Mayor has designs on Limerick students selling in Macy's

LIMERICK fashion students could end up with the opportunity to showcase their designs in iconic American department store Macy’s.

Mayor John Moran is seeking to open a fashion incubator at the former Mary Street garda station on King’s Island in a bid to ensure Limerick holds onto its brightest talent.

This will allow them to develop their businesses.

Limerick has signed a sister city agreement with Austin, Texas.

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And as part of this, Mayor Moran has held talks with Nina Means, who leads Austin Community College’s fashion incubator.
The pair have agreed to work together to develop Limerick’s answer to this.

During the visit to sign the agreement, he attended the Austin branch of Macy’s, where he saw young fashion entrepreneurs had been given a section to sell their wares.

Now, Mayor Moran told the Leader that he is hoping this might pave the way for Limerick students to go into Macy’s.

In return, fashion designers from Austin could set up shop in Brown Thomas, he suggested.

“Macy’s could give over a portion of their shop. Students could display their work - a bit like what we did in the old Debenhams over Christmas, except it would happen in the shop. You have an audience there already shopping for bags, shoes, scarves, or whatever,” said the mayor.

In his report on the trip to the USA, Mayor Moran wrote that what is being done with the incubator in Austin is “exactly the vision we have for the Limerick incubator in Mary Street”.

He highlighted how the Austin incubator aims to “nurture creativity and inclusivity.”

“By bridging the gap between education and industry, it serves as a hub for talent development and economic growth in the local and global fashion markets,” he added.