Skyrocketing rents in the garment district had been pushing out upstart fashion labels and small clothing makers, prompting a "Save the Garment District" grassroots campaign. However, with rents falling in the economic downturn, New York's designers, tailors, and patternmakers have felt a reprieve. With rents low across the city, companies once looking for office space in the garment district are likely to look elsewhere, where rents are even cheaper. So the economy's doing something good for fashion. [NYT]