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Made in Midtown
By admins | March 21, 2010
Made in Midtown from Design Trust for Public Space on Vimeo.
Today we have the inside scoop for you on a new and upcoming project called, Made in Midtown. The CFDA has partnered with the Design Trust to study New York’s fashion industry and its relationship to the Garment Center. They will be launching a full website in April, but you can check out a preview of it here. The above video, courtesy of MadeinMidtown.org provides some fascinating insight, from fashion designers and Garment Center supporters, Diane von Furstenberg and Yeohlee Teng.
Made in Midtown will work to guide city policy on land use and zoning in the Garment District by creating a compelling and feasible vision for the role of creative industry in NYC. They intend to make our neighborhood’s industrial ecosystem visible and accessible to a broad public audience. We look forward to following their progress and we’ll keep all of you up to date on their launch.
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Fashion Director Contest
By admins | March 19, 2010
We got the scoop about a design contest courtesy of Macy’s and the prize is a $500 gift card! Just in time for spring shopping, this contest is awarding prizes everyday for the whole month. This will be a no-brainer contest for all our design professionals and our dear fashion blogger friends will excel in getting the voting numbers needed. So we encourage you all to check it out. Here’s more details from Macy’s:
Macy’s FASHION DIRECTOR DAILY FASHION CHALLENGE is a 30-day contest that lets fashionistas put it all together. By mixing and matching the right pieces around a daily theme, participants get the chance to win a $500 gift card every day. The interactive outfit maker at lets you combine the season’s hottest fashions and accessories to style, shop, and share the perfect look. From putting together an outfit for a blind date to selecting the perfect look for a big work presentation, the challenges will mirror everyday situations, as well as special occasions.
Using the mix and match tool, participants can virtually select pieces to create unique outfits ideal for the challenge of the day. Suggested pieces from Macy’s Spring 2010 collections will help those in need of guidance.
Are you up for the fashion challenge? Here is how it works –
- Build the perfect outfit by dragging pieces to the virtual canvas until you are satisfied with the look
- Once completed, click submit to enter your outfit into the voting gallery
- Share your look on Facebook and Twitter and invite your friends and family to vote for your outfit
- The outfit that gets the most votes each day will win that day’s challenge and a $500 Macy’s gift card
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Fashion Flashback – The Copycat
By admins | March 17, 2010
Diane Von Furstenberg dress knocked off by Forever 21
(Fashion Flashback – Originally posted on 2/19/09 – It was just over a year ago when this article was originally posted, and we thought in honor of the recent Oscars and our popular new post on the fashion calendar, it would be a good time to revisit a trend that is unfortunately thriving in the fashion industry. The below post should shed some facts on the issue of knocking off and you may want to click here for more details on the topic. It is certainly a fine line, between knocking-off somebody’s work, versus using high-end fashion as inspiration for affordable , trendy items for the masses.)
Being in the midst of award season and fashion week, we all are coveting the exquisite yet ridiculously expensive fashions on display. While many of us cannot afford couture, we turn to more affordable brands to give us our fashion fix. Although there is a grave difference between making style affordable to the masses, and straight up copying another designer’s product. Many designers and brands have made a name for themselves by knocking off high-end designers. Chief among them is the brand ABS, who quickly parades their red carpet Oscar knockoffs on morning shows across the country following the Academy Awards. Recently, ABS and fashion label Faviana, débuted gowns inspired by Michelle Obama’s inaugural fashions on the Today Show. Couture evening wear is not the only garment class being copied; actually every category is subject to copycats. Stores like Forever 21 and H&M have made multimillion dollar businesses out of knocking off designer looks for less.
Many would argue, as we did here, that all fashion is in some sense copying from elsewhere. Designers, high-end and low, all get inspiration from somewhere and are influenced by what they see in their daily lives, including from fashion rivals. Next time you wander through a mall or department store, see if you can find a garment that is not in some way similar to an existing design; be it in color, fabric, silhouette, or overall aesthetic. But back to the original issue, what about those brands whose true intention is to knock off a particular item as close to the original as possible. The most common question we get is, “is that even legal?” In short, yes unfortunately, it is legal.
Unlike most products in the United States, fashion design is not protected by intellectual property law. While your trademark is protected, like the Levi’s V embroidery, Lacoste’s alligator, or Louis Vuitton’s interlocking LV, the actual garment design is not. Copyright law which protects most artistic works, has an exception for functional creations. So, if your garment is wearable, which of course it is, then it is not protected by law. There is some good news for you graphic designers, graphics like screen prints or original patterns do seem to be covered as artwork. People will often remark, if you have a great design idea you should get a patent for it. Unfortunately, patents only apply to completely new inventions, which as we mentioned above, fashion design is never completely original. This is the reason for the Victoria’s Secret patent “pending” bra campaign. Additionally, in the fast paced world of fashion, by the time the US patent office approved you, your design would no longer be on trend. For more information on the issue of fashion copycats here is a great site counterfeitchic.com
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34th Street Evolution
By admins | March 15, 2010
Today we have a shopping treat from our dear friend, down the block, Tricia Lewis. Tricia works for the 34th Street Partnership, a non-profit business improvement district that manages a 35-block area surrounding 34th Street. She writes a blog, Fashion Herald, to promote retailers in the district and provide a resource for shoppers. So many of you work in the neighborhood and know 34th Street is the place to shop around here, whether you have to run out at lunch to snag some make-up at Macy’s, stop by Banana Republic to pick up a shirt for your man, or mostly for all you designers, to trend research, check out competitors, and see how your products look on the racks. Well, there are lots of changes going on down the street and Tricia is going to fill us in!
It was great timing for 39th & Broadway to ask me about new stores coming to 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan, as there are so many upcoming changes that even I was getting confused! It is, truly, turning into musical stores down there. Let’s talk 34th Street between 5th & 6th Avenues, what is considered the prime block:
Aldo moved down 34th Street next door to the new Geox store, in a brand new space at 29 W. 34th;
Aeropostale moved into the old Aldo space at 15 W. 34th (Aeropostale also has a store just down 6th Avenue in Manhattan Mall, and their new tween concept store, P.S. by Aeropostale, opened in Manhattan Mall last spring);
Spanish retailer Desigual is moving into the old Bakers Shoes space; (We are super excited about this one, if you haven’t been to their Soho store check out their website here and await their 34th Street opening)
Bakers Shoes is moving down the block on 34th Street;
Korean retailer Who.A.U. is moving into the old Kira Plastinina space on the south side of the street;
An 18,000 Esprit flagship is opening soon at 21-25 W. 34th next to Aldo and Geox; (So thrilled for Esprit – we are having 80’s grade school flashbacks already!)
Foot Locker is moving out, and an Original Levi’s store is moving in at 43 W. 34th.
Bare Escentuals opened a new boutique last spring on the south side of 34th Street, and don’t forget the addition of JCPenney in Manhattan Mall last summer.
There are fewer changes down the block: at the corner of 34th & 7th, Tourneau is moving out and Swarovski is moving in its new concept store, Crystal Source. But the future is full of exciting opportunities for 34th between 7th and 8th Avenues. Older stores (including two Conways), are moving out, and lots of space is opening up, which further fuels rumors of popular big retailers coming into the district. I could speculate, but let’s keep it to fantasy: JCrew, Topshop, and American Apparel are just a few I’d love to see on 34th Street. (Yes Tricia, lets make this happen! Also, anybody else wish we had a good restaurant around?)
Why so much growth and change, particularly in a down retail climate? Mainly one major factor: pedestrian traffic. In the 34th Street district, it’s huge. Imagine, at our busiest corners, almost 9,000 people pass through during rush hour, and an estimated one million people pass through the district a day. Fifteen subway lines converge on the area that includes the Empire State Building, Macy’s Herald Square, Penn Station, and Madison Square Garden. You can imagine how attractive all this is to retailers: for example, the Gap at 34th & Sixth is the largest volume store in the country
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So yes, the reason why some of us New Yorkers are cursing while walking down Broadway and 34th (maneuvering our way around crowds and tourists staring at the Empire State Building), is the same reason why retailers are eager to join the block. My recommendation? Walk down Broadway Boulevard and through pretty Herald and Greeley Squares, so then you can enjoy the ride!
Our thanks to Tricia for all the insider scoop and be sure to check out her fantastic blog, Fashion Herald!
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Links à la Mode
By admins | March 13, 2010
Do you get spring fever? Oh man… the itch to run around outside in flowery prints and frilly laces gets greater and greater each passing day. To heck with chunky sweaters! This week we have a load of great spring style posts, Holier Than Now checks out cape coats, if you’re strapped for cash Out of Order gives the perfect 45min spring skirt tutorial, so cute! And girly clothes not your thing? The Demoiselles have a great homage to gender-bending unisex looks. So on this rainy weekend, sit back and enjoy the best fashion blog posts from around the web, better known as, Links à la Mode.
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Garment Center, Next Hipster Neighborhood?
By admins | March 11, 2010
It stared with a recent article in the NY Times and the rumblings continued online and throughout the city, is the Garment Center about to become the new “it” neighborhood? For those of us familiar with the neighborhood, it certainly seems to contain all of the proper elements. Lower rents then surrounding areas (check), large loft spaces (check), artist and designers (check), a certain grungy feel (check), old school mom and pop shops (check), plus, unlike Williamsburg or LIC the Garment Center is centrally located. We’ve written many times before about the shrinking of the Garment Center as domestic clothing manufacturing has moved overseas leaving our neighborhood factories vacant. Thankfully much of the area has zoning protection to support the local fashion industry. However, due to our close proximity to the theater district, many smaller theater companies have started infiltrating the Garment Center. So in addition to fashion industry designers and artists, there’s also a growth of actors, musicians, costume designers, and directors. As Shira Beckerman the Director of the Pearl Theater Company told the NY times, “If you walk through the area it sort of looks like an arts district developing.”
While it’s hard for us to imagine our neighborhood (directly between two of the country’s biggest tourists spots, Times Square and Herald Square) becoming the next SoHo, it’s not exactly unthinkable. Add in an overpriced nightclub, indie bookstore, a gastro pub, a pop-up art gallery, and we’re a haven for hipsters. In some ways that could be very good for the neighborhood, as long as our workspaces (which should be protected for the fashion industry) don’t become high-end lofts for wealthy parents to buy for their recent grads. Perhaps the Garment Center can improve and update their grungy hip factor, while at the same time protecting our manufacturing and fashion core.
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Death By Over-Scheduling
By admins | March 9, 2010
(Part One)
A while back we mentioned that skinny jeans were hazardous to your health, well now, we’d say the fashion calendar is a hazard to our industry. In our business the fashion calendar and the time from development to market, has gotten so tight that it is strangling our creativity and killing our profits. The old system of fashion collections being shown on the runway six months before they hit the store, or featured in fashion magazines months before the consumer could purchase them, or even merchandise on the floor a season before the customer could feasibly wear it, is all part of an outdated and broken system. While the last issue is no longer a major obstacle, as thankfully we are not forced to buy wool coats in July anymore (especially thanks to online shopping), the other two issues, especially fashion week, are major problems.
There was a recent article in the WSJ addressing the issue of getting clothes from catwalk to closet, faster. The six month delay allows fast fashion chains like Forever 21 and H&M time to knock off designers and have the more affordable imitations available in stores even before the originals. To combat this issue some designers have begun putting their collections into production before they walk the runway and made them available for sale immediately following their shows. Designers Norma Kamali, Cynthia Rowley, and Burberry have recently tried this tactic with extremely lucrative results. The WSJ also mentions that part of the problem is the designer’s collections are featured in Vogue or Elle and the customer sees them, but by the time they are available in stores they no longer appear fresh and new to the shopper. We would also like to add that the role of fashion blogs have tightened the calendar even more, as the shopper does not have to wait a month for Vogue but can go online immediately and view the pieces within 24 hours of the show.
For most designers and brands, fashion week do not equal sales, as very few actually show during the week. And for those that do show, much of the actual selling and ordering takes place in the showroom. While fashion week gets the media attention and is a PR darling for the high-end designers, many of us know that far more of the world’s apparel gets sold during market week not fashion week and sales often get done in private showings not on the runway. However, to the shopper and of course to fashion’s marketing, PR, media, bloggers, and celebs, fashion week is the Holy Grail. But many of us realize the current model is no longer effective for either end of the industry.
It seems to us a decision needs to be made as to the purpose of fashion week and if that purpose is advertising and immediate retail (not wholesale) sales than put photographers and bloggers in the front row, move the calendar forward to meet the production requirements, schedule fashion week closer to the actual season when goods hit the floor for shoppers to purchase immediately. If the intent is to use fashion week as industry event to generate internal buzz and initiate wholesale buying then it should be kept that way, and moved back to the Garment center. The problem is for many years fashion week worked for both sides of the business, but that is just no longer feasible. Between online shopping, new media, consumers buy now mentality and the increasing production times for oversea manufacturing, fashion week can no longer accommodate both needs effectively.
As you may have noticed, we marked this post as “Part One” that is because the fashion calendar is not just detrimental to fashion week and high-end designers, but also for the rest of the apparel industry. Those of us working for big brands, private label lines, vertical retailers, and everyone from Walmart to Saks are suffering from calendar woes as well. These designers, due to production issues, bureaucracy, and the micro-managing of creativity, are also suffering. They companies require designers to design a year or more ahead of calendar. The product then suffers and often looks dated and unoriginal, while the designers end up like this. So stay tuned for a follow up post from this perspective too.
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