Garment District Revelation Of The Prosperity And Decline Of New York'S Clothing District

Will China's major clothing market go on the same path as the New York clothing area?

The famous New York clothing area (Garment District) was founded in 1919, and it is just one hundred years to this year.

If the garment industry began to calculate in nineteenth Century, the time span would be more than two centuries, and the period experienced the birth, development, prosperity and decline of the whole process.

In the early nineteenth Century, New York was the largest textile storage and distribution center in the United States, which has become the unique advantage of the garment industry.

From 1828 to 1858, because of the emergence of sewing machines, the apparel industry in the United States became the fastest growing industry in all industries, and the purchase of uniforms in the American Civil War between 1861 and 1864 further promoted the development of the garment industry.

Subsequently, the influx of external immigrants, especially Jewish immigrants, provided a large number of skilled and cheap labor force for the development of the garment industry, and ensured the sustained and stable development of the garment industry.

The process is also full of twists and turns and even the cost of life. What is most regrettable is the fire accident in the triangle shirt factory in March 1911, which resulted in 146 deaths.

The clothing production in New York was initially completed in the family workshop. Due to the poor working and living conditions in the rental housing, smallpox and pests spread through clothing. In order to improve the situation, a LOFT factory with light and ventilation conditions has been greatly improved, similar to the workshop of Panyu and Baiyun Dashi in Guangzhou.

Of course, the problem is not in this kind of building, but in the management to prevent workers from leaving early, often locking the door from the outside, resulting in tragedy.

At this time, the clothing industry is still concentrated in Fifth Avenue.

Later, the Robert Grier Cooke, the founder and President of the Fifth Avenue Association, decided to build the "safe" Central Business District, just like Bond Street in London, Parkes street in Paris and linden street in Berlin.

And the clothing industry here is also forced to move to Seventh Avenue (East) to Ninth Avenue (West), 34 Street (South) and 40 Street (North), that is, the present position.

In 1920, the new clothing Cooperation Center building was completed, announces the formal birth of New York garment district.

Then came the prosperity of the local clothing industry and the real estate industry. Until 1926, the construction industry in the garment district was the fastest growing area in New York, and the rental cost was also increasing.

In order to sell the large quantities of garments produced quickly, the fashion week of New York was born in 1943.

Although the fashion week in Paris was born in 1910, it is mostly a personal custom made garment. It is far from that in New York fashion week.

This prosperity lasted until the end of World War II in 1945.

Prosperity is failing.

Starting in 1950s, sportswear became popular. Just like today's popular casual clothing is becoming popular again, because it belongs to the wild style, and is consistent with the prevailing lifestyle of the middle class at that time. It is more important to meet the needs of people moving out of large cities such as New York.

Because the production of such products needs more space, the clothing area is difficult to meet, and the rent is high. In addition, the International Union of women's clothing workers protects the wages of the workers, making the total cost more difficult to bear. More and more factories are moving to the Pennsylvania and Texas states where the rent is cheap, the area is bigger and the trade union power is not covered.

The house leak was caught in continuous rain.

Starting in 1960s, cheap clothing from Hongkong, Seoul and Dhaka began to pour into New York. By 1980s, imported garments accounted for more than 50% of the total clothing consumption in the United States, and now 97% of the clothing in the United States is imported.

With the influx of cheap clothing overseas, garment enterprises in New York garment district have been decreasing from 10000 in 1958 to 800 in 2009.

Today, the clothing area is flooded with high-grade office buildings, hotels and apartments.

Since 2000, the voice and action of saving the New York area have been emerging, mainly from non-governmental organizations such as New York city Economic Development Corporation, the American Fashion Designers Association and the clothing District Alliance.

In June this year, the New York municipal government said it would implement a comprehensive support policy for clothing production.

For all that,

It is still a famous fashion center in the United States and the world. The world-famous Parsons School of design and FIT are all here. The fashion week in New York is still on the way.

The spirit remains the same!

China's clothing export growth is in a downward path.

The development of New York garment district gives us the following enlightenments: first, cost is the decisive factor in the garment industry and other labor-intensive industries.

Because of the influx of a large number of immigrants, the region flourished because of the abundance of labor supply, which reduced labor costs, but the rise of trade unions also inhibited the development of the garment industry. The large import of garments produced in overseas areas with lower cost abroad directly led to the decline of the clothing area; the two was clothing.

The design link determines the fashion and influence of a region and a city. Three, a country's industrial division in the world has an important impact on clothing and other labor-intensive industries. Since 80s, the United States has shifted labor-intensive industries to overseas, and has concentrated its efforts on developing high-tech industries. It has formed an unassailable position and an unparalleled scientific and technological competitiveness. Four, the internationalization of a country's currency has also affected the development of the industry. The US dollar is an international currency, which can directly print banknotes to buy global products. Therefore, even if 97% of the clothing consumption comes from imports, there is no need to worry about the trade deficit and the ability to pay.

Will China's major clothing market go up and New York in the future?

The same way? The trend will be so. At present, the textile industry has been migrating to overseas low-cost areas, the design level is also improving, and the RMB is steadily moving towards the international market, but this process will be quite long, because the large market of China's 1 billion 400 million population will provide huge buffer space. All changes will not be obvious in a short period of time.