Local Fashion Incubator Matures With Expansion
The Fashion Business Incubator (FBI) in downtown Los Angeles is bursting at the seams. Now, with the help of two city grants from the City of Los Angeles and the Department of Water and Power (DWP)—nearing $300,000—the FBI is expanding its 800-square-foot headquarters.
The organization, which provides business training for fashion students and startup designers, will occupy a total of 4,800 square feet of space on the second floor of the New Mart. The expansion plan calls for adding a showroom for designers to sell their wares to buyers, a computer lab equipped with 25 computers to assist in industry software training, a photo studio and a seminar room. Construction should be competed by June 29, when the organization will hold a fundraiser and fashion show for the center.
Frances Harder, the FBI’s co-founder and president, said the move was necessary to take the 2-year-old organization to the next level. The FBI’s 200 members, who range from fashion students to such small-business owners as labels Eisbar, Mon Petite Oiseau, SKY David Park and Ace Ross Studios, pay $50 to $250 for access to the organization’s resources and to receive discounts on its classes.
“The demand for what we’re doing is only growing,” Harder said.
Civic leaders agree, saying the city’s second largest industry is too important to ignore.
“It’s a real economic engine for Los Angeles,” said John X. Chen, the DWP’s assistant director of economic development and chairman of the FBI’s board of directors. “We wanted to promote the activities and programs necessary to attract, retain and expand businesses in the fashion industry.”
Chen said the DWP, along with Councilman Nick Pacheco’s office, facilitated a proposal for a block grant from the city’s Community Development Department. The $150,000 grant came through last year to pay for the initial costs of the development. Now the DWP and the FBI are finalizing an agreement for a matching grant to pay for the build-out of the space.
The DWP and other business entities, which have expressed interest in providing FBI members with accounting, financial and legal assistance, also view these up-and-coming businesses as their potential customers.
The FBI expansion is just one of the players in the growing real estate market in downtown Los Angeles. Developer Mark J. Weinstein plans to turn 10 fashion district buildings into residential lofts, design showrooms and retail spaces. Restaurants and cafes have begun moving in. And, the recently renamed California Market Center has added a gift and home accessories mart to reach near capacity. —Nola Sarkisian-Miller
