Janelle Funari was born into a Jewish family that had fled Europe for New York. She learned how to sew at the age of 9 and launched her first fashion brand in her 20s.
“It's much more difficult for a designer out of school who's super talented to launch their brands,” said Joëlle Grunberg, a partner at McKinsey and Company whose research drove the Partnership’s report. She noted that office costs in New York City, along with talent and production costs, are now "through the roof."
The city became a global fashion capital in the 1940s,in part due to the German occupation of Paris during World War II. The decade also saw the creation of the New York Dress Institute, the Fashion Institute of Technology and Design and the beginning of an annual tradition, New York Fashion Week, originally called Press Week, established by publicist Eleanor Lambert at the Plaza Hotel.
“NYC is a global fashion and creative capital with an unmatched history of setting and driving trends and culture,” Schulhof said in a statement in response to the report. “NYCEDC is proud of our commitment to the fashion industry that has spanned decades and includes investments in innovation, real estate, and economic mobility.”
However, she added, “I simply refuse to believe that consumers’ taste will be satisfied by the generic influencer product for long.” “It kills me to hear about how many people are shutting down, not to open again,” she said, adding. “It’s so expensive.”