It takes money to make clothing. Not only do designers have to pay for pattern makers, people to sew the samples and produce runway shows, they also need access to a showroom - a place to present collections to buyers.

And none of these necessities comes cheap.

Luckily for Project Runway alum and Bucks County resident Pamela Ptak, she has found a corner of free space smack-dab in the middle of New York City's garment district. Ptak - and nine other designers - will be showing their fall collections this week in that space, a fashion incubator called "Showroom New York."

The two-year-old, 1,200-square-foot showroom is run by the city-based Garment Industry Development Corp. and is funded by both the city and the state of New York. The designers must be juried and manufacture 80 percent of their goods in New York. That's good for the talent and great for the local economy.

"I'm amazed and pleased to be a part of something like this," said Ptak. "This is invaluable to my brand, my future."

The Riegelsville resident, who was eliminated from Runway's seventh season in its second week, held her first New York show Friday. Now she's embarking on the daunting process of selling the collection, flush with knee-length A-line skirts and long-sleeved mockneck shirts.

The timing is priceless. Following last week's Fashion Week comes Market Week, when boutique owners and department stores stick around to buy the collections they liked on the runway.

In a post-recession world, the fashion industry is very interested in two things: redefining luxury and promoting the work of emerging designers. At the same time, regional markets - especially Philadelphia - are realizing that cultivating local fashion talent can simultaneously augment a city's chicness and keep jobs in the state.

So I couldn't help but think that with all our local design talent, Philadelphia should be ripe for such a city-funded project. After all, officials already have started a program that would help attract high-end retail and fashion talent to the area with the launching of the Philadelphia Retail Marketing Alliance.

"One of our goals is to incubate and cultivate local design talents," said Michelle Shannon, vice president of marketing and communications for the Center City District, which oversees the alliance. "But for [a fashion incubator] to happen, it would have to be a very targeted effort of the retail marketing alliance and it would all boil down to funding."

Of course.

What is likely more feasible for Philadelphia, Shannon said, would be to partner with a locally based national retailer such as Destination Maternity, Urban Outfitters, or Charming Shoppes, which would offer local artists design opportunities, a place to work, and promotional expertise. Such a program, she said, would help the city boost its creative economy and retain graduates of local colleges.

Still, Philadelphia is no New York, which is already seen as a fashion capital, flush with buyers, manufacturers, and top-of-the-line retailers. Yet Philadelphia could augment the New York experience by showcasing local emerging designers when buyers aren't crisscrossing the globe to attend Fashion Weeks and the subsequent Market Weeks.

New York's Garment Industry Development Corp. gets a little more than $1 million from both the city and the state, said Andy Ward, acting executive vice president. GIDC was founded in 1984 and in addition to offering showroom space helps local designers get everything they need to build a fashion line from scratch. It offers courses and helps designers find pattern makers, fabric suppliers, and manufacturers.

"The showroom is just an extension of what we do," Ward said. "The point of our showroom is to give young designers contacts, guidance, exposure, and support. It's that simple."

Gina DeSilva is grateful for the opportunity. The twentysomething Brooklynite with Philadelphia relatives just won Best of Show in the prestigious national Supima Design Contest, and she's eager to get her collection of deep-shaded classic dresses with architectural details onto sales floors.

"This is an education for me," DeSilva said. "When you have a lot of experience in design and very little experience in retail, this kind of help is priceless."