New York City kicked off yesterday New York Fashion Week (NYFW) with a robust, month-long marketing campaign that invested over half a million dollars to promote the City’s booming design and manufacturing sectors, reinforces the expanded Made in NY: Fashion initiative and spotlights talented certified designers in print and video. Twenty-three designers are now officially ‘Made in NY’, with 75 percent of their production made right here in the five boroughs, and more designers are signing up every week.
NYFW is a week-long series of events that take place throughout the City where fashion designers showcase their collections. The semi-annual event generates almost $1B in tourism revenue for the New York City metro area. The de Blasio Administration has made nearly $100 million in investments to strengthen NYC’s home-grown fashion industry by promoting Made in NY designers, developing new space for local fashion manufactures and supporting the sector’s next generation by constructing the first new building on the Fashion Institute of Technology’s campus in decades.
“My grandmother got her start in this country sewing dresses. Fashion is part of the New York City story, and it’s a gateway to creativity and opportunity for thousands of New Yorkers. From workers cutting patterns in Sunset Park, to designers in Midtown, this industry is part of the city’s DNA. We are investing big to make sure the future of fashion is made right here in New York,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The NYC fashion industry, a $98 B industry, is one of the main drivers of the City’s economy with over 900 companies headquartered in the metro area employing over 182,000 people (over 5% of the City’s workforce) generating over $11B in wages and $1.9B in tax revenue annually. Fashion production represents over 30% of manufacturing jobs in the five boroughs, making New York City one of the largest centers of clothing manufacturing in the country. New York City is home to the world’s top fashion design school such as the Fashion Institute of Technology, Parsons The New School for Design, Pratt Institute and LIM College.
To support local designers and fashion production, last year Mayor De Blasio announced the City would invest $15M in the fashion industry and launched the Made in NY: Fashion initiative to help catalyze the growth of emerging designers and brands, support fashion manufacturing, and cultivate a pipeline of industry talent.
This year, a portion of that investment helped reinforce the Made in NY: Fashion initiatives through a comprehensive marketing campaign that highlights Made in NY certified designers B. Michael, Lela Rose, Anya Cole, Rony Vardy of Catbird, and Julie and Jason Alkire of Haus Alkire. The campaign, including print and video produced by Matte Projects, will appear on bus shelters citywide, together with a number of related industry publications and social media.
Additionally, the City refreshed the Made in NY: Fashion website that functions as a one-stop-shop for information and resources for designers seeking certification, funding, and resources to support their brands.
“[Made in NY] is the idea of galvanizing like-minded designers, brands, factories and making sure that NYC remains the fashion capital of the world,” said B. Michael, co-founder of B. Michael America.
In collaboration with the private sector, Made in NY: Fashion supports all levels and components of the fashion ecosystem through various programs and initiatives such as:
The Made in NY certification endows qualifying businesses with exclusive use of the distinguished “Made in NY” mark. Use of this mark will allow fashion brands to tangibly illustrate their commitment to local production and coalesce as a local community.
For more information about Made in NY: Fashion certification and initiatives, visit: https://madeinnyfashion.nyc/
For more information on events taking place throughout the City, visit: http://www.nycgo.com/events/spring-summer-fashion-week
