Los Angeles Fashion District facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Fashion District
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| LA Fashion District | |
 Fashion District
Location in Downtown Los Angeles
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| County | County of Los Angeles |
| City |  Los Angeles |
| Area code(s) | 213 |
| Website | https://fashiondistrict.org |
The Los Angeles Fashion District, previously known as the Garment District, is a business improvement district (BID) in, and often cited as a sub-neighborhood of, Downtown Los Angeles. The neighborhood caters to wholesale selling and has more than 4,000 overwhelmingly independently owned and operated retail and wholesale businesses selling apparel, footwear, accessories, and fabrics.
History
The Los Angeles garment industry was established early in the 20th century, and grew substantially in the 1920s and 1930s. In the 1950s, the area became a center for sportswear and women's clothing, partly with the contributions of Jewish entrepreneurs who had moved to the area from New York City.
The garment district’s evolution to include retailing in addition to manufacturing and wholesale sales, began in the Santee Alley. An alley that serviced the back doors of manufacturing and wholesale businesses, these businesses would open retail outlets out their back doors for one or two days a week. These retail operations grew into full-time businesses along four blocks and transformed the alley into a bazaar.
In 1995, a group of business owners in the Garment District established a business improvement district to improve the neighborhood. In 1996 the new group formally changed the name of the Garment District to the Los Angeles Fashion District. At the time, the Garment District consisted of 56 blocks.
Santee Alley
Santee Alley is a heavily populated shopping path in the Fashion District between Maple and Santee Streets, stretching from Olympic Boulevard to Pico Boulevard. Counterfeit goods have been sold in Santee Alley. Similarly, the alley is also known for its illegal trade in live animals, which has been criticized by animal rights activists as cruel.
At times the LAPD has raided the alley to arrest counterfeiters. During a two-day raid in 2006, authorities seized $18.4 million worth of counterfeit designer brand merchandise from two downtown locations. On May 23, 2006, police raided a swap meet located at 500 South Los Angeles Street and found fake Tiffany jewelry worth about $6.4 million and arrested two adults. On May 24, 2006, police also raided and seized 12 million worth of counterfeit handbags, clothes, sunglasses, shoes and wallets on Santee Alley between 12th Street and Olympic Boulevard.
