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Domestic Début
By admins | September 9, 2009
For those of us passionate about saving the Garment Center and supporting the New York fashion industry, we have received some good and bad news this week. It seems that Mayor Bloomberg is pushing forward his plan to protect limited Garment Center space. It’s great to finally get some zoning protection but this plan falls short of its goal. In 1987 the city of New York passed zoning laws to protect our neighborhood; however by the mid 90’s these regulations were no longer enforced. It seemed like a bright light for our industry when Bloomberg announced the fashion industry was, “a vital part of our city’s economy generating billions of dollars annually” and it’s “more important than ever as we work to retain and create jobs during these difficult times.” However, Bloomberg like many politicians, has not lived up to our expectations. This latest proposal will actually only protect one or two buildings and the rest of the Garment Center will be fair game. The Garment Center has a long and rich history and is one of the few centralized locations in the world where designers, manufactures, fashion schools, fabric and trim shops, and fashion publishing coexist in a few short blocks.
Thankfully there are some who believe in the success of the New York fashion industry and are actually helping support emerging designers. An excellent example of this is Lisa Weiss, owner of Début. Début, on Mulberry Street, is a unique gallery-esque clothing shop. Lisa opened Début after seeing how young designers struggled with the exorbitant costs of developing a clothing line in NYC. As a former FIT student, she knew the challenge as well and saw the need for a platform in which emerging designers with small collections would be welcome. She has also worked closely with Parsons School of Design in showcases their students work. We were lucky enough to attend a fashion week meet-up hosted by the lovely Dream Sequins at Début yesterday. We saw an eclectic mix of innovative designs from designers across the globe and were thoroughly impressed with the concept as well as the diverse product. Check out some photos below, we particularly loved the cocktail dress embellished with zipper teeth by Aminaka Wilmont.
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Topics: garment center, shop | 6 Comments » 
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September 9th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Bloomberg is full of shit. He’d sell out this neighborhood to the highest condo builder if he could. But the real estate market crashes and gave us a reprieve!
Debut is pretty cool, been there before and the zipper dress is HOT! When I was in school there was no support for fashion students unlike today, well done Lisa.
September 9th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
It was great seeing you there!
September 9th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
swifty is right on the money about bloomberg what a piece of work. i love what debut stands for; the nyc fashion industry thanks you.
September 9th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
I’ve given you an award: http://tinyurl.com/lyexxj
September 9th, 2009 at 11:23 pm
Aww! Would’ve loved to have met you – I am sure we will cross paths very soon especially since you are a fellow Midtown Girl too!
Let’s make it happen – XOXO
September 10th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
the bloomberg plan sucks, watching the garment center shrink over the last 15 years (& really, really rapidly the last 7-8) kills me. I would love to get back into manufacturing my line here, in NYC again, (I currently do only custom made) but I fear it would become impossible if the garment center is relegated a “ghetto” status. The op-ed in the NYT by nanette lepore & robert savage sums it up very well. http://tinyurl.com/r7tmjf