NYC for designers

Hi

I am coming to New York with a group of fashion / textile design students, and was wondering if there are any %26#39;special%26#39; sites I should take them too. Obviously we are hitting the %26#39;big%26#39; museums, exhibitions, etc., but I was wondering if there are any shops like RD Franks in London with trendbooks / magazines, or design inspiration shops like Dover in London.

Ta!

Hugieno

NYC for designers

Do you get Project Runway (the tv show) there?

http://projectrunway.seenon.com/

elle.com/TheWeekInFashion/9017/chloe-dao-emm鈥?/a>

Mood fabrics is where they go.

Young designers sell their stuff here

http://edgenoho.com/

NYC for designers

For furniture/houseware textiles - check out the A%26amp;D Building on 58th just off Lexington. I dont know how they%26#39;d feel about a large group walking through the lobby (its supposedly for designers only, but I never have a problem walking in).

That whole neighborhood (58th, 59th off 3rd Ave) is full of stores/showrooms for decorators. There%26#39;s a store that just sells tassles!

Fashion Institute of Technology on 27th and 7th usually has something going on in their gallery. Not sure if it would be on your ';big'; museums list.

You should definetley check out the costume institute at the Metropolitan (metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/department.asp鈥?/a>) When I was there last, about 6 wks ago, the exhibit was on the evolution of British fashions (mine is a poor description).

As another poster said, the Fashion Institute Of Technoligy has a gallery and somewhere on their web site www.fitnyc.edu/aspx/Content.aspx?menu=Future they should tell you what that is

There is also the Cooper-Hewitt museum of design http://ndm.si.edu/

You may also want to take a walk through ABC Carpet %26amp; Home http://www.abchome.com which is a high end home furnishings %26amp; design store. They%26#39;re in a great part of town too, very walkable.

Thanks! Also are there any bars/ clubs which allow under 21%26#39;s? If we want to go out in the evening, most pubs in the UK allow under aged as long as they don%26#39;t drink, can we do that in NYC? (As the drinking age here is 18, they are in for a culture shock!)

I agree with all the above ideas! Great recos! You should def contact FIT administration and tell them you%26#39;re visiting.

Also, check out the Fashion Center - our ';chamber of commerce'; for NYC%26#39;s fashion district. Contact them also and tell them when you%26#39;ll be here.

http://www.fashioncenter.com/

Meet at the ';big button'; (see photo)

http://www.fashioncenter.com/kiosk.html

FIT, Cooper-Hewitt, the costume collection at The Met museum, material stores in the garment district are all ';musts';.

The fashion industry in NYC is the story of immigrants, from 19th Century Jews who called it ';the rag trade'; or ';the shmatta business';, to 20th Century Chinese immigrants working in sweatshops under the Manhattan Bridge, to 21st Century hot, indy designers setting up storefronts back where it all started - in the Lower East Side.

Take a walking tour of the Lower East Side to learn about it, and take the kids shopping on Orchard Street.

Shopping guide to the Lower East Side:

http://lowereastsideny.com/lesshopping.htm

Big Onion tours has two tours that might be appropriate: ';Immigrant Labor, Immigrant Triumph'; or ';Immigrant New York';

www.bigonion.com/description/index.html

You might also want to try contacting the FIT museum curators and see, since you are coming with students, whether they can arrange private tours of their archives, research facilities, etc. Ditto with the costume curators at the Met - maybe your students would enjoy a visit to their textile conservation labs. Also, make an appointment at:

http://www.materialconnexion.com/PA1.asp

It has less focus on textile design, but is a great source of inspiration. Too bad you don%26#39;t have time to do a side trip to the shoe museum in Toronto!

This might be a bit different than what you want, but as someone else, said, the history of the garment industry in NYC begins on the Lower East side. There is a wonderful museum call the Tenement Museum http://www.tenement.org/ which describes how people lived in NYC in that era. I know that they do special tours for groups. You might want to arrange a tour with emphasis on the garment industry and ';sweat shops';.

The relation to fashion has to do with ';ready to wear'; clothing. During the American Civil, the War department had to outfit thousands of soldiers fast, so they commissioned a program to take standard measurements military age men so they could mass produce uniforms. This led directly to the ready to wear industry when the same concept was applied to women in later years as women entered the work force once and department stores and mail order catalogs came into existence. Much if not most of the clothing mass produced in the US was done in small, 3 room apartments on the Lower East side, the buildings were called ';tenemants';. An immigrant family would subcontract with a manufacturer or store to piece together the swatches of clothing, Perhaps a tour would be of interest to you.

And definetely contact the curators at the Metropolitan and at FIT.

For detailed information on the museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, 27th St. and 7th Avenue go to

www.fitnyc.edu/aspx/Content.aspx鈥?/a>

You might try to arrange for a tour of the Fashion Design department. (Leonard Bess, Chair - (212) 217-7667)

Regarding your question about clubs/pubs: It has been my experience that clubs (i.e. music, dancing, drinking) only allow people who are 21 and over in because they check ID at the door. Once you are in the club, you can drink. However, I believe that anyone can go in a bar unless it is specified that it is 21 and over or unless they are checking ID%26#39;s at the door (which many will do after a certain hour in the evening and/or on weekends). Your best bet may be to go to a place that is a restaurant and bar. That way, those who are 21 and over can drink, while those who are not can enjoy a meal and not feel out of place.

Previous posts are correct. Most ';clubs'; only allow 21+ Here%26#39;s a list of under 21 venues. Cafe Wha is very popular.

http://www.ny.com/clubs/under21/

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