Changing times: Fashion’s CFDA creates Black Advisory Board

The acclaimed Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) has created a separate Black advisory board responsible for all CFDA efforts on inclusivity, diversity and equality.

The new Board will be chaired by Executive Board Vice Chairwoman Tracy Reese, and its members include Harper’s Bazaar Editor-in-Chief Samira Nasr, Netflix Chief Marketing Officer Bozoma Saint John, Fashion Tech Connects Co-founder Stacie Henderson, and Martin Cooper, CFDA member and Co-founder of The Punctilious Mr. P’s Place Cards Company. It is led by CFDA President CaSandra Diggs.

After the Board of Directors meeting in June, the CFDA set out to create pathways and programming to combat systemic racism and racial inequity in fashion. Today, we are pleased to announce several strategic moves to expand the organization’s development of new programming to create pathways and opportunities for Black talent in the  industry, a statement shared on the CFDA website explained.

“In June, we outlined specific initiatives with the goal of bringing an end to racial injustice in the fashion industry,” said Tom Ford, Chairman of the CFDA Board of Directors. “The organization has put in place a structure to execute this strategy and we are firmly committed to creating systematic change in our industry that will empower the critical voices that need to be heard.”

 “We are bringing together an impressive group of esteemed industry colleagues to collectively help us build a framework for increased diversity, equity, and inclusion in fashion,” Diggs said.

“These fundamental changes to the organization allow us to bring important perspectives to the fashion industry,” CFDA CEO Steven Kolb said. “They will play an instrumental role in our efforts to transform the fashion system and make it more diverse, inclusive, and equitable.”