Fashion Capital of The World
As with most things, location is a key factor in the success or failure of a model. Being close to jobs means you can get there faster and cheaper, and in the fast-moving fashion industry, a quick turnaround is often a discount. You should always put yourself where the action is. As a general rule, big cities offer more opportunities than smaller areas, as clients and organizations focus there.
There are four major fashion titles in the world: London, Milan, New York and Paris.
London
London has a long history as a fashion designer and world fashion leader, and in recent years it has been named the world’s 1st fashion capital due to the height of Kate Middleton and the London Olympics. Fashion Capital of The World Most overseas modeling agencies have their UK headquarters in London and are the basis for hundreds of fashion photography studios and support groups, including leading photographers for glossy magazines.
London’s fashion center is located in Soho, downtown between Oxford Street and Picadilly Circus. The area is lined with shops and high-quality bars and has a global atmosphere.
Major modeling agencies are mainly based in Central London, around South Kensington and Leicester Square, including: Elite, Storm, Premier Model Management, Models 1, BMA Models and Next Models.
Milan
In 2009 Milan was declared the country’s economic and media capital. Fashion Capital of The World There are many types of world-famous Italian fashion brands with their headquarters in the city, including: Valentino, Gucci, Versace, Prada, Armani and Dolce & Gabbana. Milan Fashion Week is held twice a year and is one of the holy grails of the catwalk models.
New York
The only known fashion capital outside of Europe, New York is a big city that never sleeps and is home to a new cut of style and culture. New York Fashion Week, called Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek in 2009 is held in February and September every year – and was originally the first fashion week.
Paris
Paris has a long history as an center of arts and fashion and is home to several prestigious fashion houses. It is known for the ancient beauty of the designs born there. It has a region of the highest fashion shopping market where all the most specialized labels are available.
In New York, as in Europe, the textile industry went from homework to the textile industry in the mid-19th century. And the workers, necessarily, were foreigners. The same scatterers from Eastern Europe, but also Italians, came to New York where the streets were apparently lined with gold. Fashion Capital of The World What makes New York so special is that the design and production space was so well organized, and while European production declined sharply during the 1929 catastrophe and the second world war, New York suffered but prospered thereafter, apparently taking part in the war and destroying European cities.
The Garment region grew and was said to have had its best day in the 1970s. As Meghana Gandhi, Assistant Director of the Fashion and Sales Team at the New York City Economic Development Corporation, noted, “The biggest obstacle is outside. [After the 70s] the cost of overseas production has decreased … abroad.”
Perhaps there is something strange and interesting about the closing words sung by Liza Minnelli in Martin Scorsese’s 1977 film “New York, New York” when it was re-introduced into the context of making clothes. “If I can’t get there, I’ll go anywhere. Come in, New York, New York.”
While New York was once a production center, it was demoted to a testing center and launched a point of release for other (cheap) production facilities. Clothes were being made less and less in New York City but they just “came and went”.
In 2010, the mayor’s office and other grass root cooperatives launched Fashion NYC 2020, a program to determine how to promote growth in the fashion industry. There was a Fashion Manufacturing Initiative, and it was known that the low-priced industry, stripped of its fast-growing fashion, could emerge from the ashes.
I have made New York my home for design, production and distribution over the past few decades. There are great benefits to just having all the steps of the dress process in one central place when you make a small boutique with a special product. Many entrepreneurs like me continue to produce in the Broadway canals and Garment District in New York – for me, a historical legacy sewn into every underwear I make more.
