CFDA and Google launch Fashion Equity Fellowship

The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) has announced a new partnership with Google to launch a Fashion Equity Fellowship.

Through the deal, running through spring 2025, the duo have established a grant programme aimed at bringing the resources of Google to designers and brands in a bid to support their upcoming New York Fashion Week collections and shows due February 2025.

For the first edition of the programme, the three participating brands, alongside their respective designers, have already been revealed as Area, Beckett Fogg and Piotrek Panszczyk; Collina Strada, Hillary Taymour; and Diotima, Rachel Scott.

Each of the designers will receive a 50,000 dollar grant toward their collections and show development in line with the grant’s requirement to showcase pieces with “product inclusion and equity in mind”.

In order to attain this goal, designers will work alongside Google’s Product Inclusion and Equity team, with support from CFDA, to learn about designing such products.

In a release, Steven Kolb, CEO of the CFDA, said: “The Fashion Equity Fellowship with Google speaks to our mission and is an extension of CFDA’s long standing work in the social impact space.

“We are excited to support exceptional American design talent and help them continue innovating in the inclusive design space. Through this important fellowship, they will learn to continue incorporating the lived experiences of an important customer base into their designs and showcases.”