This post is maybe not one to directly impact your personal style but definitely in one way or another affecting it. As a NY fashion industry professional I have the obligation of supporting the following cause for the future of the fashion capital of the world!
New York Mayor’s office launches tonight at Macy’s Herald Square it’s year long NYC fashion industry saving initiative called FASHION NYC 2020. The campaign intends to boost and strengthen the city’s fashion industry in the next 10 years. Tonight’s event will include a panel discussion and a dinner to brainstorm ideas in order to help and keep NY as the nation’s and the world’s fashion center. The event will include 75 of fashion’s heavy hitters who are suppose to represent a cross-section of sectors – retail, design, manufacturing/sourcing and e-commerce including: Terry Lundgren (Macy’s Inc. chairman, chief executive officer and chairman), Diane von Furstenberg, spokespeople from Polo Ralph Lauren, J. Crew, Macy’s, Bloomingdale's, Gilt Group, Hearst, Topshop ,Bergdorf Goodman, LF USA and of course Ms. Anna Wintour. (wwd). “We’ll talk about what we can do to ensure the fashion industry continues to be centered in NY and what can the city do to encourage job creation and income growth for small, medium, and large fashion, wholesale and retail firms” Said Terry Lundgren (WWD). Since my first days in NY 14 years ago the industry had a HUGE transformation (unfortunately not a good one), mostly on the manufacturing/sourcing end. The garment center area that was the industry’s core location have decreased in about 90% to an almost elimination, that’s due to a change in its real-estate zoning, together with a globalization sourcing trend and a government support of this trend which made it almost impossible for the local factories to stay in business. Here are some other facts to show the importance of saving this industry’s future: there are more than 800 fashion business that are based in the city (twice as many as in Paris its closest rival), there are 175,000 people working in fashion and retail in the city, the wholesale market results in more than $18 Billion in yearly direct spending with NYC businesses (WWD). I would say all that is definitely worth saving…don’t you think? BTW the picture of this industry is just one in the big album of all other domestic industries that had suffer in this last few years like the motor industry..... everybody see how it goes down and no one is doing anything about it and when they do a bailout is just too expensive and too late....
Oh and Mayor Bloomberg himself will not be attending the dinner……
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