What NYC Can Teach the World About Fashion's Survival
As New York redefines its fashion identity, what lessons can we take away from its struggles and resilience? For much of the twentieth century, New York City was a fashion capital in name and production. Within a few blocks of Seventh Avenue, designers and garment workers worked hard to develop the clothes that have since defined American style. The Garment District functioned as a strong, interconnected environment where proximity allowed ideas and projects to move quickly. Today, much of that has disappeared, displaced by outsourcing, globalization, rising real estate costs, and shrinking factories. All the while, New York remains central to the industry. As expansion and adaptation change what global fashion looks like, the city is changing to flex into what kind of fashion capital it wants to be, and how it can best survive in an industry of change. The decline of New York’s garment manufacturing was a part of a big transformation in the global economy. Beginning in the 1970s ...
