CFDA and Milano Unica partner on fabric program

The prestigious Council of Fashion Designers of America along with Milano Unica are collaborating on an initiative to get select designers partnered with Italian mills to create exclusive textiles for their collections.

The program will be called The Fabric Program, and the designers will begin incorporating the textiles into their designs beginning in 2017.

At the Milano Unica tradeshow at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, CFDA president Steven Kolb revealed the details today. He discussed how this initiative will help young designers gain first-hand experience working with Italian fabric houses while also raising their awareness of Made in Italy and technology methods.

Ryan Roche, a women's wear designer, and Gigi Burris, a jewelry designer, were the first to be selected for the program. The men's wear designer will be chosen in the next several weeks.

“We are very proud of this partnership to support American designers,” Ercole Botto Poala, president of Milano Unica, said.

If this program goes as planned, the uniqueness of Italian craftsmanship could stand to see robust growth in America. Many luxury brands, from the obvious Italian-based brands like Versace and Gucci, to even American brands like Thom Browne use Italian fabrics because of the rich quality. The CFDA has recognized that Italian craftsmanship is like no other, and is working to further elevate American fashion through this type of global partnership.