Everything about Fashion Week is thin and sleek except for the pile of money the trade shows pump into the city’s economy — a record $865 million, officials announced yesterday.
“We’re largely at capacity,” said Seth Pinsky, president of the Economic Development Corp. “It’s just as the years go by, people continue to spend more. They’re spending more on hotels, they’re spending more on restaurants.”
In 2007, the last time EDC compiled the figures, officials estimated that the semi-annual fashion events generated $773 million in economic activity.
The fashion industry employs 173,000 people, or 5.7 percent of the city’s entire workforce.
Knowing a good thing when he sees it, Mayor Bloomberg used the occasion of Fashion Week to stand with designer pal Diane von Furstenberg to spotlight the government’s role in promoting the industry.
Among the initiatives was an opportunity for business-oriented college seniors from across the nation to come to the city to interview for management-track positions at top fashion houses.
More than 350 applications came in for 25 openings.
“If you think about it, that would make us one of the most selective programs of anything in the country,” Bloomberg said.
When a reporter asked von Furstenberg if she had any fashion tips for the mayor — whose taste in suits runs to the dull and conservative — she responded: “He looks so hot, he doesn’t need any.”