Yesterday was a perfect fall day for a road trip to Lansing for the ribbon cutting ceremony of The Runway Lansing, a fashion incubator and retail space located in a portion of The Knapps building, which had been the site of the iconic Knapps department store.
The major partners behind the first fashion incubator in Michigan are LEAP, City of Lansing, Lansing Economic Development Corp., Eyde Company and Downtown Lansing, INC, with consultant Jeff Henry as the driving force behind the project.
The space includes a first-floor retail area, showcasing the products from the designers of the incubator, along with other Michigan-area designers. The second floor is for the designers in residence and associate designers. The designers in residence are equipped with their own office space, and along with the associate designers, they have access to all of the industrial sewing machines, two computers, a digitizer, Gerber cutter and state-of-the-art software. Manufacturing consulting, marketing consulting and business consulting is offered to the designers in residence while the associate designers have discounted access to the consulting. Overall, the Runway Lansing is a great example of people getting together to help push Michigan’s fashion industry in a positive and exciting direction.
For more information, visit www.runwaylansing.com or if you’re in the neighborhood, stop by and shop their retail showroom in a couple of weeks when it opens! Runway Lansing is located at 300 S. Washingtown Square in Lansing.
