OP-ED

WHY SUPPORTING INDIANA’S FASHION INDUSTRY IS GOOD BUSINESS

IT SEEMS LIKE EVERY BUSINESS LEADER, FUNDER AND POLITICIAN IS seeking programs and policies that innovate, retain talent, attract tourism, or engage youth. News flash: the fashion industry can create all of these pathways.

THE FASHION INDUSTRY IS ONE OF THE MOST UNDERRATED INDUSTRIES IN INDIANA. IT’S AN INDUSTRY that brings together diverse groups. And it’s the common thread that connects the retail and art industries.

SOME NUMBERS FOR YOU: ANNUALLY, THE ARTS SECTOR CONTRIBUTES $8.4 BILLION TO INDIANA’S economy. Indiana’s creative economy supports 160,000 jobs, 51% of which are self-employed individual creatives. The fashion industry also supports jobs in accounting, marketing, financing, trademark law, graphic design, and more.

THE FASHION INDUSTRY EXISTS PROUDLY IN INDIANA. BUT TO BE A VIABLE ECONOMIC DRIVER, THERE MUST be investments in it—and an understanding of it as part of art, entertainment and business.

THE LACK OF SUCH INVESTMENTS IS RESULTING IN BRAIN DRAIN. FOR EXAMPLE, INDIANA COLLEGES and universities with established degree programs have limited in-state resources to support the transition and placement of students into career opportunities after graduation (e.g., fellowships). If the creative economy is excluded from workforce and economic development planning, Indiana natives looking to establish successful careers in fashion will leave the state for more promising opportunities. From my observations over the last 20 years, creatives at times feel unsupported as they try to launch or sustain thriving careers in Indiana. It’s ironic, because Indiana actually is the perfect place to cultivate resources and opportunities in manufacturing, retail, and e-commerce.

POLITICAL, PHILANTHROPIC AND ACADEMIC SUPPORT OF THE FASHION INDUSTRY WILL POSITIVELY IMPACT the cultures and economies of Indiana communities by offering resources for creatives and students in entrepreneurship and business/financial management. In turn, these creatives can establish their enterprises and contribute to the community through product/service development, worker skill development, and job creation. This kind of active healthy creative economy also marks Indiana as a destination to live and visit.

LET’S NOT LET INDIANA’S RICH HISTORY IN FASHION STOP WITH THE FAMOUS FASHION DESIGNERS WHO once called Indiana home: Halston, Norman Norell, Stephen Sprouse, and Bill Blass. Let’s continue their legacy by supporting the creative economy. In doing so, we will highlight the fashion industry as a key economic driver for talent, businesses, universities, and tourism. And make sure the next generation of creative leaders keeps its mojo here in Indiana.

DENISHA ‘DLANG’ FERGUSON

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INDIANA FASHION FOUNDATION