In March, the Calvin Klein brand has announced the discontinuation of its high-end collections and the closure of its flagship. A few weeks later, the city announced its intention to ban the sale and tailoring of furs. This angered industry professionals, who believe the measure would threaten 1,000 jobs in Manhattan. In May, stylist Tom Ford, the new president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), decided to cut back on New York fashion weeks. Despite the $ 600 million in annual economic benefits for the city, the fashion shows will only last five days (compared to seven previously). Lack of houses and shows capable of retaining investors and clients longer.
Last February, during New York Fashion Week, the Bode collection caused a sensation: the young label was the first to present a men’s line created by a woman. TYRELL HAMPTON
New Habits
“New York retains its title of world capital of haute couture alongside Paris, London and Milan, nuance Shawn Grain Carter, professor of business management at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). Luxury and upscale design are doing very well here, as evidenced by the opening of numerous boutiques in Manhattan’s new Hudson Yards neighborhood. But the entire sector is weakened by real estate prices, which have become astronomical, and new consumption habits. “
The Row brand created by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen recently released their first line for men. François Halard Courtesy of The Row 
In New York, the market again generated more than $ 3 billion in tax revenue in 2017. But Americans spend less on clothing (3% of their budget, compared to 6% forty years ago). And the new generation is changing the rules of the game. It is abandoning department stores to buy online and is itself defining the trends and designers of the moment. “These are the new CEOs of the sector! Shawn Grain Carter jokes. Everyone is trying to adapt. “
Today everything is going faster
Like a symbol, the Garment District, the historic fashion heart located at the foot of the Empire State Building, has emptied. Too old, too expensive … it would have lost another 1,000 jobs between 2017 and 2018, according to the Garment District Alliance. New designers prefer to settle in Brooklyn, where rents are more affordable, in the former Navy Yard shipyards or in the huge warehouses of Sunset Park. “It has become much easier to show your work online, says designer Patrick Weder, whose furniture is all made in Brooklyn. But it’s also more difficult to make a living from it. Some designers had to leave town. “
The Official Rebrand brand offers a line of unisex clothing and claims to be gender-free. @Luna de Buretel featuring Official Rebrand artistfounder MI Leggett 
Mode écoresponsable
To curb the exodus, the municipality has set up various assistance and support programs. More and more private investors are also interested in the emerging scene, propelling some start-ups. For example, Rent the Runway allows you to rent clothes from top designers for a few days. “The period is actually quite exciting! enthuses Michael Londrigan, thirty years in the industry and current vice-president at LIM College, a Midtown establishment with a reputation for the fashion business. These young designers are renewing men’s fashion and are attached to a new ethic: they want to treat employees and subcontractors better and promote eco-responsible fashion, which recycles old clothes and produces locally. “
Atelier & Repairs specializes in luxury recycling. Nicolo Bragantini 
It remains to be seen whether these small independent creators will succeed in establishing themselves in a market that has become increasingly ruthless. “It’s going to be brutal, prophesied stylist Andrew Rosen. Today, everything is going faster, and getting out of it “pretty much” is no longer an option. Either you are an emerging artist, or you have to climb into the top 10. ” A challenge which, at 62, no longer excited the entrepreneur. He has just left the head of the Theory brand, which he launched more than twenty years ago.
–
