Fashion Museum Gets $30,000 Grant
The proposed Museum of Fashion Designers and Creators (MODAC) has received a $30,000 grant from the city of Los Angeles. Museum organizers will use the money to preserve some of the 250,000 garments and fashion memorabilia currently in storage. Organizers are seeking a permanent home for the collection.
“This is a wonderful start,” said MODAC Founder Irene Kasmer. “The mayor and City Council recognized how important the fashion industry is to Los Angeles, being one of its largest employers. They also understand how important it is to preserve its heritage.”
Kasmer has been trying to get a museum built in downtown Los Angeles for several years. A few months ago, she struck an informal deal with Hollywood- based CIM Group Inc. during a Community Redevelopment Agency meeting. CIM said it would dedicate 10,000 square feet of a building it was planning to buy to be used as a museum annex, but CIM officials have yet to follow through on their offer, Kasmer said. The company did purchase the building and is planning to turn it into a mixed-use residential-retail project that will be similar to its complex a few blocks away at the site of the old Southern California Gas Co. building.
Meanwhile, Kasmer has her heart set on making the downtown Herald Examiner building the museum’s permanent home. While the structure is available, MODAC does not yet have the financing necessary to take over the building. Kasmer is considering private funding or developer funds to finance the project. —R.M.
