Wednesday night, at a Port Authority pop-up, the Design Trust and the CFDA launched Made in Midtown, a multimedia study and symposium series about the New York City Garment District. Fern Mallis, who established New York Fashion Week during her tenure at IMG, turned out for the occasion.
Fern Mallis at the Made in Midtown Launch
“I grew up in the Garment District,” she said, reminiscing about riding the subway to visit her dad in the midtown hub of the fashion industry between 35th and 40th streets, where he sold women’s scarves. Ms. Mallis remembered watching female designers at work in the neighborhood. “That’s how I learned about jobs, and women in jobs,” she said. “It wasn’t when every mother was working. they were always at home.”
Joel Diaz and Christina LaPens, next to a Jolibe jacket at the Made in Midtown Launch
Meanwhile, Christina LaPens, one half of the duo behind the fashion label Jolibe, was wondering whether she better get home from the party to relieve her nanny. Christina, who has two small kids with her partner in life and design, Joel Diaz, is not only based by day in the Garment District (at Jolibe’s new office in the CFDA Fashion Incubator), she also has the rare experience of residing in Manhattan’s last manufacturing zone. When she and Joel moved their office earlier this year they also moved their home to a new building on 38th Street, west of 8th Avenue–just a block from the office.
“I always think about Paris, where everyone has these beautiful stores underneath their ateliers,” Christina said. “You look up and see the white coats working upstairs.”
Tina Schenk of Werkstatt, at the Made in Midtown Launch
Jolibe’s production is not overseen by white-coated Parisians, but rather by factory owners like Tina Schenk, of Werkstatt. Tina, a 40-year old German immigrant who used to handle tailoring for Karl Lagerfeld and Helmut Lang, opened her factory two years ago on the very block where Joel and Christina now live. (She has since expanded to a bigger space on 36th Street.) Tina is one of the many garmentos profiled in both print and video on the new Made in Midtown web site–a lovely place to get lost for the afternoon. But for this particular afternoon, there’s still a temporary installation at Port Authority, where I’ll be heading shortly for a panel. I’m looking forward to hearing from Design Trust fellows like Jordan Alport, who shot the beautiful short documentaries on the site, and Sarah Williams, who designed the data-driven maps and diagrams of the Garment District.
I’m glad they’re giving New Yorkers a behind-the-scenes glimpse at their locally-made garments, and now I’m looking forward to a behind-the-scenes peek a their project! The talk takes place tonight at Port Authority from 6:30-8:30, if you happen to be in the neighborhood.