“There is a heartbeat to American fashion,” Jordan Roth said. “For me, it’s a palpable energy and this entrepreneurial spirit that you feel in the work.”

Roth, the Chairperson of the Friends of the CFDA invite-only charter consisting of an intimate group of like-minded individuals who are passionate about philanthropy and fashion, was welcoming inaugural members of the group as well as other fashion types on Monday evening.

“I think anyone with two eyes and an Instagram account knows that Jordan Roth loves fashion, more than most I would say,” Alina Cho, the CFDA’s 2023 recipient of the Media Award in Honor of Eugenia Sheppard an inaugural member of Friends of the CFDA, said as she started a conversation with Roth, who was chic Proenza Schouler for the occasion.

The soiree, co-hosted by CFDA Board Chairman Thom Browne in a chic private home in the West Village, was attended by Friends of the CFDA inaugural members Allison Sarofim, Cathy Ho-Lee, Debra Carrington, Lauren Levison, Mariel Shalom, Morgan Stewart McGraw, Todd Moscowitz, as well as Cho. Also on hand were CFDA members Maria Cornejo, Tory Burch, Batsheva Hay, and Zac Posen, as well as Andrew Saffir and Daniel Benedict, Malcolm Carfrae and John Wattiker, Marysia Woroniecka, Amy Fine Collins, Daniella Pierson, Douglas Hand, Felita Harris, June Ambrose, Roopal Patel, and more.

“I made it a general practice that when Thom Browne asks you to do something, I say yes,” Roth said, explaining how he jumped at the opportunity to head up this important group. “I love the notion of how those of us who love fashion and people who make fashion out of their hearts and their hands could come together in a meaningful way to amplify support, rally around, and build community.”

Prompted by Cho for ideas on how this community can come together, Roth pointed to “ways in which we can create events that are valuable and interesting…ways in which we can visit design studios, connect to shows in a different than we may have before, but also always look for opportunities that create value, both emotional as well as financial for our designers…all the ways we can create events and opportunities so everybody is lifted up together.”

Browne, who initiated the idea for the exclusive group, added, “When I started as Chairman, one of the most important things was to engage with the world outside of the CFDA…to learn about what we actually do as designers but also to really support American design and, most importantly, the future of American fashion. There is so much talent here in America, and as we all know, it’s so hard to be a designer. It was important to bring together a group of highly professional, highly professional people…like-minded, creative leaning people who could really engage in however you want to engage with the young talent here in America and support them so that they survive.”

Here’s to Friends of the CFDA!