Founded in 2011, Fashion Incubator San Francisco has one mission: To empower creative professionals to do what they love—for a living.

What does that mean in practice:

We accelerate emerging fashion designers with an entrepreneurial, innovative approach to business development.
We provide a best-in-class forum for thought leadership, education, and innovation in a rapidly changing industry.
We convene a dynamic collective that provides our global community with support, opportunity, access, and inspiration.

HISTORY OF SUCCESS

In its 12 year history, FiSF has mentored designers, both close to home in San Francisco and across the globe, in our highly-selective Designer-in-Residence program.

Name: Diarra Bousso

Company: Diarrablu

Diarra Bousso, a Senegal-raised, Silicon Valley-based fashion designer is on a mission to weave sustainability into all aspects of the design and manufacturing process for her breakout brand, Diarrablu. A 2020 designer-in-Residence as FiSF as well as student of design and applied mathematics at Stanford, Bousso is interested in how to consciously merge traditional, artisanal processes with her background in algorithms and technology—all with the goal of reducing waste. Her bold, original, and made-to-order designs have regularly appeared in Vogue, as well as Forbes, Elle, and WWD.

Name: Stephanie Bodnar

Company: Evgenia

After moving to California after college in 2004, Stephanie Bodnar worked in a lace shop and a lingerie boutique while studying Fashion Design at FIDM, and that was precisely the moment her idea for a gorgeous, handmade line of fine lingerie was born. Launched in 2011, and later re-named after her maternal Ukrainian grandmother, Evengia is “lingerie for the modern heartbreaker” and her unique designs have been featured in Vogue, CNN, and The San Francisco Chronicle. Bodnar was accepted as a Designer-in-Residence at FiSF in 2014, an experience she regularly credits with helping her better steer the direction of her brand.

Name: Chrissie Lam

Company: Love Is Project

After quitting her corporate fashion job in New York City, 2020 FiSF Designer-in-Residence Chrissie Lam moved to Kenya, where she was introduced to the exceptional, intricate beadwork of the Masai tribe. Inspired, she launched the Love Is Project in 2012, which is a collection of beautiful, handmade bracelets that have been spotted on the wrists of everyone from Anne Hathaway to Brooke Shields. The company—which was also featured on Shark Tank in 2021— now employs over 2000 female artisans in ten countries, and provides fair wages, access to food, and schooling.

“After joining FiSF, my business completely transformed and my collections became tighter, more fashion-forward, and more marketable.”

— Stephanie Bodnar, Evgenia