CFDA celebrates fifty years

Council of Fashion Designers of America, the leading fashion trade organisation in the US, marks its fiftieth anniversary this year and is celebrating with its first ever exhibition. Impact: Fifty Years of the CFDA will take place at the Museum

at the Fashion Institute of Technology and will include approximately 100 garments and accessories designed by the CFDA’s most impactful creators of the last 50 years including, Oscar de la Renta, Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Tom Ford, Thom Browne, Michael Kors, Rodarte, and Proenza Schouler.

The celebration conceived by CFDA’s President Diane von Furstenberg, is an ‘ode to the illustrious designs of the CFDA’s many members’ and will be organised thematically from functional sportswear to couture evening wear, to illuminate the broad spectrum of American creativity, and will run from February 10 - April 20.

Founded in 1962 by publicist Eleanor Lambert and 50 of America’s leading fashion designers including Bill Blass, the CFDA’s primary mandate was the recognition and promotion of fashion design talent based in the United States. Today the non-profit organisation consists of more than 400 members and offers a number of professional development and scholarships schemes. In addition, the CFDA also hosts its own fashion awards, and is a key participant in projects such as Fashion’s Night Out.

“American designers have always had impact on how people dress,” said von Furstenberg. “In honour of that creativity and in celebration of the CFDA’s 50th anniversary, we are proud to present, in partnership with The Museum at FIT, an exhibit that represents the tremendous work of our members for the last five decades. ‘Impact’ was the one word that came to mind immediately – it is so strong and defining of our individual and collective influence that we knew right away that our exhibit would be called Impact: 50 Years of the CFDA.”

Image: CFDA – Thom Browne