NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio Unveils Fashion Initiatives Supporting Made in NY

With New York Fashion Week in full swing, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio announced some big plans for Made in NY. Currently, the fashion industry employs approximately 180,000 people in NYC, while the semi-annual fashion weeks inject an economic impact of $887 million USD into the city. Underscoring the importance of fashion to the metropolis, de Blasio unveiled some programs that will be put in place to support the industry and uphold NYC as a fashion capital. Speaking at MILK studios, the plans begin with tripling the city’s current investment in the industry to $15 million from $5 million USD and new initiatives growing Made in NY. Made in NY is a six year old organization that provides space, production and other resources to about 35 NYC designers, allowing them to display their collections during NYFW at no cost. De Blasio outlined programs that would fuel this initiative, directly supporting manufacturers, emerging designers and students. The $15 million initiative will include public-private partnerships, funded by the New York City Economic Development Corp., with additional funding from industry partners. While some programs are already underway, we will be watching the implications of the initiatives in NYC.