The Retailer Has Announced the Four Designers Selected for Its 2024 The New Wave Accelerator Program
Saks has announced the new recruits for the 2024 edition of its designer accelerator program The New Wave at Saks. The program is sponsored by Mastercard and, having been in operation for four years, it has aided 24 brands to graduate thus far. The purpose of this venture is to foster and assist independent labels speed up their growth in the fashion and retail sectors.
The new group for 2024 includes:
Nicholas Daley: This modern menswear brand infuses personal stories of its founder with broader themes of Black British and diasporic culture.
Glass Cypress: A high-end menswear label established by brothers Saber and Samee Ahmed that experiments with novel artisan methods in dyeing, quilting, and construction.
Róhe: This is a brand and atelier based in Amsterdam founded by Marieke Meulendijks and Maickel Weyers that delves into contemporary designs through distinct design components and precise profiles.
Neous (to be launched on Saks.com in the fall): This collection of sculptural handbags and footwear by Vanissa Antonious marries the lines of femininity and minimalism.
Roopal Patel, Senior Vice President, Fashion Director at Saks expressed her delight at welcoming the quartet of standout brands into the program. She highlighted the way that “Each of these designers were hand-selected by our team for their unique talent, perspective and significant growth potential. We’re incredibly proud to platform and elevate the next generation of design talent through the New Wave program, and we look forward to supporting the brands’ growth within Saks and the wider community.”
The participants this year were drawn from diverse merchandise categories, and were identified as having considerable potential for growth. As part of Saks’ commitment to providing exposure, instruction and equitable access to opportunities for personal growth, half of this year’s participants belong to groups that have been historically underrepresented in the industry.
Each brand will undergo a six-month program encompassing an orientation, consulting and mentorship services, entrepreneurial workshops and industry round tables. They will acquire critical skills and wisdom necessary to expand their businesses within and beyond Saks. Moreover, these brands could be entitled to a $10,000 grant to aid their business operations and growth.
Mastercard will conduct a roundtable as part of its Digital Doors program that supplies an overview and access to exclusive tools to assist small businesses refine and extend their digital presence.
United Airlines is named as the official travel partner for this year’s program. It will conduct a competition in partnership with Saks where this year’s participants could design a revamped day blanket for Saks Fifth Avenue. This design will be featured on United Polaris flights in 2025, and the designer of the winning theme will receive the aforementioned grant from United.
Over the course of the program, each of the designers will have the chance to engage with multiple Saks leaders who have experience to share across various functions such as digital, sales, financial strategy and merchandising. They also can have personal time with consultants from the Launch Collective who specialize in scaling and supporting brands. Saks will also arrange a sequence of roundtable sessions with industry experts and designers. The designers in the program will have continued access to workshops that provide small business know-how and the opportunity to harness subsidized access to Skypad, a web-based application to access weekly product and location level sale-through data.
All brands will also receive marketing support which includes Saks.com site exposure, inclusion in multi-vendor email as well as flagship window in New York, dedicated training including product knowledge for Style Advisors, and more.
