Fashion That Works
“Women power the fashion industry but they don’t lead the fashion industry,” says Custom Collaborative founder and executive director, Ngozi Okaro. But Custom Collaborative’s mission is to change that, and in just over eight years since Okaro founded the organization, they are making significant progress.
In 2016, when Okaro founded Custom Collaborative, she sought out to overcome the roadblocks that so many women in the fashion industry face. The organization’s two primary objectives are to empower immigrant and no and low-income women who deserve fair compensation and to create quality clothes that fit and affirm real women’s bodies. As an activist for economic, environmental, and social justice, Okaro herself had struggled for too long to find clothing that fit and made her feel confident, so she founded Custom Collaborative to advocate for a fashion industry that honors both the planet and people.
Building Sisterhood & Careers in Fashion
Custom Collaborative offers a 15-week program that concludes with a fashion show where each student showcases the skills they have learned during the course.
Custom Collaborative, which is based in the heart of New York City’s garment district, is serving women who come from more than 25 countries across NYC’s five boroughs. The 10,000 square foot space is the center of the organization’s comprehensive 15-week program which teaches women the art, technique, and business of fashion design. During these 15 weeks, women learn everything from how to construct made-to-measure clothing to personalized accessories for all body types as well as the ethically sourcing and manufacturing of materials. To date, there have been 13 cohorts of women that have participated in the program, and that have gone on to excel in their careers in the fashion industry.
But the 15-week program is not all about teaching these women valuable skills that will help them grow their careers, the sense of community that is established between these women during the training creates long term bonds.
“You come into a room filled with fifteen women and you don’t know any of them, they are all different types of people, and you just create a sisterhood,” says Stephanie Virissimo, a Custom Collaborative graduate and ambassador.
Like Virissimo, many graduates of the program continue to stay involved with the organization as ambassadors and mentors to current students. Custom Collaborative sees the strength in these bonds as being critical to the success of their students and also important as the organization continues to grow and reach other potential partners.
Rosa Delgado, another graduate and ambassador shared, “What I love about Custom Collaborative and being an ambassador is that I can talk to women that are in the same place as I was at one point, where I wanted to do something fashion related, but I didn’t know where to start.”
Each 15-week program concludes with a fashion show where each student showcases the skills they have learned during the course. Not only is the show a personal achievement for each student that participates, but it is also a celebration of the full cohort and the support that the mentors and fellow students have provided for each other during their time together. Delgado reflected on her experience at the fashion show as, “one of the best days of my life.”
Today, Custom Collaborative is committed to continuing to expand in order to serve more women across New York City, and empower them for long term success in the fashion industry and beyond. And they are leaning into the community that they have created of students, employees, volunteers, ambassadors, and partners to continue to break down barriers for us all.
To learn more about Custom Collaborative visit, www.customcollaborative.org.