As we begin the New Year, I want to take a moment to reflect on the CFDA’s accomplishments in 2022 and focus on our work ahead.
Both 2020 and 2021 were years of uncertainty and economic decline in the industry, but 2022 saw movement and the fashion business beginning to rebound.
For the CFDA, this meant an uptick in support and an increase in corporate partners and industry stakeholders looking to us for collaboration, including, notably, Amazon Fashion as the presenting partner of the CFDA Fashion Awards. We are also proud to count Afterpay among our new partners. Please visit www.cfda.com for the complete list of CFDA partners.
Our strong programs reflect a greater connection to the industry’s urgent needs, including more diversity, equity, inclusion, and sustainability. The 2022 CFDA Award recipients demonstrated a generational shift with a class of innovative, future-facing creatives. We added a new membership tier and a more diverse membership. We had a more robust New York Fashion Week, with 22 percent of the brands led by designers of color, while welcoming international brands to New York. In addition, 80 percent of our scholarship recipients are from underrepresented communities. We expanded the program with new funding from the Walton Family Foundation along our continued partnership with the Coach Foundation and Swarovski Foundation. Please consider making a year end donation to support students here.
IMPACT continues to support Black creatives, including a program with the Best Buy Foundation working with students in Brooklyn and Boston. In addition, DEI programs delivered knowledge, resources, and support through professional development. Our professional development programs, meanwhile, addressed timely topics such as supply chain disruption, web3 opportunities, and mental health services. We responded to the climate challenge with new resources for our members and established a sustainability committee to help map out future work.
We also strengthened our ties to legislative issues by working with industry partners to address environmental regulations and supply chain disruptions at the ports. In addition, we continued to support eliminating China tariffs and addressing significant human rights concerns.
Our Fund Balance is solid and financial support from overall sponsorship, membership dues, and partner programs are rebounding.
The CFDA also focused on supporting designers across the lifecycle of their careers. We continue to give designers the necessary information, resources, connections, and opportunities to strengthen their businesses, and we will continue to do so.
Throughout the year, we celebrated our 60th anniversary, including “Fashioning the Shades of American Design,” the first-ever fashion exhibit in the metaverse, and with commemorative NFTs minted by leading CFDA Members. This week, more than 200 Members will be featured on Instagram Stories, with key looks from their past seasons – which will become part of a (digital) commemorative book.
A cornerstone of our 2023 planning is promoting American fashion and creativity, ensuring business longevity, and driving positive change that aligns with the organization’s mission and goals.
We welcome Thom Browne as our new Board Chair and align with his focus on elevating originality in our industry and CFDA programs. His new Executive Committee includes Aurora James and Prabal Gurung as Board Vice-Chairs, Maria Cornejo as Secretary, and Stacey Bendet Eisner as Treasurer. The future of the CFDA looks bright with this new CFDA leadership.
Our team remains committed and in service to our members and the industry. If you have ideas or thoughts, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Happy New Year!
Steven Kolb, CEO of the CFDA
