CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Some heroes wear capes, while others design them. 

What You Need To Know

  •  Tara Davis is being recognized as an Everyday Hero

  •  The fashion designer is helping underserved students with reaching their fashion dreams 

  •  Right now, the organization is in need of additional funds for the aspiring designers

Tara Davis, a Spectrum News 1 Everyday Hero, has over 20 years of professional experience in the fashion industry.

Her background includes work in the classroom environment and managing her own business, Flow by Tara Davis, a brand that designs apparel for modern women. 

Davis is also the founder and creator of Woven Fashion Incubator in Charlotte, a co-workspace with fashion design classes and apparel manufacturer for underserved students, fashion careerists and entrepreneurs.

"This has been a dream of mine," Davis said. "I am a professor. I teach fashion merchandising and retail now but I've taught fashion design for the last ten years. I felt like it was my mission to make sure students have more attainable pathways into the fashion industry then the traditional collegiate opportunities."

So Davis launched Woven Fashion Incubator to support aspiring designers with reaching their goals.

"[To] make sure they have these pathways that bridges the gaps in our communities and empowers them to make more informed decisions about their careers in fashion," Davis said. "Build a network system that doesn't break the bank. Thats why I formulated the incubator. We're artists. We want the community to understand this is a sustainable opportunity to help our local designers, really help them build their brands."

Davis says Woven Fashion Incubator is supporting artists at all stages of their careers.

"We have all types of classes that allows these students to come in as beginners. Our seasoned designers are members, they come in and do the work on the industrial machines and technology we have to be able to scale their brands. That's the mission of the fashion incubator," Davis said. 

Woven ambassador and student/fashion designer Jamie Lykes II says it is because of Davis that he calls Woven Fashion Incubator home. 

"From the moment I met Davis, she was my mentor," Lykes said. "It was her energy, her spirit, her motivation. I'm grateful. This has been a safe space for me."

Lykes says without Woven Fashion Incubator, it would be nearly impossible to get the support and training he's getting now. 

"None," Lykes said. "There's none as welcoming and just easy and [where I] feel supported and loved. We value it. If there is an opportunity its already a tight-netted facility and so many steps you have to go through to penetrate the threshold."

That's why Lykes says he grateful to Davis and her team for helping so many dreams become a fashion reality. 

"This has set the trajectory for where I want to be as a professional designer," Lykes said. "I've been involved in so many projects and being able to execute them properly because of Woven. I've seen a network of designers grow exponentially, more than they were able to be in their singular spaces. What I love most about Woven is we're a collective — we're not competing. We really talk about things. We're not here to steal anyones ideas or criticize, we're here to help each other. You can't find that anywhere else." 

But Woven Fashion Incubator is facing a huge challenge due to a loss of funding. 

"We're a program under a nonprofit organization," Davis said. "Since we have opened, we have lost funding from that organization."

Woven Fashion Incubator needs to raise $50,000 to help them find a permanent new home for the students and designers.  

"We definitely need a space for these students to continue to learn," Davis said. 

Lykes says he will continue to empower Davis through it all, just like she's done for him and so many in the North Carolina community. 

"It's not by happenstance Woven [was] located by the airport, because this is not our landing pad, it's our season of take off. I'm believing God the funds will come through, the way will be provided and we will take off, just like we hear those planes everyday," Lykes said. 

There are several ways people in the community can support Woven Fashion Incubator: 

  • Donating to the organization
  • Sharing Woven Fashion Incubator's story
  • Advocating for their efforts with businesses and neighbors 

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