Meg’s Blog

Quebec designers broaden their reach Andy Blatchford THE CANADIAN PRESS

http://www.thestar.com/living/article/404628

SUMMARY

Montreal is having their fashion week to showcase Quebec designers their collections to help compete with their low-cost Asian competitors.  “Designers say local apparel has become almost too expensive to stitch together as demand for made-in-Quebec products grows.” (www.thestar.com)  Montreal Fashion week will be a four-day event to showcase the fall collection by local and international designers for buyers and media.  This is an opportunity for the public to see the collection up close and will hopefully boost support for the industry and raise visibility of some designers.  Montreal Fashion Week organizers plan an internation fashion show in Paris to create the Showroom and help local designers broaden their global reach as well showcase Paris’ talents.  More than a dozen French designers joined approximately 65 exhibitors, such as Marie Saint Pierre, Muse par Christian Chenail, and Thieves in Le Showroom.

THOUGHTS

I think that it is a great way to market out the local designers in Quebec to compete with their low-cost Asian competitors.  It will raise awareness and hopefully bring in more customers for their local designers.  That is how Toronto is such a hot bed for alternative design created by Toronto designers.  With their different events going on showcasing their collection, the people of Toronto have catch on to the style that designers have brought to the table.  Bringing Montreal Fashion week abroad will be too risky although i feel it would be a great idea.  Paris and Milan are well known to be fashion forward then the rest of the world.  It will be difficult to compete in the European market because of that but, if the designers are impressive enough they can succeed in penetrating through that market.

http://www.nylovesbiz.com/NYS_Home_To_Business/Industry_Clusters/fashion_apparel.asp

“The heart of the fashion industry is unquestionably in New York. The world’s most recognizable brands originate from New York based headquarter offices and design studios. New York is also a major producer of apparel products having produced over $7.8 billion in manufactured products in 2001*. New York has unique access to competitive production facilities, specialized NYC niche manufacturers, innovative young designers and the world’s foremost retail market. Over 8,000 apparel & fashion companies employ over 98,000 people in New York State including:

New York is also home to many of the most respected foreign apparel firms’ US operations including:

New York State has the ideal workforce and operating environment that allows these companies to thrive here. New York State hosts corporate headquarters, both cut & sew and knitwear production facilities, design studios and sales & marketing operations.

This website is proof that there is a definite cluster for fashion and apparral in New York. New York is a hot bed for fashion and design. A lot of the hottest fashions originate from New York. They have a huge market for fashion and designs. Great for young new designers who want to get into the industry. Most people think of shopping when they think of New York, or at least me and many women I know. New York is known for their fashion forward apparel, it is a great city to go learn and work in the fashion industry since is booming there, as well great city to go shopping.