Group Seeks to Lure Fashion Industry Businesses to Renton

Can you picture downtown Renton with a potentially bustling garment district that would serve not only local businesses but those with an eye toward the fashion industry in the greater Puget Sound region?

One group can and has started laying the foundation toward fulfilling just such a vision. KPLU reports that an enterprise called the Seattle Fashion Incubator has moved into a vacant office building downtown (212 Wells Ave S). Steven Paul Matsumoto, the local marketing consultant who started the project, tells KPLU part of his vision is that he wants to provide a low-cost work space to designers while building up the fashion industry in downtown Renton.

According to Matsumoto, Seattle-area designers are underserved currently due to an insufficient supply chain. Those who aspire to continue in the industry sometimes move elsewhere to be closer to that supply chain. By building up a garment district locally, it keeps the talent here, he said.

KPLU reports the City of Renton is supportive of the endeavor but no public money has been put into the Incubator. Meanwhile, Matsumoto has set a goal of raising $150,000 toward the Incubator via a Go Fund Me fundraising site.

Online: Group Aiming to Turn Renton into Fashion Industry Hub (KPLU)

Seattle Fashion Incubator