According to TBD's interview with Christine Brooks-Cropper, the president of the Greater Washington Fashion Chamber of Commerce and the force behind the D.C. Fashion Incubator, the answer is yes — albeit a hesitant yes.
For now, the incubator is a space at 760 N Street NW, stocked with sewing machines and fabric, and an office space next door for hosting business meetings. Local designers can access the incubator for a fee of $250 a month. Brooks-Cropper hopes to snag a space nearby for a pop-up boutique as well.
But the most ambitious part of the plan — and where the hesitation comes in — is the dreamed-of 5,000-square-foot plant for fashion manufacturing and retail in Southeast. Brooks-Cropper is still waiting for corporate sponsorship to make the plan a reality, but in the meantime, she's optimistic about the progress, no matter how slow-going it has been. "I expected it overnight,” she tells TBD's Jenny Rogers. “But it’s been one foot over another. We had to sit for a while and then crawl.” (TBD)