Abstract
Internationally,
design
incubators
have
emerged
as
a
result
of
clustering.
These
design
incubators
serve
as
artist
studios,
or
as
design
centers
providing
opportunities
for
young
emerging
entrepreneurs
to
acquire
studio
workspaces
located
within
a
cluster
of
similar
economic
activities.
In
South
Africa,
design
incubators,
particularly
fashion
design
incubators,
have
emerged
in
the
Johannesburg
Fashion
District,
situated
within
the
central
business
district
of
Johannesburg.
Research
conducted
in
2006
established
that
there
were
a
number
of
emerging
fashion
designers
located
within
the
Johannesburg
Fashion
District
design
incubators.
However,
interviews
conducted
in
2012
revealed
that
the
number
of
fashion
designers
positioned
within
these
design
incubators
had
declined.
This
paper
contextualizes
the
fashion
design
incubators
within
the
Johannesburg
Fashion
District
and
deliberates
the
reasons
for
this
decline.
The
paper
then
moves
on
to
discuss
the
fundamental
role
of
fashion
design
education
in
sustaining
these
fashion
design
incubators.
The
paper
pursues
a
qualitative
research
paradigm
employing
semi-‐structured
interviews
with
business
stakeholder
participants
affiliated
with
the
fashion
design
incubators.
A
content
method
of
data
analysis
categorized
the
raw
data
into
themes.
Two
major
themes
emerged,
namely,
the
factors
contributing
to
the
decline
mentioned
above,
and
the
role
of
fashion
design
education.
Given
that
fashion
design
incubators
may
support
economic
development
and
the
sustainability
of
the
fashion
industry,
fashion
design
education
could
play
a
central
role
in
sustaining
these
design
incubators.
As
such,
this
paper
contributes
to
the
development
of
sustainability
within
the
fashion
sector
and
the
discourse
of
fashion
design
education
within
a
South
African
context.