PUBLIC SCHOOL, one of our {CFDA Fashion Incubator} esigners, jacket in the making. |
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other industry supporters used the 27-page report to highlight the need to enhance the city as a top destination for designers and fashion design entrepreneurs, bolster its reputation as a hub of the wholesale trade and department stores and as a global center for fashion media, marketing and retailing. The report listed several ways to help the city fashion industry stand apart — attract top talent to enhance the business side of fashion, set up more networking and metoring opportunities, develop a hub of innovation for specialty and multichannel stores and assist emerging designers with loans for production and vetted local factories.
From 2004 to 2009, consumer spending at U.S. off-price retailers grew at 6 percent annually, while spending at mid-tier department stores fell by 4 percent annually, the report noted. On a more positive note, New York fashion week generates $532 million in direct visitor spending and $865 million in total economic impact each year.