An important aspect of fashion is discovery, with exciting new designers coming up almost every fashion season. How to develop these emerging talents from buzz to business is an important step, which many recognize, among them Saks Fifth Avenue.
In 2021, the luxury retailer launched The New Wave at Saks Emerging Designer Accelerator Program to develop, support, and nurture independent brands by hastening their growth at Saks. With a total of eight brands, of which four will always be BIPOC-owned, the program comes with such activations as an onboarding bootcamp, mentorship matching, and entrepreneurial workshops. Each of the eight brands is also eligible to receive a $10,000 grant towards their business.
“This program is one of the many ways that Saks nurtures and develops emerging talent. Our merchant team is obsessed with finding new brands and helping them grow at Saks,” said Anna Tolosa Irving, SVP/GMM of Women’s Designer RTW at Saks. “The structure and resources built into the New Wave program empowers these high-potential designers to grow not only at Saks but across the greater fashion industry.”
The inaugural class, which just ended the first edition of the program, featured talents we love and who are friends of the CFDA, including CFDA members LaQuan Smith and Alejandra Alonso Rojas; ; 2019 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund runner-up award recipient Reese Cooper; Harlem’s Fashion Row’s Kimberly Goldson, and Ashya by Ashley Cimone and Moya Annece, who were also part of our 2018-2019 Elaine Gold Launch Pad with the Accessories Council. A.W.A.K.E. Mode by Natalia Alaverdian, Busayo by Busayo Olupona, and BruceGlen by Bruce and Glen Proctor were also part of the launch edition.
The inaugural crop graduated from the program last week, and to mark the completion , we checked in with three of the brands.
“It was an incredible honor to be selected to participate in this exciting initiative and I am so thankful to the entire Saks team,” Alejandra Alonso Rojas said. “I think my highlight was getting to know the other designers and seeing the passion and attention to detail all teams involved poured into this program.
“Learning how a luxury retailer operates in such a close way makes all the difference,” Alonso Rojas added. “I am now more aware, engaged and excited to start applying the tools I was provided with to my relationship with Saks as well as other retail partners. Every single workshop was helpful and informative, and I will always treasure them. This experience has not changed my perspective but has reinforced my conviction that I am taking the right steps in the industry, and I am so looking forward to what’s next!
Bruce and Glen Proctor of BruceGlen echoed the sentiments: “We are so grateful for this invaluable mentorship and the opportunity to connect and build a sense of community with designers in the same boat that we are. We gained a “tribe” – a group of like-minded peers that we could depend on, support and be supported by. The $10,000 grant toward our business only made the experience sweeter.
There were a lot of very practical things that we learned throughout the New Wave program but the most memorable bit of information came from the Q&A session with Thom Browne. He encouraged us to be unapologetically ourselves and that others would eventually catch on. It was so liberating to hear that from such a well-known designer who can talk the talk because he’s walked the walk.”