A Website and Another Panel on Saving the Garment District

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Last week we told you all about the Municipal Art Society of New York first panel discussion (moderated by Tim Gunn) on the future of New York's Garment District. With a second panel—moderated by Deborah Marton, who we met last week, and featuring bold-faced names from Milly, IDEO, and Parsons—happening later tonight, we thought it was high time to point you towards the information-dense website (and study) the panels are discussing.

The Design Trust for Public Space, along with the CFDA, launched a study on New York's Garment District and comparable neighborhoods in other leading fashion capitals. Combing the area block by block, studying zoning and real estate figures as well as the industry, and interviewing the city's hard-hitters of fashion, the initial findings were launched earlier this month via the Made in Midtown website.

And the site is definitely worth a visit. (Warning: You can lose a serious chunk of your day playing—there's even something like a comic book!) Extremely visual, Made in Midtown uses a series of charts, diagrams, and interactive features to illustrate various facts and figures that each fall under one of three easy-breezy categories. They are: (1) What is the Garment District? (2) Why does the District Matter to Fashion? (3) Why Does Fashion Matter to NYC?

Find out how New York measures up to Paris and Milan (don't worry, we kind of win); learn more about the process of fashion and why the neighborhood and other Creative Districts are an important part of the fabric (get it?) of any city; and delve into the minds of New York's most New York designers including Jason Wu, Nanette Lepore, Shelly Steffee, and Anna Sui.

Tonight's panel—Exploring the Future of New York's Urban Creative Districts—begins at 6:30pm and is, once again, being held at the School of Visual Arts Theater. It's open to the public, and there's wine! You should get tickets.
· Garment District Panel Warns of a City of Only Bankers and Brokers [Racked NY]
· Made in Midtown [Official Site]
· Tickets [MASNYC]