Kerby Jean-Raymond, Virgil Abloh & More Join CFDA Board of Directors
Appointed by Chairman Tom Ford.
Chairman Tom Ford has just appointed Kerby Jean-Raymond of Pyer Moss and Virgil Abloh of Off-White and Louis Vuitton to the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s (CFDA) Board of Directors, further cementing streetwear’s presence on the board (in addition to Public School‘s Dao-Yi Chow).The not-for-profit trade association was founded in 1962 with the primary mission of, “[strengthening] the impact of American fashion in the global economy,” so adding a couple big names from the growing streetwear industry is a timely move. In addition to Jean-Raymond and Abloh, Maria Cornejo and Carly Cushnie will also be joining the board. Tom Ford has only been acting CFDA chairman since March, so this news marks one of his first major decisions in the position.
The CFDA board traditionally has around 27 members, but in recent years the organization has been tightening this number up: “We worked on reducing the number of directors to create a smaller board which is more manageable and effective,” CFDA chief executive officer Steven Kolb told WWD last year. Each of the current 19 members of the board are allotted a six-year term, with the potential for extension in special cases, such as Ralph Lauren’s 48-year run.
The full, updated list of CFDA board members currently includes:
Tom Ford, Chairman
Tracy Reese, Vice Chairman
Stan Herman, Treasurer
Vera Wang, Secretary
Virgil Abloh
Stacey Bendet
Dao-Yi Chow
Maria Cornejo
Carly Cushnie
Diane von Furstenberg
Prabal Gurung
Tommy Hilfiger
Kerby Jean-Raymond
Norma Kamali
Michael Kors
Reed Krakoff
Ralph Lauren
Ashley Olsen
Italo Zucchelli
In other fashion news, Virgil Abloh and his overarching company Canary Yellow LLC are currently being sued for copyright infringement.
This just in! CFDA Chairman Tom Ford appointed four designers to our Board of Directors: Virgil Abloh, Maria Cornejo, Kerby Jean-Raymond, and Carly Cushnie. Read more: https://t.co/xjCsf95gXR pic.twitter.com/3H9cLGzODU
— CFDA (@CFDA) September 3, 2019
