The ‘Schmatta’ Business — on HBO
“Schmatta: Rags To Riches To Rags,” a documentary about the rise and decline of New York’s garment district — and the efforts to preserve what remains of a sector that played a vital role in the American Jewish experience during the past century — premieres October 19 on HBO. Its director, Marc Levin, recently sat down with the Forward’s senior writer Nathaniel Popper to discuss the Jewish workers, employers and gangsters who shaped the fashion industry; how the garment district influenced designers like Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Donna Karan, and what the Torah has to say about what we wear.
Listen to the podcast:
Watch a trailer of “Schmatta”:
Podcast editor: Gabrielle Birkner
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
