A new study finds the Garment District has a thriving but changing fashion industry, and New Yorkers can now find out more about it at a storefront exhibition in the Port Authority Bus Terminal. NY1's Roger Clark filed the following report.

Designer Yeohlee Teng works out of a space on 35th Street near Seventh Avenue, in Manhattan's Garment District -- a neighborhood she says has everything a designer needs to get started.

"Make a collection of clothing, go out and get somebody to sell the samples for you, get it graded and marked into different sizes, get it cut, find a contractor to make it for you and ship it uptown," says Teng.

The Garment District, located roughly from 34th to 42nd Streets between Fifth and Ninth Avenues, was once the true center of U.S. clothing manufacturing. In the early 20th century, about 95 percent of garments sold in the United States were made in that area.

While the area experienced a long decline as a center for garment manufacturing, a new study from the nonprofit Design Trust for Public Space finds that a core of factories, suppliers and skilled workers has helped the neighborhood re-emerge as a center for design innovation.

"There is still a very vibrant community here that produces clothes, but more importantly, what used to be a center of mass production is now a research and development hub," says Deborah Marton of the Design Trust for Public Space.

The trust unveiled the study at a pop-up space in the Port Authority Bus Terminal, which will be open to the public and feature a display of locally-produced garments and diagrams tracing a piece of clothing's path from beginning to end.

The goal is to remind visitors of the fashion industry's importance to the local economy, of which city economic development officials say they are well aware.

"The entrepreneurial spirit that happens in New York, that's a real edge for New York," says Patrick Murphy of the New York City Economic Development Corporation. "And the importance is, how do we make sure that they have the support and the resources they need to become successful, to become the next Calvin Klein, to become the next Ralph Lauren? And that's something we are very committed to doing."

The next phase of the project involves a series of panel discussions and walking tours to spotlight the Garment District. For more information, visit www.madeinmidtown.org.