Post by Agency on Nov 6, 2007 3:27:31 GMT -5
The Garment District is a neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan, located between Fifth and Ninth Avenues from 34th to 42nd Street. It has been known since the early 20th century as the center for fashion design and manufacturing in the United States.
The Garment District is the fashion center of New York City. Approximately one square mile in area, the district is bordered by the Javits Convention Center at the extreme west, the New York General Post Office, Penn Station, and Madison Square Garden in the center, and the Empire State Building in the east. The neighborhood is home to the warehouses and workshops of the fashion industry.
New York is the fashion capital of the United States, generating over $14 billion in annual sales, and setting design trends that are mirrored worldwide. The industry sustains tens of thousands of jobs in the city, and brings hundreds of millions of dollars to New York through conferences, expositions, Fashion Week and tourism. The fashion industry is the largest single contributor to the city's manufacturing sector. The Garment District is at the center of this billion dollar clothing industry. One third of all clothing manufactured in the US is designed and produced in this neighborhood. Many of the clothing manufacturers maintain outlet stores open to the public.
New York is home to America's world renowned fashion talent. From the industry's most famous designers to its most promising entrepreneurs, fashion makers locate their businesses here, taking advantage of the city's unlimited creative resources. Oscar De La Renta, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Liz Claiborne and Nicole Miller, to name a few, are located in the Garment District. While New York’s days as the textile-manufacturing capital of America may be over, it remains the fashion capital for designers, couture houses and showrooms.
While most of the clothing manufacturing has left the island, there are still numerous fabric shops in the Garment District. Some only carry bridal fabrics and laces, others specialize in woolens but most have a little bit of everything. Most of the goods in these stores are the leftovers from the manufacturers in the city. Apparel fabric wholesalers also have retail stores or showrooms in or near the Garment District. Wholesalers of trims or buttons and other fasteners are clustered nearby. In fact, the Garment District buildings often house similar kinds of businesses to make it easy for buyers to shop the market on foot.