CFDA

The Council of Fashion Designers of America, known as CFDA, is the leading not-for-profit trade organization representing American fashion designers, founded in 1962 by publicist Eleanor Lambert and headquartered in New York City. The organization counts over five hundred member designers spanning womenswear, menswear, jewelry, and accessory categories, including iconic American fashion houses such as Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Tom Ford, Vera Wang, and Michael Kors. The CFDA owns and organizes the official New York Fashion Week calendar, coordinating the seasonal runway presentation schedule that showcases American designer collections to global retail buyers and fashion media. The annual CFDA Fashion Awards ceremony recognizes outstanding achievement in design across categories including Womenswear Designer of the Year, Menswear Designer of the Year, and Accessories Designer of the Year, and is considered the most prestigious honor in American fashion. Member benefits include business development resources, mentorship programs connecting emerging designers with established industry veterans, healthcare insurance plans tailored for independent design professionals, and educational scholarships through the CFDA Foundation supporting fashion design students at institutions like Parsons School of Design and the Fashion Institute of Technology.