TEMPE, Ariz. – When you think of fashion, you think big brands like Chanel, or Gucci and relate it to big cities like Paris, New York and LA. But you can start adding Phoenix to the list, because FABRIC in Tempe is putting out designer lines day-in and day-out.
“FABRIC in Tempe is a building that’s owned by the City of Phoenix,” said Sherri Barry, one of the owners. “‘FABRIC’ stands for Fashion And Business Resource Innovation Center, and in a nutshell, it’s a fashion incubator and we provide resources for designers and design entrepreneurs to go from idea all the way through production so they can sell their products.”
Everything that happens inside that building goes full-circle — you can walk in and have the complete product, the resources and the knowledge from those there, that can help you become the next Calvin Klein.
“This was actually a need that I discovered when I tried to move a clothing brand from Los Angeles to Arizona and I couldn’t find all the resources that I needed to manufacture,” said Angela Johnson, co-founder of FABRIC Tempe.
Many designers who work through FABRIC take Arizona’s unique aesthetic into account in their work.
“We have a certain type of weather, and the local designers integrate that into their styles, which tends to produce some very unique articles.” Johnson said.
You find more than sewing machines and string in there. We did the interview on their catwalk, where fashion shows are performed regularly.
[“Source-12news”]