CFDA introduces interim member tier

The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) announced this week the launch of a new interim membership tier, along with its inaugural 22 interim members.

The new tier was created to serve as a pipeline to full CFDA membership and specifically to support designers who have been in business for one to five years, and who have achieved a noteworthy level of recognition and success.

As part of the new tier, interim members are invited by the CFDA to join the organization for a limited time of up to three years.

Interim members enjoy most of the same benefits as a full CFDA membership like joining membership meetings, but have no voting rights and cannot serve on the CFDA Board. They will also have the opportunity to take advantage of exclusive business development guidance and support, plus individual mentoring and industry introductions, as needed.

To further create opportunities for emerging designers across America, interim membership dues are waived for the first year, and will be significantly reduced for years two and three.

“There is a vast pool of young talent that is contributing to the creative conversation in American fashion,” said Steven Kolb, CEO of the CFDA.

“Often, these designers are underrepresented and underfunded, and they are challenged to fulfill their brands’ potential because they lack institutional support. By opening CFDA’s resources and network to the interim members, we are embracing this creative class and advancing their opportunity for success.”

The first designers invited to the inaugural interim membership tier include a class of 22 designers: Nicole Benefield, Kim Bentz, Melissa Bentz, Aisling Camps, Patrick Cupid, Patrick Henry, Emma Gage, Snow Xue Gao, Lauren Harwell Godfrey, Raul Lopez, Bach Mai, Keeyahri, Sami Miro, Nicole Muhammad, Christian Juul Nielson, Shawn Pean, Teddy Von Ranson, T.A. Rudder, Michael Ward, Marissa Wilson, Long Xu, and Henry Zankov.

CFDA introduces interim member tier

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