FTA Designs Custom Collaborative's New Garment District Headquarters
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New York, NY - Frederick Tang Architecture (FTA) has completed the renovation of Custom Collaborative’s new headquarters in the heart of New York’s Garment District. The non-profit trains and mentors low-income and immigrant women to build the skills necessary to achieve economic success in the sustainable fashion industry and broader society. The organization received a $1 million New York State grant from the “NY Forward” initiative to transform the space into a hub for fashion career training.
Prior to the project, Custom Collaborative’s programming was divided between two different locations breaking up the functions, staff, and resources. Consolidating the programming into a single 6,700 square foot continuous floor marks a new chapter by bringing classrooms, offices, exhibition spaces together in a unified location.
When Custom Collaborative first approached FTA about the design, the opportunity and the. challenges of the space were clear – smaller, private offices lined the windowed perimeter while a larger open center offered potential but required thoughtful divisions to accommodate the wide array of programs. The solution had to emphasize flexibility and transformation. FTA’s design introduces a highly composed series of moveable fabric partitions that provide both acoustic separation for sewing machinery and equipment as well as the flexibility to reconfigure spades for runway presentations, exhibitions, workshops, and events.
Overlapping drapes in different levels of translucency carve out areas for conferences, reception, sewing, fashion shows, while allowing the entire floor to open up for larger events like graduations. This assertive use of textiles directly echoes Custom Collaborative’s mission to train women for careers in the fabric and apparel industries.
The material palette further underscores the organization’s vibrancy – butter yellow, forest green, mauve, and lilac drapes from Kvadrat are paired with graphic, overlapping, figural carpet patterns and flooring by FLOR Tile. Custom Collaborative’s relationships with fashion and apparel companies allowed for many donations of fixtures – among them furniture donated by Chanel, and a gilded mirror gifted by Angelia Jolie. Custom-designed podiums and plinths extend the color and material palette to furniture, supporting their exhibitions and events.
“We were so excited to work with Ngozi and her team at Custom Collaborative. The design had to be as flexible and transformative as their programs – curtains that shift and overlap to turn one room into many: classroom, runway, sewing studio, exhibition areas, and celebration space. The colors – butter yellow, forest green, mauve, and lilac – bring energy and warmth. The headquarters are meant to feel as dynamic, resourceful and vibrant as the women who use it.” says Frederick Tang, Principal of FTA.
Photography by Anastazia Swere-McNutt for Allyson Lubow
