In the News

Fashion Is Love tells the story of three alumnae of Custom Collaborative’s Training Institute — our comprehensive 15-week program that teaches the art, craft, and technique of fashion design.

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Amsterdam News: Immigrant women are next generation of sustainable fashion designers (December 19, 2024)

PBS: New York fashion industry tries to preserve artisan craftwork as factories move overseas (November 8, 2024)

The Midtown Gazette: New government grants encourage sustainable fashion (October 21, 2024)

Forbes: Behind The Seams: Empowering Women Through Sustainable Fashion (Sept 30, 2024)

Vogue Business: The $1 million boost for New York’s garment district (June 20, 2024)

Vogue Business: Can 2024 Deliver Radical Change for the Fashion Industry? (Jan 11, 2024)

The Boston Globe: How Fashion Designers Can Offset the Impacts of Climate Change (Nov 21, 2023)

WebWire: I&D Commitment No. 9 – One Year Progress Report (September 18, 2023)

Marie Claire: The Fashion Changemakers (Aug 30, 2023)

CA Apparel News: U.N. Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network Annual Meeting Addresses Industry’s Challenges (July 27, 2023)

WWD: Picnic-ready Botanical Dyed Linens, Crochet Creations for Summer: Short Takes (July 19, 2023)

The Spin-Off: Be Ready for Next UN Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network (May 24, 2023)

PR NewsWire: Multifaceted Partnership Will Support Aspiring Female Entrepreneurs Pursuing a Career in the Sustainable Fashion Industry (April 27, 2023)

WWD: Dior Taps Haerin of NewJeans, Candice Swanepoel, Custom Collaborative Team for Anne Klein (April 26, 2023)

WWD: Anne Klein, Candice Swanepoel Partner With Custom Collaborative to Impact Women and the Planet (April 25, 2023)

CFDA: Women’s History Month: Ngozi Okaro (March 2023)

WWD: Fashion Has a Say at U.N. Status of Women Conference (March 2023)

NYC ETC: Custom Collaborative Membership Spotlight (March 2023)

United Nations: Help Us Design the Fut(HER) of Fashion (February 2023)

Harper’s Bazaar: Custom Collaborative Wants to Change the Fashion Industry (Jan 20, 2023)

Fashion Impact Fund: Grant Recipient (Jan 2023)

North Six: Platform 6 Custom Collaborative (December 2022)

Vogue Business: Here’s What a Sustainable, Inclusive Photoshoot Can Look Like (December 8, 2022)

The New York Times: Open Thread Newsletter by Vanessa Friedman (June 17, 2022)

Non-Profit Quarterly: Building Worker Co-op Infrastructure: What Knowledge Does the Field Need? (June 1, 2022)

PVH: The PVH Foundation Makes Global Investments to Amplify Awareness and Access in Fashion (May 23, 2022)
WWD: Sen. Gillibrand’s ‘Fabric Act’ Is Fashion’s Big Federal Pro-Labor, Domestic Reshoring Effort (May 13, 2022)

NY Women’s Foundation: Advancing economic justice for women, families, and communities (April 2022)
Conscious Life & Style: How Custom Collaborative is Paving the Way for a Better Fashion Future (March 22, 2022)

Vogue Business: Where Fashion Is Failing Women, and Where It’s Showing Up (March 10, 2022)

WWD: The Newest Times Square Billboard Stars? Women Leading Conscious Fashion (March 1, 2022)

CFDA: Ngozi Okaro On An Equitable Fashion Industry (February 23, 2022)

Pioneer Post: Trailblazing Fashion Social Entrepreneurs See Their Names in Lights during New York Fashion Week (February 17, 2022)

Musings Magazine: A More Just Fashion Industry Starts with Community Support (February 15, 2022)

University of Fashion: Custom Collaborative’s Designer-preuners Strut Their Stuff (February 6, 2022)

Vogue Business: Deconstructing New York’s Fashion Act (January 13, 2022)

The Story Exchange: A Fashion Entrepreneur Who Works with Immigrants Gets a Times Square Billboard (December 6, 2021) 

WWD: Conscious Fashion Campaign: New York Announces 10 Women-led Honoree Organizations (November 16, 2021)

Vogue: What Fashion’s New Interest in B Corps Means for the Future (October, 29, 2021)

PORTER: The Women Reshaping Society - One Community At A Time (August 23, 2021)

Urban Manufacturing Alliance: Sewn Trades Manufacturing in the United States (2021)

PRNewswire: The New York Women's Foundation Announces Almost $3 Million in Funding in Latest Round of Grantmaking Efforts (June 28, 2021)

Fast Company: 6 ‘jugaad’ principles that could rebuild the post-COVID-19 U.S. economy (June 8, 2021)

Vogue Business: Fashion’s relationship to planetary boundaries, explained (June 3, 2021)

Refinery 29: 2021 Has Already Shown Us The Power Of Grassroots Organizing — Here Are 5 Leaders To Watch (March 3, 2021)

Women's Wear Daily: All Birds, ThreadUp and More Push Biden to appoint a 'Fashion Czar’ (February 18, 2021)

Vogue Business: How to create a positive impact with natural materials (February 17, 2021)

The Zoe Report: Fashion's Environmental Racism Problem Is Still Pervasive, But Innovators Are Prototyping Solutions To Solve It (January 8, 2021)

The Guardian: Could the pandemic make fashion more sustainable? (December 28, 2020)

Footwear News: Hanky Panky Face Mask That Will Elevate Any Outfit (December 28, 2020)

CFDA Newsletter: How A Conscious Design Initiative Is Pushing The Fashion Industry Forward (December 17, 2020)

Harper’s Bazaar: One x One Pairs Designers With Scientists to Create the Conscious Design Solutions We Need Now (December 11, 2020)

Nylon: How Science and Technology Can Save Fashion (And Hopefully, Our Plant) (December 11, 2020)

Vogue: One X One Incubator: Growing Sequins and Sneakers in a Lab With Phillip Lim and Public School (December 8, 2020)

AARP: AARP Purpose Prize Fellow Ngozi Okaro (November 1, 2020)

WWD: Designers Create Special Masks For New York State Initiative (October 27, 2020)

Vogue Business: The science missing from fashion’s sustainability goals (October 15, 2020)

Vogue Business: The voices missing from fashion’s sustainability goals (October 8, 2020)

Common Impact: Pro Bono Perspectives S2E21: Fashioning a Pathway to Success and Equity (September 29, 2020)

WWD: ‘Introspection’ Is Key to Equitable Partnerships (September 24, 2020)

NY1: Fashion Designer Kimberly Goodson on Project Runway, Being Bold and Diversity (September 16, 2020)

Fashion Manuscript: Fashioning a Way Forward (September 1, 2020)

Sourcing Journal: Can Smarter Manufacturing Solve Fashion’s ‘Mismatch’ of Supply and Demand? (August 28, 2020)

WWD: Landmark Garment Worker Legislation Could Redefine Sustainable Fashion (August 25, 2020)

Fashion Theory: Upcycling as a Practice for Decolonializing Fashion: An Interview with Ngozi Okaro (July 31, 2020)

The Today Show: New York-based Nonprofit Empowers Women to Create Careers in Fashion (July 24, 2020)

StyleCaster: Fashion Face Mask: 12 Stylish Mask to Pair with Your Going Out Top (July 24, 2020)

Harper's Bazaar: Black Fashion Creatives Outline What Needs to Happen Next (July 17, 2020)

StyleCaster: These Fancy Face Masks Will Keep You Safe & Stylish (July 13, 2020)

WWD: A Look at Fashion’s Most Enduring, Creative and Overlooked New Graduates (July 1, 2020)

New York Magazine: 35 Fabric Face Masks (June 16, 2020)

New York Magazine: 125 Black-Owned Businesses to Support (June 5, 2020)

Atmos: Reaping & Sewing (May 13, 2020)

Vogue: A Few Ideas About Where Fashion Can Go From Here (April 15, 2020)

Nest Artisan Guild: Masks Made by Makers (April 17, 2020)

Nest Artisan Guild: Supporting the Nest Guild During Unprecedented Times (April 17, 2020) 

WWD: Fashion Fights Coronavirus: Designers Create Masks, Hospital Gowns and More to Fight Pandemic (April 14, 2020)

Daily Front Row: The Lions Partners With Custom Collaborative (April 14, 2020)

Culturess: Rinat Brodach pushed through the uncomfortable on Making the Cut (April 14, 2020)

Teen Vogue: The Coronavirus Is Exposing Holes in Our Current Fast Fashion Model (April 9, 2020)

NBC: This Organization Is Empowering Women From Low-income Communities, One Garment At A Time (March 6, 2020)

Vogue Business: The UN Set 17 Sustainability Goals. It Needs Fashion’s Help Meeting Them (February 20, 2020)

InStyle: Want a Truly Sustainable Fashion Industry? Look to Couture (February 12, 2020)

Forbes: A Global Initiative To Highlight The Fashion Industry’s Sustainable Practices (February 4, 2020)

OZY: Stitching A Fashion Future For ‘Invisible’ Women (February 3, 2020)

WWD: Gucci Changemakers Impact Fund Names First Round of Grant Recipients (January 27, 2020)

Hypebae: Gucci Awards Grants for its First-Ever Changemakers Impact Fund (January 27, 2020)

Complex: Gucci Announces 2020 Recipients of Its $1 Million Changemakers Grant (January 27, 2020)

Avenue Magazine: Fashionable Harlem (January 14, 2020)

Women’s Wear Daily: Brands Exploring ‘Conscious Design’ in One X One Program (January 14, 2020)

Conscious Company: 43 World-Changing Women In Conscious Business (January 6, 2020)

Women’s Wear Daily: Garment District Alliance Selects 10 Programs to Improve Economic Vitality (December 18, 2019)

Susty Soul Podcast: Ngozi Okaro & Custom Collaborative (December 2, 2019)

Fashion Revolution: Empowering Women Through Making (November 1, 2019)

NiLu: Social Change Through Fashion: A Conversation with Ngozi Okaro of Custom Collaborative (October 22, 2019)

LA Fashion Film Festival: Sustainable Fashion: An Inclusive Way of Life (September 20, 2019)

New York Nonprofit Media: Six Nonprofits are Getting Consulting Help from Community Resource Exchange (June 28, 2019)

Community Resource Exchange: CRE Awards $75,000 in Pro Bono Consulting Services (June 27, 2019)

Women’s Wear Daily: Biotech Materials, Innovation and Fashion Collide at Inaugural Summit in Stamford, CT (June 25, 2019)

Style & Substance: Ngozi Okaro, Social Entrepreneur and Advocate (June 25, 2019)

Magnanimous: Celebrating New York's Ethical Enterprises (June 24, 2019)

Spring Bank: Custom Collaborative: A Worker-Owned, Women Run Fashion Cooperative Comes to New York City (May 15, 2019)

Women’s Wear Daily: LIM College, Fashiondex Partner for Sustainable Solutions Summit (March 29, 2019)

Fashion Mingle: Custom Collaborative’s Small Batch Manufacturing Services Help Immigrants and Low-income Women Build New Skills (March 13, 2019)

Melanin & Sustainable Style: 47 Badass Womxn of Color Influencers Unapologetically Changing The Landscape of Sustainable Fashion (March 8, 2019)

Melanin & Sustainable Style: This Sustainable Fashion Organization Is Shifting Conscious Conversations Through Their Work As An Incubator Program For Low-Income and Immigrant Women (March 6, 2019)

THR3EFOLD: Custom Collaborative: The Sewing Program for Immigrant Women in NYC (March 5, 2019)

Re/make: 11 Questions With Custom Collaborative (December 7, 2018)

Knowledge Leader: Exploring Conscious Consumerism (February 13, 2018)