It's especially fun to live in New York City at this time of year.
Each September, New Yorkers and visitors from around the world are treated to the U.S. Open and New York Fashion Week, two events that shine a spotlight on our city and generate more than $1.5 billion in economic impact for our area.
And even if you don’t care much about tennis or fashion, you might appreciate the extra business these events bring to our city. I sure do.
We know that sports is big business and the U.S. Open is no exception, bringing an estimated $800 million in economic benefit.
Less well known is that fashion is very big business—in New York and around the world. Fashion is a $1.75 trillion global industry, with $370 billion spent last year in the United States, according to a Joint Economic Committee Democratic staff report. In New York City alone, fashion is a $98 billion industry.
The industry creates jobs—more than 1.8 million people are employed in the fashion—and apparel-related industries across the country. Ten percent of these jobs are in New York City.
The fashion industry employs more than 183,000 people in New York City, pays nearly $11 billion in wages and generates almost $2 billion in tax revenue each year.
While many of the apparel manufacturing jobs that once were located in the garment district have moved offshore, the apparel manufacturing jobs that remain are focused where the U.S. has a competitive advantage in high-fashion, quick-turnaround, high-margin orders. And we’re seeing more and more of these high-paying jobs in New York City.
As we’ll see on display this week, the fashion designers are the key drivers of the industry’s creative process. Big names, emerging players and the mega brands all contribute to the growing creative economy.
The number of people working as fashion designers in the United States has increased by nearly 50% in the past 10 years. New York City and Los Angeles, the two largest fashion hubs in the United States, are home to nearly two-thirds of all U.S. fashion designers.
With this week’s show, which ends Thursday, New York kicks off a fashion month that stretches around the globe. New York, London, Milan and Paris will all hold Fashion Weeks between now and Oct. 8. By many measures, New York has surpassed these perennial powers as the fashion capital of the world.
According to the New York City Economic Development Corp., more than 900 fashion companies have their headquarters in New York City and the city is the largest retail market in the country, with more than $18 billion in annual sales.
Just the semiannual New York Fashion Weeks by themselves, held this month and in February, generate close to $900 million in economic impact each year.
As we enjoy the latest fashions this week, we should also be looking for new ways to bolster this important industry. Made in NY, which works to benefit the city’s fashion industry, and programs to provide bridge loans to help fashion designers get their products to market are important tools in supporting fashion and our economy.
This year’s show is different in many respects with more locations around the city, more content online and even a NYFW app that live-streams runway shows and other content. If you like fashion, there are plenty of ways to follow what’s going on this year.
I love the excitement around Fashion Week. Impeccable style not only epitomizes New York, it puts New Yorkers to work.
The economic impact of the fashion industry is big and getting bigger. And, maybe it's just me, but New York Fashion Week along with the U.S. Open seem to extend summer for just a few more days—and who can argue with that?
