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Mayor Michael Bloomberg Sports Hermes Tie, Filene's Socks to Fashion Week Kick-Off

By DNAinfo Staff on September 8, 2010 2:04pm  | Updated on September 9, 2010 6:20am

By Jennifer Glickel

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

LINCOLN CENTER — Mayor Michael Bloomberg and designer Diane von Furstenberg officially kicked off Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Wednesday morning at Lincoln Center.

Bloomberg rode the 1 train, which he dubbed the "Fashion Line," uptown to enthusiastically welcome the semi-annual fashion events to their new home at Lincoln Center, a change from years of models walking the runways in the tents at Bryant Park.

Though the mayor described himself as "a fashion designer's worst nightmare," he showed he knew his stuff when it comes to clothes, as he responded without hesitation when DNAinfo asked him what he was wearing.

“Well, the tie is Hermès — it’s French,” the mayor said with a smile. “The suit is Martin Greenfield, who I get all my suits from in Brooklyn; the underwear is from Bloomingdale’s; socks are from Filene’s Basement; and my shirt is Paul Stuart.”

Last year, the city worked with IMG and the Council of Fashion Designers of America, of which von Furstenberg is the president, to sign a five-year contract with Lincoln Center to be the new host of Fashion Week, which had outgrown the smaller, less accessible space at Bryant Park.

Bloomberg proudly declared the Big Apple the fashion capital of the world, noting that there are more fashion houses in New York City than there are in any other city in the world.

“Starting tomorrow, one of the world’s most eye-catching events comes to one of the world’s greatest cultural institutions, as we kick off Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center,” Bloomberg said. “For years, the famed fashion tents have drawn people from all over the world to New York City, and the buzz is even greater this year with it debuting at its new home at Lincoln Center.

Each year, Fashion Weeks brings significant economic action to the city, with the events’ attendees generating over $466 million in direct visitor spending and more than $770 million in overall economic activity for the city.

“Mayor Bloomberg really understands that fashion is New York’s second largest industry,” said von Furstenberg.

She spoke to the fashion industry’s slow, but steady, bounce back from the impact of the economic downturn.

“There’s no question that there was a crisis two years ago,” the designer said. “But business is better and as far as being a designer, all you can do to help is to design better and better work.”