Fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff is championing female-led companies with a new business initiative launching during New York Fashion Week.

The creative, known for her eponymous clothing brand, has teamed up with IMG to found the ‘Female Founder Collective,' a platform offering networking opportunities and support for female entrepreneurs in the New York region. The initiative aims to increase awareness of women-owned business ventures, while supporting their growth and creating opportunities for individuals. It will also offer investment opportunities across the socio-economic spectrum.

"Millennial consumers buy from brands whose purpose and values they support and identify with," said Minkoff in a statement. "By creating a socially visible symbol for female-owned companies, we effectively shape modern consumers' purchasing decisions." She added: "We wanted to issue a symbol and allow more women to know what companies they can support in order to support each other."

The Collective is celebrating its launch during New York Fashion Week: The Shows, with a panel discussion featuring Minkoff herself, alongside various business leaders in the fashion space, including supermodel Joan Smalls and co-founder and editor in chief of Coveteur, Stephanie Mark. Further programming will be rolled out in January 2019.

This is not the first time Minkoff, whose brand is a hit among millennial shoppers, has publicly championed women's equality issues. Last season, the designer chose to showcase her see-now-buy now Spring/Summer 2018 collection by promoting 20 powerful women in a series of online profiles.