Materials For The Arts and BK Style Foundation Announce New MFTA Designer-in-Residence Program

Materials for the Arts (MFTA) and BK Style Foundation have partnered to launch the new MFTA Designers-in-Residence program. This new residency program provides emerging fashion designers and others working at the intersection of creative reuse and design with access to free studio space in MFTA's Long Island City warehouse - fully equipped with sewing machines and other design equipment - along with free access to the wide array of supplies available in the MFTA warehouse. Inaugural MFTA Designers-in-Residence Leilani Bell and Nikita Shah, who started working in the MFTA warehouse in January 2023, will debut the collection they created while in residence at MFTA during the 17th annual Fashion Week Brooklyn (FWBK) on April 12, 2023.

"New York is an international hub for fashion, and with all of the incredible fashion companies that donate to MFTA and the relationships we've built throughout our city's Garment District, creating a residency for young designers aligns perfectly with our mission to sustainably support NYC's creative community," said Tara Sansone, MFTA Executive Director. "With partner BK Style Foundation, we congratulate Leilani and Nikita on their amazing work, and we can't wait to continue to host future MFTA Designers-in-Residence to incubate the next generation of talent right here in the MFTA warehouse."

"I think MFTA is the ultimate organization supporting artists, creatives, makers, and now designers in the residency program," said Rick Davy, BK Style Foundation Founder and Director. "I am happy to be one of the founders of the Designers-in-Residence program as a Friends of MFTA board member. I cannot express how proud we are of the first two young designers Nikita and Lelani. We are very excited to see their designs utilizing the materials they found at MFTA."

"I really couldn't ask to be a part of a better organization than MFTA. It has been such a joy to align with a group of people that stands for such an amazing cause," said Bridgett Artise, Founder of Sustainable Fashion Week US / NYC. "Co-creating the designer in residency program allows us to not only support designers that may not have gotten a chance to have access to such amazing items, it also forms unity amongst creatives which is priceless."

"I'm so used to working in my room, and you know in New York our rooms are the size of closets," said Leilani Bell, MFTA Designer-in-Residence. "The space at Materials for the Arts has allowed me to experiment, to see what I can really do with everything that I need. I have space, I have materials, I have thread, I have screen printing things. It's really been...helpful is an understatement. It has been transformational in terms of how I design, the things I design, and the materials that I use."

"As a woman who has moved a lot in my life, I have always tried to find the meaning of home," said Nikita Shah, MFTA Designer-in-Residence. "For the last 12 years, I have done that by practicing and working with Indian textiles and crafts. Last year, I launched my brand 'untitle by nikita' in New York. As an immigrant, for me the brand has worked to bring the land of birth and land of life closer through clothing. With my residency at MFTA and access to all the materials, I have been able to combine deadstock from artisans in India with deadstock from NYC. I have gotten access to everything from fabrics to sewing notions, buttons, trims, accessories, and more. This has inspired my collection 'the road to home' which I will be showcasing at Brooklyn Fashion Week."

On Wednesday, April 12, Bell and Shah will showcase their work at the 17th Annual Fashion Week Brooklyn, hosted in the historic and increasingly iconic Brooklyn Navy Yard. The theme for fashion week is "Where Brooklyn At" in honor of the 50th anniversary of the creation of hip hop in 1973. On April 12, Bell and Shah will participate in "Next-up Designers Collection," a showcase of work by young designers. Bell and Shah's collections include fabric, trim, thread, and other supplies from the MFTA warehouse that will be featured in the show. The two were particularly excited to have access to thousands of colorful socks recently donated to MFTA from HOTSOX, which they incorporated prominently into their designs. More information on Fashion Week Brooklyn is available at www.fashionweekbrooklyn.com/schedule. The MFTA Designers-in-Residence will also present their designs at Sustainable Fashion Week in Atlantic City, New Jersey on April 22 for an Earth Day fashion showcase.

The MFTA Designer-in-Residence program builds on MFTA's Artist-in-Residence program, which provides free workspace and material to artists while examining and expanding the public's notions of creative reuse. The MFTA Artist-in-Residence program celebrated its 10th anniversary last summer. The current show in the MFTA Gallery is by the most recent Artist-in-Residence, Sui Park, and showcases the incredible forms the artist created using zip ties during her residency.