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In São Paulo, the garment industry has strengthened its presence in central neighbourhoods while a slow but inexorable movement of deindustrialisation started in the 1970s affected those areas. We propose here to examine why and how the garment industry has been able to remain in the central districts of São Paulo. After recalling the main characteristics of the garment production in São Paulo and Brazil, we explore the benefits that urban settlements draw from the presence of the garment industry. We then see how production in the sector relies on structures (factories, workshops, homework) distributed in the metropolitan area in a differentiated way. Finally, we show how the city centre offers resources essential for the industry, and how workshops are particularly suited for this specific urban setting, of which they can take advantage.