Happy New Year!

Like many of you, I take this time to reflect on the past year as we turn the page and embark on 2019.

2018 was strong for the CFDA and American fashion, and I wanted to share a few highlights:

Membership

• We hosted our first-ever Fashion Leadership Conference.
• To support our new program NETWORK, more than 100 trusted industry experts were recruited as Mentors.
• We hosted more than 20 conversations on topics such as China Tariff Increases and Women Working in Fashion.

Retail

• CFDA expanded retail and distribution opportunities for our Members with Retail Lab, Fred Segal Shop-in-Shop  and various designer collaborations.

Civic

• We focused on gender inequality with our Glass Runway Study, in partnership with Glamour and McKinsey & Company.
• CFDA and PVH hosted a day-long event to foster diversity and inclusion in fashion.

Philanthropy

• We launched the CFDA Fashion Trust to provide financial grants and business mentoring to designers; special events in NY and LA provide supporters with industry access.
• We began to develop various fundraising initiatives with CFDA Members to celebrate the (2019) 25^th Anniversary of Fashion Targets Breast Cancer.

Sustainability

• We created a CFDA.com resource database focused on sustainability.

Education

• We hosted a showcase spotlighting 50 graduates to help Members with recruiting.
• CFDA awarded over $1 million in scholarships and business development grants to support students and designers.

Supply Chain

• CFDA developed the Local Production Fund offering Members subsidies to produce at select New York City factories.
• We hosted the FMI Collective showcase event to help connect manufacturers and designers.

Marketing and Events

• The CFDA Fashion Awards took place at the Brooklyn Museum. The night was streamed on Facebook Live and the broadcast reached over four million people.
• CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund celebrated 15 years of supporting emerging talent.

Strategic Partners

• CFDA connected with new finance partners in banking (Bank of America) and digital payments (Afterpay).
• We broadened our strategy to help CFDA Members in China with Alibaba/TMall, and JD.com
• We partnered with a number of brands and organizations in entertainment, including Phantom of the Opera and Paramount TV.

Fashion Week

• CFDA, through Fashion Calendar, established a more formal pre-collection week in June and December.
• NYC became an international focus with European design houses including Saint Laurent, Chanel, Versace,  Longchamp, and  Escada showing here.

Editorial and Communications

• We increased frequency of stories on CFDA.com with daily news features and interviews.
• We increased followers on Instagram to 652k (up more than 100k), and successfully engaged followers through IG Stories.
• CFDA Launched American Runway, our latest book with Abrams.

As we look ahead to 2019, we  remain committed to our core pillars and will continue to serve our Members and the industry and to support our hardworking Staff.