Barbara Randall - Executive Director, Fashion District BID: Fashioning fashion district's new look

Real Estate Weekly, June 23, 1999

At this moment, a striking change is taking place in Manhattan's Fashion District, not in the length of hemlines or the crowning of a "new black," but in the appearance and composition of the neighborhood itself.

The Fashion Center Business Improvement District (BID), under Executive Director Barbara Randall, is completing the last phase of a $1.5 million streetscape improvement plan that will give the area a vibrant new look, with the installation of illuminated, 21-foot "gateway pylons" that create a sense of place and orient visitors through maps and information.

Randall has been working to expand economic opportunities for tenants, and dress up the district with major improvements to build a better neighborhood for the established fashion industry businesses and for the newcomers who are increasingly attracted to the area. A variety of major new tenants such as Bates Worldwide, Skadden Arps Meagher and Flom, and Crunch Gym have moved in. Fashion companies - long a defining presence in the district - continue to maintain their showrooms and design offices in this international marketplace.

Randall came to The Fashion Center BID in 1995, having previously served as Administrative Director for The Fashion Group International and as Public Relations Coordinator for Airbus Industries of North America. She has brought a dose of glamour and a strong business development background to her job as head of a district that comprises thousands of designers, building owners, manufacturers, contractors, and distributors in an area stretching from Fifth to Ninth avenues and 35th to 41st streets.

One of Randall's first acts was the development of the award-winning familiar icon of the Fashion District: the giant needle- and button-adorned Information Kiosk on Seventh Avenue at 39th Street. This remarkable structure serves as a landmark and visual identifier, giving a sense of place to visitors and serving as a public face for the BID. In addition, says Randall, "More than 17,000 out-of-town and foreign buyers annually receive invaluable assistance from the information services team that staffs the kiosk. I can't even begin to estimate the dollar-value of business in the Fashion District spurred by referrals that have been made there." The Information Kiosk has garnered numerous design awards - as well as the International Downtown Association award - for The Fashion Center BID.

An extension of the Kiosk is the BID's state-of-the-art web site - www.fashioncenter.com - which receives more than 100,000 hits per month from visitors around the globe who are seeking information on the district and its companies.

Another important step by Randall was stretching the reach of The Fashion Center BID and forming New York Fashion International (NYFI) in partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Garment Industry Development Corporation. NYFI works on behalf of New York garment manufacturers to build bridges between their businesses and foreign buyers. NYFI recently published an international buying guide - printed in English, French, German and Spanish - that describes the American apparel industry, gives advice for shopping the New York market, explains U.S. product classifications and buying seasons, and provides a host of resources to assist buyers.

Other NYFI projects have included the organization of trade missions abroad; the hosting of seminars with international trade experts to help New York manufacturers market themselves to overseas buyers; and even the production of an offbeat music video highlighting the New York apparel industry that has been used at European trade shows.

Efforts by NYFI are estimated to have resulted in more than $2 million in immediate sales thus far for New York apparel companies. Working with the New York City Board of Education, Randall has even been able to expand the fashion industry's reach into the schools through her innovative "BID for KIDS" program. For four weeks this spring, designers from major companies in the Fashion District worked with more than 300 children in the City's public schools in an arts education program. Sweetening the deal is the fact that manufacturers, contractors and designers in the district donated their surplus buttons, trimmings and fabric - which normally would be clogging landfills - to be used as materials in the program. The BID for KIDS program has also been recognized with an award from the prestigious International Downtown Association.

A revamped Times square, plans for a new Penn Station, proposed development at the Port Authority Bus Terminal and the booming Jacob Javits Convention Center have made the Fashion District ripe for change, and new tenants with an eclecticism echoing the early SoHo pioneers are moving in, according to Randall. These artists, graphic designers and photographers are joining the major corporate entities (and the top fashion companies that continue to establish studios and showrooms) that are helping to reshape the area. Many are moving into the manufacturing loft buildings on the side streets in the district - and the whir of sewing machines has been replaced by the clicking of computer keyboards.