NYC to support emerging designers…well a few anyway
At the 14th Annual Women’s Wear Daily CEO Summit, New York’s Deputy Mayor Robert K. Steel announced six initiatives for long-term growth for New York City’s fashion industry. The programs are the direct result of Fashion NYC 2020, a year long research project that studied fashion in New York City and identified challenges that face emerging designers. The list sadly fell quite flat, reeking of amateurish zeal. The six ambiguous promises to bolster fashion in NYC include:
NYC Fashion Fund, which will assist designers in gaining the capital necessary to fund production, marketing, and other support services.
The second, Project Pop-up is an annual competition where the winning designer will be positioned to potentially open a “pop-up” store to showcase their designs and concept.
New York City Fashion Draft is another annual program that will allow for a select group of students to partake in a series of interviews with the goal of exposing them to the business side of fashion.
The fourth program, Fashion Campus NYC aims to enroll students in business seminars and will also provide an internet based resource about living and working in New York City.
Fifth, New York City Fashion Fellows is designed to give 30 promising individuals interested in the management side of the industry the opportunity to receive tailored mentoring services and networking opportunities.
The sixth program, Designer as Entrepreneur aims to provide a talented few with the tools and direction necessary to successfully manage the fashion business.
Obviously the initiatives were developed with good intentions, however we doubt the significant impact of a week of interviews for students, or an annual competition that may or may not result in a temporary pop-up store really contribute to the long term growth of the City’s fashion industry. Vague promises and college coaching doesn’t provide the type of support that New York’s garment district and fashion industry need. Doesn’t an industry that employees165,000 people of immense talents and creates $2 billion in tax revenue a year deserve more? We think so.
Sources:
Pasquarelli, Adrianne. “Fashion world reacts to Bloomberg initiatives.” Crain’s New York Business. Com. 3 November 2010.
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20101103/SMALLBIZ/101109941
“Mayor Bloomberg Announces Six Initiatives to Grow NYC’s Fashion Industry.” Press Releases, 2 November 2010.
