Designers Rally To Save The Garment District

Filed Under: Icky Icky Poo Fashion Smashion Marc Jacobs Diane von Furstenberg

Michael Kors, Diane von Furstenberg and Nanette Lepore attended a rally on Wednesday to support New York's Garment Center.

The center's future is looking grim due to zoning laws, which is causing retailers and suppliers to lose their leases while new condos and offices are quickly taking up the space.

Yikes!

Nanette Lepore feels the corporate take over of the area will make the historic Midtown West "look like every other city in America - it will be one big playgrounf from 42nd street down to the entrance of the High Linre. You'll have Chi-Chi's and Olive Gardens and Marriott Marquis and people walking around with big slushies like they do in Las Vegas. I mean, come on - do we need that?"

No they don't! Besides, isn't that what the tourist trap of Times Square is for???

Lepore isn't scared of making this political, either. "It's not fair that a few men can change the face of American fashion because they want out of the rules they have to play by."

Many are blaming this whole thing on Mayor Michael Bloomberg, even though he helped with September's Fashion Night Out.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer agrees that "It is suicide to mess with the Garment Center. It is simply suicide for the city."

Ouch!

A fashion industry insider also took a jab at other designers that were noticeably absent from the rally, which included Donna Karan, Nicole Miller and Marc Jacobs. Says the insider: "A lot of the high-end designers don't think this will affect them. It will be the up-and-coming brands that die out. The names in Bergdorf's and Saks aren't going anywhere, and those labels know it."

With everything going on with the recession and it's effects on retail sales, this is the last thing the fashion industry needs!

[Image via AP Images.]

Posted: October 22, 2009 at 11:30 am