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The future of "Made in New York" fashion is in the making right now in Sunset Park - and Céline Semaan is one woman behind it all. by kaley roshitsh
The future of "Made in New York" fashion is in the making - right now.
Céline Semaan, founder of nonprofit Slow Factory Foundation, stands in the wind in a hard hat and neon vest with a crew before wheeling a select few journalists through the damp construction site.
Weeks prior, amid New York Fashion Week, Mayor Eric Adams formally announced a partnership with New York City Economic Development Corporation to fuel New York-made fashion at Bush Terminal, right in the heart of Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood.
As the first anchor tenant, the decadeold nonprofit Slow Factory Foundation will have a new harbor for its inclusive curriculum at the physical Slow Factory Institute. The school will include classrooms for the nonprofit's open-access "Open Edu" program prioritizing climate justice, a plant-based leather lab dubbed Slow Factory Labs and a rare books or "Slow Reads" library, among other things.
While Slow Factory Institute anticipates an October opening, here Semaan reflects on the vision that was many years in the making.
WWD: Why is this the right moment to launch the Slow Factory Institute?
Céline Semaan: It was divine timing honestly. We have been working tirelessly for three years on this project, kicking off New York Fashion Week with this major announcement about a school and lab focusing on climate-positive solutions and equity-centered open learning for the next generation to lead change [and it's] needed now more than ever.
WWD: What trials and successes...