When most people think of the fashion industry, they think about New York. The fashion industry is a vital part of New York City. The city has more headquarters of fashion retailers and designers than any other city in the country. The city is at the center of American fashion offering large pools of unmatched talent. New York is home to more than 75 leading fashion shows and thousands of showrooms. New York attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. The nation’s leading fashion schools are also located in New York.

The fashion industry emerged in New York City in the 1800’s, when the city was a hub of clothing manufacturing activity. Now the industry is the most prominent sector in New York. It is one of the small numbers of industries that compel considerable wholesale activity, direct employment and visitor spending. New York City has always been the preeminent capital of global fashion and serves as the headquarters to more than 875 fashion companies and hosts one of the four major biannual fashion weeks.

Fashion week is one of the most visible and important components of the fashion industry in New York City. The two fashion weeks have increased in size over the last 15 years from 32,000 attendees to an estimated 230,000 attendees every year of which 50 percent are out-of-town visitors. Throughout the city fashion week produces 466 million dollars in visitor spending or 233 million dollars each week. Thousands of fashion insiders gather in New York during fashion week to see fashions most respected and talented designers present their collections. In addition, the city is the hub of fashion design, boasting a number of top design schools.

The unique thing in New York, regarding the fashion industry is that all elements of the industry are served on a big scale. With well over 5,000 wholesale showrooms, no other city even comes close to New York City, in terms of concentration of manufacturers, fashion and apparel brands. The garment center is the showroom core of New York City. Trade shows and showrooms draws over 578,000 annual visits to the city.

Many famous labels and top designers originated in New York City. The labels and top fashion names include numerous industry giants such as Calvin Cline, Leslie Fay, Kenneth Cole, Ellen Tracey, Isaac Mizrahi, Anne Kline, Ralph Lauren, Ocean Bay, Betsey Jonson, Bill Blass, Vera Wang, Michael Kors, Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs, Ellen Tracy and Nicole Miller, as well as many others. The city is also flagship to a number of major department stores including Bergdorf Goodman, Macy’s, Barney’s, Saks Fifth Ave and Bloomingdale’s.

The unique thing in New York, regarding the fashion industry is that all elements of the industry are served on a big scale. With well over 5,000 wholesale showrooms, no other city even comes close to New York City, in terms of concentration of manufacturers, fashion and apparel brands. The garment center is the showroom core of New York City. Trade shows and showrooms draws over 578,000 annual visits to the city.

The fashion industry is a large and crucial contributor to New York City’s economy. The fashion industry in New York employs 173,000 individuals, which represents 5.6 percent of the city’s employment generating nearly 10 billion dollars in total wages per year. Tax revenues from the fashion industry generate 1.7 billion dollars per year. Fashion manufacturing accounts for 30 percent of all manufacturing jobs in the city, and the wholesale market represents 26 percent of the United States wholesale market. The fashion market in New York is one of the largest in the nation, generating over 15 billion dollars in annual sales.