Fern Mallis. Image by Jenni Avins.

Wednesday night at a Port Authority pop-up, the Design Trust and the CFDA launched Made in Midtown, a multimedia study and symposium series about the New York City Garment District. Fern Mallis, who established New York Fashion Week during her tenure at IMG, turned out for the occasion.

“I grew up in the Garment District,” she said, reminiscing about riding the subway to visit her dad on 38th Street, where he sold women’s scarves. Ms. Mallis also recalled watching female designers at work in the neighborhood. “That’s how I learned about jobs—and women in jobs,” she said. “It wasn’t when every mother was working.”

Ms. Mallis, who left IMG earlier this year to establish her own firm, will continue to consult for Fashion Week, although she lamented the move from Bryant Park to Lincoln Center. “I used to say Bryant Park was the backyard of the Garment District,” she said. “Everybody thinks they love change, but they don’t—especially in the fashion industry.”

Still, she said, the show must go on: “It’s like when Saks redoes the 5th Floor or something,” she said. “You know everything’s there, you just don’t know where to find it.”