U.S. retailer Saks is celebrating a diverse group of independent brands, ending this year's chapter of The New Wave, an emerging designer accelerator program.
Sponsored by Mastercard, the initiative honoring its third class of graduates is at the center of a new dedicated campaign, as the luxury department store moves to promote all eight participants' fall collections. Each of the fashion pioneers will be featured on Saks.com and across Saks' digital channels, as well as within the pages of the Saks Fall Fashion Book and in a special window installation at the Saks Fifth Avenue New York flagship, on display now through Sept. 20.
“Saks plays an important role in shaping the luxury fashion industry,” said Tracy Margolies, chief merchandising officer at Saks, in a statement.
“With this program, we are proud to play our part to platform and develop the next generation of talent, all while furthering our commitment to increase representation in our assortment,” Ms. Margolies said. “We look forward to seeing how each participating designers' businesses will flourish at Saks and beyond.”
Class of 2023
To celebrate the graduate’s accomplishments, Saks hosted a cocktail party at L'Avenue at Saks — the French restaurant housed within the New York flagship — which was attended by the uplifted creatives.
This year’s edition of The New Wave expanded the program to include more categories, adding children's clothing and jewelry to the existing lineup of women's and men's ready-to-wear and footwear segments.
Saks shares that by amplifying racially and ethnically diverse voices through The New Wave, of which at least half of participants are racially and ethnically diverse brands, the corporation advances its commitment to increasing representation in its merchandise assortment.
Window displays at the Saks Fifth Avenue New York flagship showcase each participant’s work through Sept. 20. Image credit: Saks
Having debuted the third class in May (see story), Saks is now lending its audiences access to the culminating collections of Armando Cabral, Áwet, Bernard James, Elisamama, Interior, June 79, Renowned and Sorellina.
Since The New Wave's inception, it has been sponsored by global payment technology company Mastercard, which provides exclusive digital resources and tools to participants alongside one-on-one mentorship opportunities.
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On Wednesday, Sept. 13, Saks hosted a cocktail party at L'Avenue at Saks for The New Wave, a program sponsored by Mastercard. Image credit: Saks 
Window displays at the Saks Fifth Avenue New York flagship showcase each participant’s work through Sept. 20. Image credit: Saks
