Video 2: NYC Hanging By A Thread

Here is a list of the cast for this video:

* May Chen, VP of Unite HERE!

* Daniel Lee, Assistant Menswear Designer for Richard Chai and former FIT Fashion Student

* Samanta Cortez, CEO of Fashion Design Concepts, Inc. and Founder of Save The Garment Center

* Mark Cohen, Owner of Colorblind Showroom

* Nancy Chen, Owner of Krystal Factory

Through the various characters in this video, I tried to lend voice to the more fragile constituents of the Garment Center.  Their arguments varied, pointing from everything to the rich culture of the Garment Center to their own personal stories.  The Garment Center supports jobs for these people and their employees and it was hard not to be affected by their own stories.  But I tried to focus on the larger role of the Garment Center in New York’s thriving fashion industry.

Initially, I let them speak for themselves.  But when I presented the video to my class, they weren’t convinced that the fashion industry would crumble with the Garment Industry.  This is a valid point since many designers are already producing overseas.  In fact, many factory owners say they are losing business to overseas production, which only proves the point that designers aren’t as dependent to the Garment Center as those in the Garment Center would perhaps like to believe. The Garment Center is convenient no doubt, and many designers are supportive of the Garment Center for reasons of quality control and convenience.

But the question remains: how big a role does the Garment Center play in maintaining New York City as one of the fashion capitals of the world?  Perhaps I was too ambitious in taking on this project since it is a very complex issue with multiple layerings.  The best I could do was leave the video open ended since I didn’t feel I had enough to reach a convincing conclusion.  Also, the piece that is missing is the perspective of an influential and prominent designer.  I interviewed Richard Chai, but he did not want to go on camera.  So, the complimentary part of the video will come in the form of a podcast.  Chai lends a unique perspective on both what he feels is the Garment Center’s pertinent and diminishing roles in the fashion industry.