“We'd rather starve quick than starve slow." That was the war cry of the union organizers back in 1926. Well we are starving slow. As far as I can tell we have been starving for the past twenty years.
I recently went to a Board 5 meeting about the garment center and three good points were made for why our beloved garment center was shrinking and in turn dying. 1. The rents are crazy expensive and the ROI for manufacturing just wasn't there. 2. Cost of production overseas just can't be beat. 3. The garment center wasn't sexy. More on that later...
Let’s address current consumer perception. Zara has proven (read they are profitable) that speed to market is the key to having fashion turnover and catching the attention of the consumer. Fast fashion/ wear now are key words in today's retailing. That slow boat from China- No kidding the 4 weeks of transit time from Asia is more than the average turnover at a fast fashion retailer. You can't sell what you don't have. Buying aggressively deep into one over produced "best seller" is "out" with the consumer. Words like limited, crafted and FASHION is what they want. You will never get that from an Asian factory. Price is what you get and price is not always the most important factor. We did a small, very unscientific study. The consumers we reached out to listed what was important to them when buying clothing.
1. Fashion, fit, color
2. Made ethically
3. Had a message or story they believed in
4. Price
I attended a workshop on manufacturing in China and one of the most interesting comments shared was, the new Chinese middle class didn't like Chinese product. I see a reversal of trade happening soon. I also see market share for American made clothing in Europe and in Latin America. And we are not talking about cheap clothing I'm talking about contemporary price points. As more retailers demand clean inventories and designers are cutting back on risk, cut to order production is king! These facts establish that there is, and will continue to grow, a demand for American made product.
Here is a list of what I think local, state and federal government should do to help. I should note I am the first to hate government handouts but when they are giving money to other countries to develop their factories, (Google it) we should come first. Plus this would be a direct ROI for the city and country. Fashion is the biggest business next to finance in New York City.
Improvements:
Let’s give Grant money for equipment and education to current profitable factories.
I have been to third world countries without any indoor plumbing that have state of the art equipment in their factories. I specify profitable factories because if they can stay open under these current conditions they will surely be incredibly successful.
Zoning to keep factories local
I know we live in a capitalist country. I am all about the money even when it’s not about the money. Instead of giving tax rebates and abatements including section 8 housing, give it to the industry. Help with the cost of the rents and maybe down the line we won’t have the need to "bribe", for lack of a better word, developers with tax incentives. Jobs would lessen the need for section 8 since there would be more better paying jobs. Side note: I hate when people say these are unskilled laborer jobs. So not fair, I can't sew a button without hurting myself. These jobs take years of training and experience.
Promote tourism in the garment center factories that are given "the grants" and require that they have their doors open. Factory owners please don't send me hate mail...we would work around your needs.
Ever been to wine country? How about to a brewery? It's the same idea...let's give backstage tours of what we do and how we do it!
Provide retail space for young designers (tourism)
And just like every good tour you must exist through the gift shop. Having been on a cheese factory tour, I came home with 20 pounds of smelly cheese from Italy. It was more fun than it sounds. Think of the local jaded New Yorkers who would love to shop for the next hot new designer.
Build a fashion history and garment center museum with revolving collections sponsored by all of our fashion schools.
We could show documentaries, rent the space to premiere movies that are fashion related or host small fashion shows for the up and coming. It could definitely run at a profit. What I would really love is a space for the industry veterans. They could tell their stories "I remember when million dollar orders were written on the back of cocktail napkins" and they could mentor young designers.
As a buyer I would like REAL market weeks.
I never understood why having a showroom, the vendor still feels like they have to go to the Javits center to do a tradeshow? The answer is that the garment center is not easy to navigate. I remember when 1400 Broadway was JUST dresses, now I sound like an old timer. Let's really put together a market...that means staying open longer and on weekends! Let's get everyone together, the hotels, the restaurants, and let's offer discounts on everything we can. We need to get the boutique buyer back in the garment center. Let's face it, it is the boutique that is going to keep the industry fresh and alive- they’re the best advocate of the young designer.
This is not just the responsibility of one industry. Music, art, film… we all work together on projects, we should work together in business.
Business will never go back to usual. It just doesn't work that way in our world but it will come full circle. Convenience, speed to market, and cut to order is the new China and that's where opportunities lie.
Faithfully,
Mercedes
