Fashion Week Rakes in Big Bucks for NYC Once Again

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Twitter has been adding on fashion emoji to our #NYFW hashtags this season — a leather jacket one day, sunglasses the next — but the one they should really be using is the money bag. That's because congresswoman Carolyn Maloney announced yesterday that New York Fashion Week generates nearly $900 million in revenue for the city, WWD reports.

That's about on par with Maloney's last report, where she noted that the eight days of shows and surrounding events —all 308 listed on this season's fashion calendar, plus what must number in dozens of unofficial events — earns more than sporting events like the US Open ($800 million), the New York City Marathon ($440 million), and last year's Super Bowl ($550 million).

"The fashion industry puts a good number of New Yorkers to work — it's not just about glitz and glamour," Maloney said at the event presenting the updated findings of the U.S. Congress' Joint Economic Committee report, "The Economic Impact of Fashion Industry."

From the article, it's unclear whether the economic impact of the newly revived New York Fashion Week: Men's was included in this estimate. Maloney also noted that New York brings in more revenue than the London, Milan, and Paris events do for their own cities, but did not cite specific figures.

The state representative wants to continue her push to support both New York and America's fashion industry by establishing a prize for the manufacturer that produces the greatest number of apparel exports. She also is planning to encourage new Metropolitan Museum of Art president Daniel Weiss to include a Costume Institute exhibit that highlights "Made in New York" fashion or a New York City designer.