On Friday, the CFDA hosted a luncheon to honor women and acknowledge their positive impact on our industry. In celebration of Women’s History Month, CFDA members Nanette Lepore and Yeohlee Teng opened up the conversation by acknowledging that the fashion industry has come a long way since they first started their companies over three decades ago. “We need to continue exposing the problems in order to bring justice,” Lepore said.

Teng was faced with challenges when starting out including being a woman, Asian, and young. She light-heartedly shared how she started to deepen her voice to make people take her more seriously.

Lepore acknowledged that while she was less of a minority than Teng, she still found it difficult to talk finances because men did not want to speak about money to women.

Both relied on mentors as they embarked on their impressive careers: Teng’s early career advice came from a man, while Lepore’s mentor was a woman who told her to “put the blinders on and look straight ahead. Don’t worry about what other people are doing.”

Teng added, “Practice what you preach and lead by example to show others how to behave.”

Both agreed that it’s imperative to focus on the positives and not dwell on things we can’t change, and that fashion needs to be more supportive of the equality movements because if we want to change, we must act now. As the saying goes, “Time is a precious commodity we can’t afford to waste.”