Supporting Student Designers

A program dedicated to supporting Illinois fashion students and recent graduates.

All Photography on this page is courtesy of Alex Callejo Photography. Thank you!

On Earth Day 2025, Sustainable Fashion Week Chicago, in partnership with The Curio, and Kristin Mariani, sponsored by SC Johnson, hosted the inaugural Blue Paradox Sustainable Fashion Show — an exclusive event held at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry. This powerful showcase featured emerging student designers and recent graduates from top Chicago-area institutions, all united by a shared commitment to sustainability and innovation in fashion.

This was an opportunity for designers early in their careers to break into a competitive industry. But our support for them doesn’t end there.

The debut event launched Sustainable Fashion Week Chicago’s larger, ongoing initiative designed to provide continued support to the 20 student and recent graduate designers, as they push the boundaries of environmentally responsible fashion. With the right funding, we can extend mentorship, provide vital stipends, and expand professional opportunities for these rising designers, year-round.

About The Program

Sustainable Fashion Week Chicago’s Student Designer Program is a year-long initiative launched as a response to the need of local students and early-career designers who seek sustainable fashion opportunities within the Greater Chicago area. Designers will not have to navigate their career alone and will have support every step of the way.

This program is the launchpad for their dream career and a movement toward a more sustainable future.

What Students Receive

With donor support, each participating designer receives:

A monthly stipend specifically for materials and supplies ensured designers never have to choose between designing and putting food on the table.

Designers will be provided with continued year-round support from sustainable professionals and designers active in the local industry. Desigenrs will have access to regular “open house” meetings where they can bring their design, questions, and concerns and work through any issues they run into with someone who has experience.

Sustainable Fashion Week Chicago will continue to provide opportunities for designers to showcase their work and sell their pieces/collections. We will teach designers how to price their items and protect their work from being undercut by merchandisers who do not have their best interests at heart. We will work on their behalf to sell their designs and place more sustainable, locally made clothes into closets across Illinois and the nation.

The program provides both soft and hard skill development, including design workshops, portfolio development, resume writing, media training, networking, and many other opportunities that prepare designers for what they will face from the creative, developmental, and professional aspects of their career.

By aligning their creative vision with a global cause, these designers become ambassadors for environmental responsibility in an industry ready for change. They will have access to the Sustainable Fashion Week Collective (a group of other Sustainable Fashion Weeks around the globe) and the opportunity to show their work in multiple cities. Despite the global opportunity, the emphasis will be on providing visibility and access to designers across Illinois. Specifically through annual fashion shows, buyer events, quarterly media days, professional photoshoots, and more.

Why Your Support Matters

Your donation funds a movement. One that empowers people — including underrepresented designers — while educating the public and building a more sustainable future for fashion, locally.

Impact-Driven: Every designer selected receives a stipend to offset material costs and gain access to invaluable mentorship from industry leaders.

Long-Term Engagement: With your partnership, we can extend this opportunity beyond the runway and provide continued support throughout the year with workshops, exhibitions, career development, mentorship, and other career-defining and portfolio-building events.

Donate An Mount Of Choice To Support Designers, Today

Ways To Support

Your investment helps us build a more sustainable fashion industry from the ground up. Together, we can turn this moment into a movement—one designer and one collection at a time. The cost to provide full support to all twenty designers year-round is $150,000. Below are donation tiers to help us keep this program funded and operating.

Sustainable Fashion Patron

Imagine what it feels like for a young designer to realize their talent is being seen and believed in — perhaps for the first time. Your gift gives that designer the freedom to create without fear, knowing that someone has their back.

Contribution: $7,000
Impact: Sponsor one designer’s stipend for materials and show preparation for the entire year.

Provides monthly support so a student never has to choose between art and essentials.
Includes a personalized update from the designer they’re supporting.
Optional listing as a Patron in show programs and media.
Exclusive first access to viewing their collection.
One complimentary piece from a designer’s collection.

Donate

Designers’ Circle

Your generosity transforms a student’s passion into a real career. For five designers, your gift means mentorship, visibility, a supportive community, and the ability to walk into an uncertain industry with confidence, creativity, and dignity.

Contribution: $35,000
Impact: Fully funds 5 designers with materials, mentorship, and full program participation.

Covers everything from stipends to workshops and professional development for five student designers.
Includes behind-the-scenes updates, early access to fashion show tickets, and a private meet-and-greet with the designers.
Invitation to an exclusive sponsor dinner during Sustainable Fashion Week Chicago.
Plus, everything in the “Sustainable Fashion Patron” tier.

Donate

Changemaker Underwriter

Become a pillar in 20 designer’s journey. This gift would be the reason these young visionaries can grow beyond a single fashion show into a full, thriving career.

Contribution: $150,000
Impact: Support designers post-show with year-round programming, mentorship, visibility, and merchandising support.

Premium access to all events, branding in all printed and digital media, and a personalized impact report.
Ensures the continuity and quality of the entire year-long program.
Naming rights for a programmatic component (e.g., “The Jane Doe Mentorship Series”).
Plus, everything in the previous two tiers.

Donate

The Sustainable Fashion Visionary

This gift is legacy-making. You’re building the bridge from local dreamers to national influencers in sustainable fashion. You are giving young artists the stage they’ve never had and the wings to fly across Chicago and the world.

Contribution: $250,000
Impact: Enables program expansion — including a second annual showcase, more workshops, and national travel stipends.

Makes national exposure and broader industry access possible for designers.
Named as the presenting sponsor of the initiative.
Custom-curated fashion experience: private preview of designer collections, styling session, and more.
Plus, everything in the previous tiers.

Donate

Other Ways To Support

You can make a donation for the amount of your choice, here. If you’re looking to contribute in a non-monetary way, we are always open to exploring new partnerships. Alternatively, we are interested in collaborating with individuals and organizations to host a fundraising event. For next steps, other ideas, or questions, please email info[at]sfwchicago.com or complete this form.