Garment District, Manhattan

[1] A study demonstrated that general proximity to New York's Garment District was important to participate in the American fashion ecosystem.

[9] In areas historically part of the Garment District, real estate developers have marketed their projects as being located in Chelsea.

[1] The Garment District is home to a number of well-known designers, their production facilities, warehouses, showrooms, and suppliers of fabric and materials.

Many in the industry allege that this dense concentration of talent, entrepreneurship and supply stores functions like an ecosystem in which each of the parts help sustain the whole.

[13] Major fashion labels such as Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Liz Claiborne, Nicole Miller, Ben-Amun, and Andrew Marc have showrooms, production facilities, or support offices located in the Garment District.

While historically known as the center of textile manufacturing, global trends have changed the way the fashion industry in the Garment District functions.

Over the last 50 years, New York's garment manufacturing sector has experienced a steady decline within the City overall and within the Fashion District specifically.

New York City first assumed its role as the center of the nation's garment industry by producing clothes for slaves working on Southern plantations.

In addition to supplying clothing for slaves, tailors produced other ready-made garments for sailors and western prospectors during slack periods in their regular business.

The need for thousands of ready-made soldiers' uniforms during the American Civil War helped the garment industry to expand further.

[16] German and Central European immigrants to America around the mid-19th century arrived on the scene with relevant business experience and skills just as garment production was passing from a proto-industrial phase to a more advanced stage of manufacture.

[16] With an ample supply of cheap labor and a well-established distribution network, New York City was prepared to meet the demand.

This change has forced many designers who once manufactured their lines in the city to shift production overseas, which has in turn affected small cutting and sewing rooms as well as zipper, button, and supply stores in the Garment District.