Exclusive | Designers push for NYC-made fashion, as nearly 97% of the industry operates overseas: Not outsourcing our style to three other countries
“If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere,” sang Frank Sinatra about New York City.He didn’t realize he was crooning about clothes.
The Big Apple is once again becoming a hub for fashion manufacturing, with red carpet royalty like designer Christian Siriano insisting that their ultra-glam gowns — as seen on celebs like Zendaya, Celine Dion and even Oprah — get made in Manhattan.That’s a big leap for fashion, which has lost nearly 97% of its American industry to overseas operations, taking millions of jobs with it.But major designers like Thom Browne and Ralph Lauren are investing back into skilled US style workers, making some — or, in Siriano’s case, all — of their clothes in the Empire State.“We’ve been doing it right here in the city for almost 20 years,” Siriano told The Post.“If you see a dress on my runway, it didn’t come from a factory overseas.
We literally made it back there,” he says, pointing to the satin-crammed workroom of his Mercer Street studio. “We live in New York.And we live for New York!”But he’s part of a small but growing group of New York designers who manufacture their pieces in Manhattan, Brooklyn or Queens — even as inflation, tariffs and material costs make it more expensive than ever to make clothes in the city that once defined global style.“All the customers and the [celebrity] clients, they really love that the dress comes from New York,” said the “Project Runway” host.
“They feel like they’re getting such a special, unique thing.Even if it’s a really basic, simple, great dress, when it’s made here, it feels like it’s worth so much more.”“We’re not outsourcing our style to three other countries, you know? We’re not gonna ship something around the world just to get a zipper sewn on.
It’s local, and we’re proud of that,” he added.“People dream of looking like they have an amazing New York life,” said Siriano.
“Well, the way to do that is by buying ...