Getting to Know the Garment District

If you want to see the center of fashion for New York City, the Garment District is the place to go. But, it's not what you might expect. Fashion Week and long lanky models come to mind, but it's more gritty than glamorous. If you want to delve into the industry, you have to go behind the scenes into the fabric stores and warehouses that make the designer clothing.

The Garment District has always had a reputation for fashion, but it took some serious reworking to get it in the state it is now. Government had to come in and eliminate mobs and gangs that ran the area and set up reform. Now it's finally becoming more of a commercial and residential spot that holds an air of charm it didn't have before.

It started with European immigrants who came over during World War II. New York started producing a lot of garments in 1880, but it wasn’t until the mid 20th century that the district really took off. That’s when the Europeans who knew how to make clothes started trickling in.

However, it took a bad turn in the 1920s when gangs ran the area. One of the biggest bosses, Carlo Gambino, controlled the worker unions with violence and took the government's power until 1990 when the feds took over.

Now a lot of the district has turned into commercial businesses with a few residences. Roughly 3,371 people live there between Eighth and Ninth avenues, and the demographic varies. The rents for designers are going up though, and they are moving out of the district. Some designers like Anna Sui have taken steps to “Save the Garment Center.”

But some big designers still have showrooms in there. Try to find Nanette Lepore, Oscar De La Renta, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Liz Claiborne and Nicole Miller if you want to celebrity spot!

It's a diverse area with young wannabe fashion designers walking around with the business types and the immigrants who have come over to make a fashion career for themselves.

So now that you have the background, I bet you are just itching to go visit! It’s a great place, and you can spend a lot of time just searching around for things to do. The district has a lot to offer so go enjoy!