In NYC’s Garment District, lots of clothes but not so many factories
\n9 hours ago
\nThe Canadian Press<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
NEW YORK – In the lead up to New York Fashion Week, Manhattan’s Garment District is abuzz with activity. Button shops are bustling, people carry handfuls of patterns on hangers and racks of clothes weave through the streets.
\nYou can feel fashion in the air. But it doesn’t feel that way year-round
\nThe neighbourhood has changed from its manufacturing heyday, with banks, fast-food restaurants and chain retailers moving in as factories have moved out, primarily to Asia. Showrooms have eclipsed factories as the main fashion business tenants, according to one study. And some insiders predict it won’t be long until publishing and public relations take over.<\/p>\n
But those who have stayed or come recently to set up manufacturing facilities say there is no place like it for what they do.
\n“I feel that I’m successful because I have people checking on factories two or three times a day. We can change things, recut things,” says designer Nanette Lepore, who occupies six stories of a Garment District building. “I work on an American fit model three times a week and then make adjustments before something is ‘finished.”‘<\/p>\n
The district, which lies roughly between 34th and 40th Streets between Fifth and Ninth Avenues, is a warren of street-level shops filled with bolts of fabric, findings, mannequins and badly lit showrooms of sequined gowns, jeans and accessories. It can be both easy and hard for tourists or non-fashion insiders to find what they are looking for.<\/p>\n
Upstairs and deeper in the buildings are offices, more showrooms, sewing rooms and factory space.
\nZoning regulations have required one square foot of manufacturing space be set aside for every square foot converted to non-manufacturing use in the district. The city is now considering changing that ratio, reducing manufacturing space and opening up the way for other uses, though no plan has been announced.
\nThose who do manufacturer there fear they will be displaced. Some landlords say they just want a chance to rent space according to market demands, especially as the surrounding neighbourhoods quickly gentrify.<\/p>\n
Like with any other iconic New York neighbourhood, Garment Centre denizens can be passionate about their home.
\nMarcus Wainwright, co-designer of the hip Rag & Bone label, says it’s the best place for what he does.
\nThe Kentucky factory that used to make his denim fabric closed as did the North Carolina factory in which made the jeans. “We bought every single machine we were using in North Carolina, brought up the head of production and set up in the Garment District,” Wainwright said.
\nIt’s worked out well.<\/p>\n
“You have to learn how to design but also how to source and the Garment District is priceless for that. You can’t do that in London or Chicago. If the Garment District was to disappear, it sounds dramatic, but New York might cease to be the focus of the garment industry,” he said.
\nControl, craftsmanship and quick turnaround are things designers appreciate most about the Garment District, says Steven Kolb, president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
\nHe says the CFDA did an informal survey of its members and most reported producing some part of their line in New York, but what’s driving the fashion business now in the city is publishing and public relations.
\n“It’s not to me black or white,” Kolb says. “It’s about a balance of preserving the infrastructure of an industry and modernizing the neighbourhood.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In NYC’s Garment District, lots of clothes but not so many factories 9 hours ago The Canadian Press NEW YORK – In the lead up to New York Fashion Week, Manhattan’s Garment District is abuzz with activity. Button shops are bustling, people carry handfuls of patterns on hangers and racks of clothes weave through the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n