NYCEDC Launches Campaign To Promote Made In NY

In advance of the semi-annual New York Fashion Week (NYFW) that kicks off tomorrow, New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) will launch a three-week marketing campaign that consists of print, social media, digital, and video to spotlight the City’s growing fashion design and manufacturing sector, and to promote a diverse array of Made in NY certified fashion designers.
To support local designers and fashion production, Mayor de Blasio tripled the City’s investment in the fashion industry in 2015 from $5M to $15M. He also launched the Made in NY: Fashion initiative to catalyze the growth of emerging designers and brands, galvanize the fashion design and manufacturing community, and cultivate a pipeline of industry talent. Thirty-three designers are now officially ‘Made in NY’ certified, with 75 percent of their production manufactured within the five boroughs.

The robust spring 2017 marketing campaign tells the stories of four unique Made in NY certified designers, Alejandra Alonso Rojas, CADET, DANNIJO, and Maiyet. The campaign includes documentary-style video, print, social media and web content and will appear on bus shelters and newsstands citywide. The campaign encourages more New York City-based designers to become part of the Made in NY certified community.  Designers featured in the campaign explain why Made in NY certification is important to them, why they choose to produce their merchandise in the City, and the benefits of their certification through real-world examples.

“New York City’s brand power, our talent and our proximity to market are a powerful combination. We see incredible potential for Made in NY fashion, and more importantly, it’s clear that innovative designers see it, too. We are committed to putting our investment and our marketing behind this industry,” said Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen.

“New York City’s iconic fashion industry is a big driver of our economy. And much like New Yorkers themselves, the fashion sector is powered by its creativity and entrepreneurial spirit,” said NYCEDC President and CEO James Patchett. “We know the future of fashion is Made in New York, and by driving more customers to our emerging designers and manufacturers we’ll help them grow their businesses and create good jobs for even more New Yorkers.”

“We want to be ethical, and Made in NY certification signifies that,” said Alejandra Alonso Rojas, Co-Founder and Creative Director, Alejandra Alonso Rojas.

“By manufacturing locally, we are able to work directly with our factories every single day if we need to.” Raúl Arévalo and Brad Schmidt, Co-Founders, CADET.

“The great thing about making our jewelry in New York is that it makes our creative process so hands-on. Our ability to create these handmade pieces in New York City has allowed us to touch the product all the way from start to finish,” said Jodie Snyder Morel and Danielle Snyder, Co-Founders, DANNIJO.

“Made in NY means supporting the local economy and sustaining local manufacturing. We’re doing our part to protect New York City’s fashion legacy,” said Paul van Zyl, CEO and Co-Founder, Maiyet.

The NYC fashion industry, a $98B industry, is one of the main drivers of the City’s economy with over 900 companies headquartered in the metro area that employ more than 182,000 people (over 5% of the City’s workforce). The industry generates over $11B in wages and $1.9B in city tax revenue annually. Fashion production represents over 30% of manufacturing jobs in the five boroughs, making New York City the second largest hub of garment manufacturing in the country. New York City is also home to the world’s top fashion design schools such as the Fashion Institute of Technology, Parsons School of Design, Pratt Institute, and LIM College.

Through collaboration with the private sector, Made in NY: Fashion supports all levels and components of the fashion ecosystem through various programs and initiatives such as:

• Made in NY Certification
  Made in NY certification grants use of the distinguished “Made in NY” mark for qualifying businesses. Use of this mark allows fashion brands to tangibly illustrate their commitment to local production and coalesce as a local community.
• NYC Fashion Production Fund
  The Fashion Production Fund was launched in partnership with Capital Business Credit in June 2014. The fund provides emerging designers with production financing at below-market rates and flexible terms to cover the costs of purchase orders. Loans awarded range between $50,000 and $300,000, with terms from 30 to 120 days. Since 2015, the fund has provided 30 loans, a total of $2.5 million in financing, to emerging NYC-based designers in order to manufacture their collections locally.
• Fashion Manufacturing Initiative
  The Fashion Manufacturing Initiative (FMI) was launched in 2013 at the request of the industry. FMI is a program of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) in partnership with NYCEDC and Founding Partner Andrew Rosen. It was created to nurture, elevate, and preserve garment production in New York City, ultimately providing a way to connect fashion designers with local manufacturing. The FMI program includes the FMI Grant Program, workforce development, the NYC Production Resources Database, and professional development & Made in NY collaborations.

NYFW is a week-long series of events that take place throughout the City where fashion designers showcase their collections. The semi-annual event generates almost $1B in tourism revenue for the New York City metro area. The de Blasio Administration has invested  nearly $100 million to strengthen NYC’s world-renown fashion industry by promoting Made in NY designers and developing new, affordable workspace for local fashion manufacturers.

Please visit the Made in NY: Fashion website, a one-stop-shop for information on attaining certification, funding, and resources to support their brands.

For more information on Fashion Week events taking place throughout the City, visit:  http://fashionweekonline.com/new-york