Who Bears The Title of Being the Top Fashion Capital: New York City or Milan?

What determines a fashion capital’s rise to the top?

By: Oxana Tsirelman, Staff Writer

Two top fashion capitals hold on to their status on the global scale: New York City and Milan. The Global Language Monitor’s annual survey cites that New York took back its title of World Fashion Capital of 2010 after its loss to Milan a year before. According to the MSNBC Slideshow, “As the global fashion industry adjusted to the new economic reality, New York rebounded to the No. 1 spot it has now held for six of the last seven years,” said Rebecca Payack, the Manhattan-based fashion correspondent for the Global Language Monitor.”

“The parties were not as big, that was enough to knock New York off just a bit. And Milan seems to have had a very strong fashion season; very well praised and a lot of noise about it,” adds Global Language Monitor president Paul JJ Payak.

Although New York City may be one of the leading fashion capitals, Milan is the home of all designer labels like Gucci, Prada, Armani and Versace. Milan raises a lot of admiration and awe around the world. Alex Bruni asserts that, “When it comes to the city of Milan, there is always too much to say, as in people’s mind, this is a city full of natural glamour and mystery.”

That’s not surprising considering the fact that Milan has been nicknamed ‘The Fashion Capital of the World,’ ‘City with heart in a hand,’ ‘Drinkable City,’ ‘Factory of the Future,’ and ‘The Moral Capital of Italy.’ Not only that, but Milan is pretty well known on the global scale for its fashion week and big brands such as Valentino, Gucci, Versace, Prada, Armani and Dolce & Gabbana.

Milan’s mark on the fashion industry can be seen by the semi-annual fashion week held by the city. From February to March every year, the spring/summer event is held and from September to October, the latest fashions are put on display in the autumn/ winter event. So, Milan is usually the talk of the town during those events.

However, New York City is a very close runner up on the fashion scene. “The creativity and expertise of our talented workforce present us with competitive advantages we want to capitalize on,” Mr. Bloomberg said in the NY Times Magazine. The program was conceived, he said, to enable a new generation of fashion entrepreneurs to “turn their ideas into reality.”

Now, no matter which city you look at, the fashion industry has always put creative skills over business skills. After all, “The fashion industry has several programs that recognize and reward creative talent,” the mayor’s office exclaimed.

A lot of growths and initiatives are currently taking place in New York City to strengthen the grip on its reputation. For example, “The first of these initiatives, the NYC Fashion Fund, will provide emerging designers with capital for production and with manufacturing contacts” cites Ruth La Ferla in the New York Times. Not only that, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg made his commitment to New York City’s fashion industry public today. He announced a six-part initiative to make sure that the fashion industry in New York City thrives over the next ten years.

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