Filmmaker Marc Levin’s HBO documentary ‘Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags’ which chronicled the fate of New York’s garment district, made for very sad viewing back in 2009 when it was released. Now 7 years later, the area that was once New York’s largest employer is almost totally decimated as all the fashion businesses and its thousands of employees have all but disappeared.
Levin’s insightful profile makes for compelling viewing and no matter how much ‘progress’ has been made resulting in cheap affordable mass-produced clothes, one cannot shed a few tears looking back on the good old days when the 7th Ave neighborhood was a thriving manufacturing metropolis.
Schmatta : Rags to Riches to Riches should be compulsory viewing for all those young Fashion turks who have no sense of the history of the industry as it will make them appreciate the present so much more. Available from Amazon and all major global steaming platforms.
Labels: 2016, culture, fashion, Turn Back Time
