Yeohlee Teng

Designer Yeohlee Teng is a leader in the fight to save the Garment Center. Not only does she work closely with Made in Midtown to get the word out to the masses, she also practices what she preaches, producing nearly every single garment she sells right in New York. "The Garment Center is a hub for research and development," she told me yesterday as we walked through Regal Originals, a 50-plus-year-old firm that does trimmings and pleating for big name designers. Teng compares the District to a delicate ecosystem--it produces beautiful, rare things and needs to be nurtured. The designer began working with Regal about a year ago. Rodger Cohen, the owner of the firm, is also heavily involved in efforts to preserve the area.