I
management people." Mr.
Mankoff says that in 1983
there were 83,416 garment
workers in New York,
compared with 135,789 in
1973.
Although the number of
workers has shifted downward,
the pace of Seventh Avenue
workers and the frenzy felt on
the side streets during a nine-
to-five day have certainly kept
up their momentum, One look
at a freight elevator extending
from a showroom and you can
see a man pushing racks filled
with plastic-covered dresses ac-
cidentally running into another
worker pushing his load of
shirts or pants, and piling them
tightly into the back of a truck,
doubleparked, on the side
streets of Seventh Avenue.
The merchandise comes
from one of the many
showrooms which line the
streets in nondescript buildings
whose exteriors generally do
not denote the glamour of the
fashions that come from
within. One of the prime
showroom spaces is at 530
and 550 Seventh Avenue.
Among the tenants in 550 are
Bill Blass, Gloria Sachs and
Stanley Blacker; in 530,
there's Adele Simpson, Joan
Leslie, Kathryn Conover, and
the designer whose name is
The look is lean, with
slim pants, wide belt
and white blouse, from
Donna Karan.
fast becoming synonymous
with New York, Donna Karan.
Donna's showroom has
been on the block for over a
year, since she split from Anne
Klein for whom she worked for
the past ten years. According
to her "right hand," executive
administrator Beth
Wohlgelernter, Donna felt
working on Seventh Avenue
was a key in beginning her
own line.
"Originally, Donna thought
57th Street might be a good
place to locate," Beth says,
"but it became clear that it
would be impractical. For one
thing, she wanted to be near
her partners, who are at West
39th Street. The garment
center buildings are set up for
things like freight deliveries,
security for employees, and
designs and products which
you can't find anywhere else."
Although real estate in the
area is now going for $8 to $9
per square foot (Donna Karan
Company took 10,000 square
feet for their entire operation
and needed more space for
their shipping department, now
located in New Jersey), the
high cost is not stopping
designers from flocking to the
Avenue that can help establish
their name. In fact, many
designers feel a need to be
there even if their products are
made abroad, underlining the
concept of Seventh Avenue as
the fashion capitol of the world.
But before clothes get
shipped from this renowned
street, a long process takes
place inside the showrooms.
Inside the push-through doors
of Donna Karan's showroom,
workers in a white oblong
room hover over an adding
machine computing sales at
one table and putting press
March 1986
47