Harlem Fashion Row and Kate Spade announced a 3-year partnership

After celebrating 15 years of Harlem Fashion Row and hosting another successful HFR Style and Awards ceremony, the next big event on the HFR docket is the annual HBCU Fashion Summit. Since the program’s inception in 2020, founder Brandis Daniels has set clear goals for the program to transform art and fashion programs by providing students across America with direct design expertise from industry professionals. This year’s HBCU Fashion Summit marks the program’s three-year anniversary and a three-year partnership with Tapestry Inc. It starts with – the luxury parent company for American fashion brands including Kate Spade, Coach and Stuart Weightman.

Last year, HFR hosted the summit and hosted a panel fire discussion with industry experts such as Kahlana Barfield, Misa Hylton, and Shiona Turini. This year, the 2022 HBCU Fashion Summit will feature Bowie State University in particular. Students will have the opportunity to learn from Kate Spade Executives, CEOs and Heads of Design in a variety of categories.

Beginning September 27, BSU fashion students will begin their spring semester-long curriculum. Topics will focus on design, branding, textiles, color theory and the history of Kate Spade. “With Tapestry’s incredible support for our core initiative, I am confident that we will be able to develop Jen-Z into a comprehensive program for the fashion workforce, giving scholars the opportunity to thrive through an incredibly diverse experiential experience,” said Harlem Fashion Founder Daniel. row, is described in the release. “The industry is racing for change, but we can only be most innovative when black talent is included.”

As part of this year’s HBCU Fashion Summit, Tapestry will sponsor Bowie State University’s Senior Capstone Fashion Show and provide students with industry experience through hands-on opportunities in a range of products. A three-year partnership later included leads from Coach and Stuart Weitzman. The new partnership will not only improve fashion programs at HBCUs across the country, but will also help promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the fashion industry as a whole.