Founded by Donald and Doris Fisher as a small San Francisco based clothing store with just a handful of employees, Gap has turned into one of the world’s most recognizable and prestigious clothing store brands. A visit to New York City’s Gap is like a visit to Starbucks – just say when. With its Manhattan clothing store, The Gap has solidified itself as a staple of the New York fashion scene and offers a vast selection of must-have uptown apparel . Along with the Gap banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta are all labels available through Gap retailers and covers all ages and styles of fashion, clothing and accessories. Celebrity endorsements from Whoopi Goldberg, Spike Lee and Lorraine Bracco, to name a few, have brought The Gap to the masses and has forever made it part of Americana. Even today, Gap continues its dominance of the fashion industry as it continues to be recognized as the US’s largest specialty apparel retailer and keeps its hand on the pulse of the fashion world. For awesome gifts, family friendly atmospheres and an overall great shopping experience make Manhattan’s Gap one of the stores you visit in the New York fashion scene.

Ralph J. Lauren was born in the New York City borough of The Bronx to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants Fraydl and Frank Lifshitz, his father was a house painter.
From a very young age, he started working after school to earn money to buy stylish, expensive suits with an early preference for quality over quantity. His attire soon gave him a trendy reputation among his peers. The well-known Calvin Klein, a younger contemporary also lived in the same Bronx neighbourhood. Source

Urban Outfitters, Inc. owns and operates three retail clothing brands: Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie and Free People. The first store opened in 1970 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, focusing on "funky" fashion and household products. Today, the Urban Outfitters line has expanded from vintage, bohemian, retro, ironically humorous, kitschy, and oddly designed apparel and furniture to include many luxury brands such as Lacoste, Evisu, Diesel, True Religion and Seven for All Mankind. Currently headquartered in the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Urban operates more than 140 shops in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Source

The House of Chanel, more commonly known as Chanel, is a Parisian fashion house in France founded by Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel. According to Forbes, the privately held House of Chanel is jointly owned by Alain Wertheimer and Gerard Wertheimer who are the grandsons of the early Chanel partner Pierre Wertheimer.
The Luxury Line, introduced in 2006 featuring a metal chain embedded in the leather, is one of the most desired "it" bags of the moment.
The House of Chanel, under the leadership of Karl Lagerfeld, has defined the style and fashion of Chanel as being the five essentials: audacious, perfectionist, unique, passionate, and visionary. Source

Christian Dior, an influential French fashion designer. He was born in Granville, Manche, Normandy, France. Dior flagship boutiques are found in Paris, London, Milan, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Las Vegas, and San Francisco.

Liz Claiborne is a Belgian-born fashion designer. She immigrated to the United States in 1939, and was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. She attended St. Timothy's, a boarding school then in Catonsville, Maryland. Rather than finishing high school, she went to Europe to study art. In 1949, she won the Jacques Heim National Design Contest, and then moved to New York City where she worked as a sketch artist at the sportswear house Tina Leser. She worked as a designer for Dan Keller and Youth Group Inc., before starting her own design company, Liz Claiborne Inc., in 1976. The firm grew from its origins designing affordable active sportswear for women and is now a multi billion-dollar enterprise. Source

As the country's oldest clothing retailer, Brooks Brothers is proud to uphold the same traditions and values for nearly two centuries.
In 1818, Henry Sands Brooks founded Brooks Brothers, the first ready-to-wear fashion emporium in America. Since then, we are proud to have become an institution that has shaped the American style of dress through fashion innovation, fine quality, personal service, and exceptional value in our products.

The House of Gucci, better known as simply Gucci, is an Italian French-owned iconic fashion and leather goods label. It was founded by Guccio Gucci in Florence in 1906. Gucci is considered one of the most famous, prestigious, and easily recognizable fashion brands in the world.
Gucci generated over US$7 billion worldwide of revenue in 2006 according to BusinessWeek magazine and was ranked 46th in the magazine's annual chart "Top 100 Brands". For this reason Gucci is the second biggest selling fashion brand after LVMH. Most importantly Gucci is the biggest selling Italian brand in the world. Gucci operates about 425 stores worldwide and it wholesales its products through franchisees and upscale department stores. Source

The Armani signature label is the most expensive Armani label and is available in its 75 worldwide boutiques. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org

After 20 years in the surf, skate and snowboard business, founder Chip Wilson took the first commercial yoga class offered in Vancouver and found the result exhilarating. The post yoga feeling was so close to surfing and snowboarding that it seemed obvious that yoga was an ideology whose time had come (again).

Dedicated to upscale European vintage clothing and accessories from 1940´s to the 1980´s.

From the cutest dresses to their patented overalls, OshKosh B-Gosh is an American institution and the number one store for fashionable children’s apparel. Shopping in time Square? Well, resting in the heart of New York’s famous 5th Avenue, OshKosh offers a wide variety of merchandise for children of all ages. Originally founded in Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 1895, OshKosh B-Gosh was primarily an adult work clothes manufacturer that developed a set of bibbed overalls for children to look like their fathers. As time went on, OshKosh began to sell their wares through department stores and filled in a gap by bringing a sense of fashion not readily available to children’s clothing. With now over one hundred outlet stores available in the United States, this New York city clothing storehas become synonymous with quality children’s ware and continues to lead the world in their innovative designs and family friendly methods. With their groundbreaking clothing for babies and extensive selections of shirts, pants, sweaters and jeans and shoes, it is easy to see why OskKosh B-Gosh is such a popular Manhattan clothing store, ideal for all parents to visit.

Ascot Chang has brought Shanghainese men's tailor craftsmanship to international acclaim. Our customer list comprises some of the world's most demanding and distinguished men-the likes of Mr George Bush. They know that the feeling one gets wearing a custom-made shirt goes beyond mere comfort. It has the flavor of self-assurance. It has the tinge of power.
They have been coming to us for a very long time from our first shop on Kimberly Road in Hong Kong in 1955 to our townhouse shop on 57th Street in Manhattan and our store in Beverly Hills. They want only one thing: a shirt that fits.

Today, the Company is a national department store retail chain which offers current, high quality, designer merchandise at prices up to 60% below those at other department stores. Burlington Coat Factory stores feature coats, apparel, shoes, accessories for the entire family, baby clothes, furniture, toys, home decor items, and gifts. Over 350 stores can be found in 42 states nationwide. The Company also owns and operates the following divisions.

In addition to its heritage as a leather goods firm, Longchamp has cultivated a devoted following and brand that is now known for its designs. Venturing into partnerships with notable designers, artists and celebrities has seen the likes of Thomas Heatherwick design Longchamp's SoHo boutique, and Tracey Emin and model Kate Moss create special collections. Moss has also appeared in a number of Lonchamp advertising campaigns. Source: en.wikipedia.org

For nearly 50 years SYMS has been committed to giving Educated Consumers® real bargains on real designer clothes. SYMS is the Off-Price representative of over 200 authentic designer and brand names. Names You Must Know® in clothing and shoes, for men, women, and children. Offering an impressive selection of styles and sizes.

Celebrated by many style conscious and trend-savvy shoppers, Forever 21 has quickly become the source for the most current fashions at the greatest value.
Forever 21 is growing quickly, featuring new and exciting store environments, a constant flow of fun and creative clothing designs and the accessories to make your look come together at the right price.

J.Crew is a fully integrated, multi-channel retailer specializing in men's, women's and children's apparel and accessories. J.Crew was founded in 1983 with the launch of its catalog and expanded into brick and mortar retailing in 1989 with its first store at the South Street Seaport in New York City.
It has since become an American brand known worldwide for its collections of classic styles with a quirky, J.Crew twist. In addition to its men's and women's clothing, accessories, and shoes, the company has a Wedding & Special Occasions shop through its website, and a high end J.Crew Collection available in select stores. In 2006, J.Crew launched a children's line, CrewCuts. The company sells clothing with a "preppy" look similar to retailers Brooks Brothers and Ralph Lauren.
Currently J.Crew's catalog has a circulation of over 80 million, and J.Crew has 175 retail stores and 52 outlet stores. Their website was launched in 1996 and allows buyers to browse both J.Crew's online only offerings, and normal catalog and retail offerings. Source

Video: New York Fashion Week 2007 - DKNY Fall Runway Show

Simply stated, DKNY is the energy and spirit of New York. International, eclectic, fun, fast and real. DKNY addresses the real-life needs of people everywhere, from work to weekend, jeans to evening. Both fashionable and friendly, DKNY consistently delivers its unique mix of style around the world.

During the 1960s and 1970s the firm popularized fashion trends such as the beatnik look, tweed suits, tight pants and tall, thigh-high boots, including the creation of arguably the most famous classic tuxedo suit for women in 1966, Le Smoking suit. He is the first to popularize ready-to-wear in an attempt to democratize fashion. He is also the first designer to use black models in his runway shows. Among his muses were Loulou de La Falaise, the daughter of a French marquis and an Anglo-Irish fashion model, Betty Catroux, the half-Brazilian daughter of an American diplomat. Source

Founded in 1963 with one women?s apparel store in Columbus, Ohio, Limited Brands is committed to building a family of the world?s best brands to create sustained growth of shareholder value by focusing its time, talent, and capital on the highest return opportunities. Historically, Limited Brands has been viewed as a multi-divisional, largely apparel-based, popular-priced retailer. Ten years ago, that was true. Lingerie, personal care and beauty made up less than 30% of its sales. Today?s reality is very different. Over the past ten years Limited brands has reinvented itself completely, becoming a predominantly a personal care, beauty and lingerie company, with over 70% of its sales coming from those areas, primarily through two great brands, Victoria?s Secret and Bath & Body Works.

Manhattan's Dr. Jay’s has revolutionized the Urban clothing scene and forever changed the landscape of New York clothing, while serving the New York Metro area for over 25 years. Beginning its legacy with the opening of its first store in the South Bronx in 1975, Dr. Jay’s clothing stores embraced the changing world around them and became a pioneer in providing Urban fashion. Ironically, as Dr. Jay’s was introducing modern Urban fashions, down the road the birth of Hip-Hop was starting to be seen. In a harmonious union, the two forms of social phenomenon worked with each other and helped to propel the Urban lifestyle beyond the streets and into mainstream Americana. With name brand including Adidas, Nike, Ecko, LRG and Coogi, Dr. Jay’s continues to showcase the best clothing lines available and hold itself in high esteem while embracing its New York roots. Today, Dr. Jay’s has over 17 locations in the New York area including very prominent stores in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens. For a piece of New York clothing culture and some of the best apparel in all of New York City, make a stop into Dr. Jay’s and see what the Urban Revolution is all about.

The founder of Zara Amancio Ortega opened first Zara store in 1975. The first Zara store was located on a central street in A Coruña. Upon the success of Zara format, the firm started to expand and opened further stores.
Its first store featured low-priced lookalike products of popular, higher-end clothing fashions. The store proved to be a success, and Ortega started opening more Zara stores in Spain. By the early 1980s, Ortega had begun formulating a new type of design and distribution model. The clothing industry followed design and production processes that required long lead times, often up to six months, between the initial design of a garment and its delivery to retailers. This model effectively limited manufacturers and distributors to just two or three collections per year. Predicting consumer tastes ahead of time presented inherent difficulties, and producers and distributors faced the constant risk of becoming saddled with unsold inventory. Source

Noted for its quality materials, use of color, and elegant and femininine designs, Escada successfully widened its clientele and by 1981 established a name in many categories of womenswear, specializing in formal wear and knitwear. In 1982, the company opened their first store in the United States on Fifth Avenue in New York City and opened its first store in Asia the following year in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong boutique became a worldwide landmark, marked for its use of gold in the store's design.
Though debuting in America in 1982, Escada did not gain national prominence until 1984 when the leading fashion and women's wear magazine Vogue published an entire edition devoted to promoting Escada. Its worldwide prominence led its 1986 IPO on the FSE to be highly anticipated and Escada's debut on the stock exchange marked the headlines in hundreds of major newspapers worldwide. 30 years later, Escada has established itself as one of the largest fashion houses in the world. Escada?s headquarters are based in Munich, Germany and Escada?s collections are available in nearly 500 locations in 60 countries. In the United States, the company has 16 boutiques in Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Texas, and Washington. Escada has opened several larger stores carrying various fashion lines including Escada, Escada Sport, and Couture and Accessories. The largest of these stores is located in Vancouver, Canada, and is 16,000 square feet.
Like many fashion houses, Escada also has a line of fragrances for both women and men. Source