Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12), joined by New York City Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen, and FIT President Joyce F. Brown, appeared at FIT on Thursday, February 18, to release a new report on the economic impact of the fashion industry.
The release of the report coincided with New York Fashion Week, which, combined with New York Fashion Week held in September, attracts more than 200,000 attendees to the city and generates nearly $900 million in total economic impact.
“Fashion is an amazing center of creativity and activity and job production,” Maloney said. “It’s a huge magnet for creating jobs. … Today I’m proud to release this important report, and I hope we continue to celebrate fashion, the industry, and fashion jobs.”
The report, compiled by the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, of which Maloney is the ranking member, shows the importance of fashion as an economic driver. The industry―including design, manufacturing, wholesale, and retail―provides approximately 183,000 jobs in New York City, about six percent of the city’s private sector workforce.
“Equally important is the extraordinary number and diversity of the workforce that makes up fashion,” said Glen. “It’s not just the glamorous part of fashion, it’s the people who work every day sewing, cutting, dreaming, making machines, putting it together in a way that’s really fueling the economy. … The convergence of technology and old industry is allowing us to reposition New York in this extraordinary way to build on our legacy as a fashion capital but also to take it to the next level.”
“And it all starts here at FIT,” Brown noted. “With young, talented students who become the backbone of the fashion industry.”
See WWD’s coverage of the event here.