The Gotham Report

On the big screen in the amphi theatre at F.I.T. the headline read "Turning a passion for life into a penchant for business ... the second time around".

Americans are off to the ballot on Tuesday the November 4 ( I assume the UK have been plentiful introduced to Obama and McCain) and several retailers have joined the election trail hoping to make a buck or two.

Gothic: Dark Glamour is the theme of the latest exhibition at F.I.T. (The Fashion Institute of Technology) in New York. The brainchild of fashion historian and chief curator Valerie Steele, the exhibition is a wonderful showcase for Gothic fashion, but not as the mainstream may know it.

Okay, I should have realised by last week or maybe a few months ago that the hand written invitation from DvF, Marc Jacobs or Zac Prosen hadn't simply disappeared in the post, but as a mere mortal of the fashion world you live in hope.

In the last week I have been bombarded by branded emails, ads and magazine headlines stating that the fringed handbag, the riding boot or anything by Coach is the must have accessory for Fall 08. But if you really want to strut your style in this town your best accessory is a dog, and preferably a well dressed one.

After a fortnight of news that has done little for Gap Inc's profile - the European Gap design team axed, second quarter sales down by 5% (and it wasn't good in the first one either), Inditex claiming the crown as the largest clothing retailer in the world and a new Gap advertising campaign for autumn 08 called Create your own Gap (is that because they sacked their designers?) you can't help but ask, has this US retail giant lost its direction?

Since the early 20th century the neighbourhood located between Fifth and Ninth Avenues and 34th to 42nd Street has been know as NY's Garment district, the centre for fashion design and manufacturing in the USA.