Garment District (Manhattan)

The Garment District (also: Garment Center, the Fashion District or Fashion Center ) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, USA. The district owes its name to the high concentration of companies, labels and stores that have to do with fashion ( garment = clothing, garment and fashion = Mode ).

Location

The neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan extends between Fifth Avenue and Ninth Avenue and from 34th Street to 42nd Street.

Importance in the fashion industry in the district

The Garment District has been known since the early 1920s as a center for fashion manufacturing and fashion design of international standing. In an area of ​​less than 65 hectares and is home to most " showrooms " of New York City, many major fashion labels such as Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Liz Claiborne and Nicole Miller have their shops, fabrication plants, warehouses, shops or support offices in the Garment District. In addition, companies can find here for all aspects of the fashion industry - from design and production to suppliers for fabrics and garments through to wholesale. No other city has a comparable concentration of fashion companies in a quarter. Many of the fashion industry argue that this concentration of creatives, entrepreneurs and businesses would work in this area as an ecosystem in which each part helps maintain the whole. New York City is therefore considered fashion capital of the United States. The fashion industry, which is located here sets, annually about 14 billion U.S. dollars and initiates partial global design trends.

Although the Garment Distric was considered a center of the textile industry in the past, global trends have changed the way how the fashion industry works in the district. During the last 50 years, the New York clothing manufacturer have a constant decline experienced throughout the city and especially in the Garment District, since the manufacturer of its competitiveness in the global market increasingly declining as locally. Foreign workers now play a crucial role in the manufacturing process, since they work for much less pay. The decline of the manufacturing sector has proven to be a serious problem for the Garment District.

History

Before the mid-19th century still put the majority of Americans either their clothing itself forth or bought them customized if they were wealthy. However, more and more ready-made clothes have been made ​​of a higher quality for a broader market in the 1820s.

New York City took over for the first time the function as a center of national clothing industry, as was begun with the production of clothing for plantation slaves of the southern states. It was more economical for the plantation owners to buy the clothes from manufacturers in New York City, instead of letting the slaves make their own clothes themselves. In addition to the clothing offer for slaves Schneider presented also manufactures prefabricated clothing for sailors and prospectors when the core business just there was a lull. Thus, the production of prefabricated clothes to grow.

Finally, the manufacturing process with the invention of the sewing machine in the 1850s became increasingly industrial. At that time, immigrants came from Germany and Central Europe with relevant business and professional experience to New York City and boosted the business to continue. The need for thousands of ready-made soldiers' uniforms during the American Civil War (1861-1865) verhalft New York City's clothing industry to further growth. Finally, most Americans their clothes in the late 1860s bought instead they produce themselves. During the 1870s, the value of clothing that was made in New York City increased sixfold. 1880 produced New York City together more clothes than the four toughest competitor cities and 1900 value of goods and quantity were three times as high as that of the second largest industry of the city ( sugar production).

In the early 20th century, largely driven Eastern European workers in the clothing trade. Abraham Cahan wrote in 1917 these immigrants the creation of an American style ( American style): "When strangers and usually without being able to speak English, we Americanized the way to provide clothing for the modest or simple American woman. The average American woman is the best dressed woman in the world and the Russian Jew has very much helped to make this " ( " Foreigners ourselves, and mostly unable to speak English, we had Americanized the system of providing clothes for the American woman of moderate or humble Means. averarge The American woman is the best - dressed woman in the world, and the Russian Jew has had a good deal to do with making her one " ).

Decline of the fashion industry

Cheaper labor and lower production costs abroad have New York City clothing manufacturer hit hard in recent decades. This change forced many fashion designers who could once produce their collections in Manhattan to relocate production abroad, which in turn hit the small Schneideren as well as the suppliers in the Garment District.

Charles Bagli of the New York Times wrote, "Some urban authorities and industry leaders worry that any breakdown in the clothing production also many designers who bring so much luster to New York, will disappear - as the claim of the city to be a fashion capital, which competes with Paris and Milan. The damage would be indisputable, since the two great annual events in the fashion industry - the Fashion Week in September and February - a massive amount of visitors to attract and generate hundreds of millions of dollars " ( " Some city Officials and industry leaders worry did if manufacturing is wiped out, many of the designers who bring so much luster to New York wants to leave, along with the city 's claim to be a fashion capital rivaling Paris and Milan The damage would be undeniable, givenName did the industry 's two big annual events -. Fashion Week in September and February - attract enormous numbers of visitors and generate millions of dollars of dog reds in economic activity " ).

Although these are hard times for the fashion industry of New York City as well as New York's Garment District, there are many organizations who are committed to making sure that the neighborhood retains its importance. One such organization is the Fashion Center Business Improvement District (also The Fashion Center or Fashion Center BID). This nonprofit organization is trying to maintain the vibrancy and dynamism of the Garment District and improve, by acting as a strategic business location for fashion companies and other businesses promotes the area alike. Thus initiated the Fashion Center BID the Fashion Walk of Fame on Seventh Avenue, arts festivals and an information center, the Fashion Center Information Kiosk, which is also located on Seventh Avenue. This " information kiosk " offers fashion professionals, students, visitors and buyers information and services related to the fashion industry.

Save the Garment Center is a campaign that has been launched by various members of the fashion industry in order to obtain the concentration of businesses and shops in the fashion sector in the quarter.

The connection of the Garment District at the local, regional and long-distance makes the district sought after by companies. Within walking distance are the Pennsylvania Station and Grand Central Terminal. During the decline of the fashion manufacturing were building that once housed large production, converted into office space. Thus attracted, among others, accountants, law firms, public relations firms as well as high-technology companies in this area, so this area is now divided equally between fashion company other companies.

Attractions

• The "Fashion Walk of Fame", which is dedicated to the American fashion.
• " Needle threading a button " - sculpture of an oversized needle that an equally oversized button through threaded at the Fashion Center Business Improvement District 's Information Kiosk on Seventh Avenue and 39th Street.
• Statue of Ralph Kramden in his bus driver uniform before the building of the Port Authority.
• The building of the Greenwich Savings Bank.