Welcome to Fashion District

Fashion district:
The city’s fashion heartbeat with gritty exterior.

Since the early 1800s, the Fashion District (also known as the Garment Center and Garment District) have been the epicenter of the national retail and clothing industries. Despite it’s small size (slightly less than 1 square mile total) this studio-packed neighborhood accounts for over $14 billion dollars of retail sales around the globe, and is the home base for legendary fashion designers from Diane Von Furstenberg to Calvin Klein.

What to expect:
Fashion industry professionals, out-of-city work week commuters, and those looking to work and play close to midtown.

The Fashion District’s central location (it shares a border with Hell’s Kitchen, Time’s Square, and Chelsea) makes for prime commutes -- and diverse people-watching. Just about every sort of New Yorker crosses through this neighborhood on any given workweek, and an increasing number are choosing to move there and call it homebase.

The lifestyle:
Fast-paced and urban, with heavy industry traffic during the workweek, Herald Square-based tourists come weekends, and relatively quiet on weeknights.

Fashion designers have taken advantage of the live-work-friendly housing options and proximity to supply stores and retail showrooms for decades.

For this reason, industry insiders champion the area as much for its raw material sources as it’s uniquely tight-knit, industry-based sense of community.

Authentic hidden-gem eateries including Mercato and Larb Ubol give just two of the increasingly buzzed-about drinking and dining options, and DIY lovers spend just as many hours ogling the goods at Mood Fabrics and The Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market as first-time visitors do perusing the goods at Macy’s Herald Square.

The market:
Luxury-style converted lofts, recently renovated doorman-and-elevator buildings and co-ops, and brand new condominium buildings.

Tourist-packed Herald Square may be the area’s best-known destination, but it by no means defines the residential scene you’ll find here.

Because of it’s highly commercial status, there are fewer traditional and classic-style housing options than what one might find to the south in Chelsea or to the north closer to Central Park. Still, loft-like, creative floor plans are some of the most unique in the city, and many newly constructed condo buildings feature posh amenities to rival those of midtown or Hell’s Kitchen at a fraction of the price.

You'll fall in love with:
The quick commute to major transportation hubs at Port Authority, Penn Station, and Grand Central, as well as cultural hubs including Bryant Park and Herald Square.

Whether you’re looking to put down roots in an emerging neighborhood or simply looking for a quick commute throughout NYC, the Fashion District continues to come into its own as a hub for city dwellers to live, work, and play, and love calling home.