to equipment and facilities, per the release.

“Nothing is more synonymous with New York than fashion, and this industry generates more than $25 billion a year in wages for hardworking New Yorkers,” Hochul said in the release. “With these grants [through] the Fashion Innovation Center, we are working together to advance innovative solutions and build a more sustainable industry.”

The Fashion Innovation Center launched in 2022 with $10 million in state funding to promote “a collaboration approach to utilizing New York State-produced smart and sustainable fashion,” per the release. The Center is managed by six universities, businesses, farmers, fashion industry leaders, and non-profit organizations, led by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

“New York State is home to a nation-leading agricultural industry that not only helps to put food on our tables, but also produces locally made, sustainable fiber and textiles that make up the clothes we wear,” Richard Ball, New York State agriculture commissioner, said in the release.

The grant program was announced at the end of New York Fashion Week, which ran from Sept. 6 to 11 and included 87 official runway events.

However, a report released earlier this month from the Partnership for New York City noted that top designers and fashion companies “are less visibly engaged in New York and its institutions,” and referred to New York Fashion Week’s “diminished status.” The report recommended increasing the amount of emerging designers showcased during New York Fashion Week, among other suggestions to boost New York’s status as a global fashion hub.