CFDA ELECTION

Seven years ago, Stan Herman, President of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), invited me to join the Board of Directors. It was shortly after I started my fashion company the second time around. This invitation—coming to me at a moment when I was feeling a bit disconnected to the industry—made me feel welcome and respected. Little did I know how welcome I actually was, when in 2005, I received the greatest honor…the Board gave me the Lifetime Achievement Award, and that was really quite wonderful!

Earlier this year, Stan asked me to join the committee to elect the new president, as his term is coming to an end this October. This was not an easy sell. Encouraged by some Board members and other people in the industry, I decided to run for President myself and offer my services, and on July 17th, the Board elected me to fill the position. I am touched and humbled by the offer and I hope to deserve their trust.

The next day after the election, I went to Washington, D.C. with Steven Kolb, Executive Director of the CFDA. The purpose of our visit was to lobby for a bill to protect designers by copyrighting their designs. We spent the whole day at Capitol Hill meeting with Senators and their staff…a very interesting day indeed! This is one of the many issues I plan to work hard to resolve once I take office, and was the first step of a long battle that I hope to win while I am President…

I will have until October of this year to meet, think and put a plan together…I will then propose my plan to the Board and execute it. I am very excited about my new role, and I hope to make all of the CFDA members very proud to be members!


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