Saks Designer Accelerator Program Explained

Saks, a leading digital platform for luxury fashion, recently celebrated the graduation of the third class of its designer accelerator program, The New Wave, presented by Mastercard.

This year, the program expanded to include more categories, such as women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, shoes, kids, and jewelry, with the latter being new additions. The New Wave program is designed to support independent brands with significant growth potential.

These brands are identified by Saks’ leadership team and are provided with additional support to help scale their businesses. The program also aims to amplify racially and ethnically diverse voices, aligning with Saks’ commitment to increasing representation in its merchandise assortment.

Since its inception, at least half of the program participants have been racially and ethnically diverse brands. Mastercard has consistently sponsored The New Wave at Saks, hosting dedicated roundtable sessions to provide designers with an overview and access to the Mastercard Digital Doors® program…