Inspired by a project commissioned to the Taiwan Textile Federation, the Fashion Institute of Taipei was co-founded by Taipei City's Department of Cultural Affairs and the Industrial Development Bureau, MOEA, in an attempt to create a platform of information exchanges concerning fashion design. The institute plans to give designers access to a database of designers/apparel manufacturers and incubator-oriented training programs, among other resources and assistance, in order to encourage collaboration between fashion designers and companies. It also serves as a liaison between fast pattern-making centers and designers, so the latter may focus on cultivating their expertise as creative designers and front-end workers in the fashion industry. A tree-inspired interior design A cradle of competent Taiwanese fashion designers The Fashion Institute of Taipei, located in the culturally significant Bangka area (a.k.a. "Monga") and previously known as the Taipei Costume Cultural Center, is a 3-story emerging fashion landmark with the Bangka (or Dali) Fashion District being its hinterland. Driven by the vision of "a tree of creativity", the institute matches its brick-red exterior with an interior designed to resemble a tree nourished by Wanhua's historical and cultural influences, which would hopefully foster local designers who give back to Bangka's clothing business in the manner of decomposed foliage sustaining the soil. The institute vows to help its resident designers secure demonstration contracts with apparel firms from across the Bangka Shopping District, and eventually build worldwide reputation for the country's original fashion brands and design prowess. Collaborating with academic institutes to nurture emerging designers is also a priority for the Fashion Institute of Taipei. In addition to guided tours for faculty members and students in areas pertaining to fashion or apparel, the institute launches summer internship programs to give students a sense of how a design project is linked to marketing efforts, other than acquiring an insight into the country's ready-to-wear sector, through active involvement in Bangka's clothing business operations and designer-corporate partnerships. Also available for local talent are analytical programs about the latest clothing trends, or professional fashion shows. An inspiration-packed facility A resident designer program for maximum creativity Decorated with a color scheme centered on pure white, the ground-floor lobby is a space that offers fashion information while catering to all five senses, as evident in a catwalk stage for designers' lovely projects and a café in the cozy corner, where visitors seek inspiration while sipping coffee and browsing through stylish clothes or glossy design-related publications. For greater efficiency, exciting films are played on interactive LCD screens (controlled using a device similar to Wii) on the ground floor to offer details about the Fashion Institute of Taipei, the cultural and historical aspect of Bangka, or the resident designers, including their styles and portfolios. The second floor is converted into a mobile work platform for designers, with personal studios closed to the public on weekdays. To encourage designers to push the envelope and present art museum-worthy clothes, this creativity-charged space comprises a pattern-making section where all fabrics are available for free. The institute is seeking additions to its list of the current five resident designers (Norah Hsu, Wei-xiang Zeng, Andre Kao, Xue-Zheng Lu and Yu-Lin Shih) through annual auditions aimed at scouting out fresh designers with the potential of shining in the international fashion industry. On the 3rd floor, an area suitable for moderate-scale fashion shows, exhibitions, performances and lectures, is thickly carpeted and upholstered for soundproofing. For further diversified and flexible use of rooms, the ceiling rails, arranged to resemble the map of Bangka, are combined with movable partitions to offer designers just the right amount of space. The exhibition and performance facility, complete with backstage dressing rooms for models, are available for rent by fashion design majors for training courses or fashion shows.