2016.FEMMY.Covers_Layout 1 1/27/16 6:43 PM Page 2 CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THE HONOREES. Amazon Fashion Meredith Bunche Richard Leeds International, Inc. Marcia Leeds & Richard Leeds Best Pacific/New Horizon Kane Haitao Zhang Lane Bryant/Cacique Linda Heasley Martin Trust Francesca Spinetta Your leadership and compassion inspires us. 30237 Femmy Cover.indd 2 1/28/16 8:39 AM 2016.FEMMY.Pages.1-29_47443-Femmy PG 1-24 1/27/16 8:04 PM Page 1 ŽŶŐƌĂƚƵůĂƟŽŶƐ >ŝĨĞƟŵĞĐŚŝĞǀĞŵĞŶƚǁĂƌĚ,ŽŶŽƌĞĞ DĂƌƟŶdƌƵƐƚ &ŽƵŶĚĞƌĂŶĚ&ŽƌŵĞƌŚŝĞĨdžĞĐƵƟǀĞKĸĐĞƌŽĨDĂƐƚ/ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĞƐ We salute our founder, Marty Trust, for his vision, commitment and the value of knowledge and mentorship we have received throughout the years. D'& ^ŽƵƌĐŝŶŐ ŝƐ ƉƌŽƵĚ ƚŽ ĐŽŶƟŶƵĞ DĂƌƚLJ͛Ɛ ůĞŐĂĐLJ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ ůĞĂĚŝŶŐ h^ͲůĞĚ independent global contract manufacturer of fashion apparel and lingerie for ůĞĂĚŝŶŐh^ĨĂƐŚŝŽŶďƌĂŶĚƐ͘ DĂƌƚLJ͛ƐŝĚĞĂůƐĂŶĚǀĂůƵĞƐĂƌĞƚŚĞƐŽƵůŽĨŽƵƌ corporate culture and will endure at MGF. ŽŶŐƌĂƚƵůĂƟŽŶƐDĂƌƚLJ͕ŽŶƚŽŶŝŐŚƚ͛ƐƐƉĞĐŝĂůŚŽŶŽƌĂŶĚƌĞĐŽŐŶŝƟŽŶ͘ James Schwartz, President & CEO, D'&^ŽƵƌĐŝŶŐ͘ 2016.FEMMY.Pages.1-29_47443-Femmy PG 1-24 1/27/16 8:04 PM Page 2 2016.FEMMY.Pages.1-29_47443-Femmy PG 1-24 1/27/16 8:04 PM Page 3 2016.FEMMY.Pages.1-29_47443-Femmy PG 1-24 1/27/16 8:04 PM Page 4 OUR VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO STUDENT DESIGN CONTEST SPONSORS CLOVER GROUP INTERNATIONAL LTD. REGINA MIRACLE INTERNATIONAL LTD. STRETCHLINE HOLDINGS LTD. 2016.FEMMY.Pages.1-29_47443-Femmy PG 1-24 1/27/16 8:04 PM Page 5 The Underfashion Club, Inc. Karen Bromley and Sonja Winther Femmy Gala Chairpersons welcome you to the FEMMY AWARDS 2016 HONORING AMAZON FASHION Accepted by MEREDITH BUNCHE, DMM Women’s Basics _____________ _______________________________ __________________________________________________________________ RICHARD LEEDS INTERNATIONAL, INC. Accepted by MARCIA LEEDS, President RICHARD LEEDS, C.E.O./Chief Visionary _____________ _______________________________ __________________________________________________________________ BEST PACIFIC / NEW HORIZON Accepted by KANE HAITAO ZHANG, C.E.O., Best Pacific International Holding Ltd. _____________ _______________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Innovation Award Recipient LANE BRYANT / CACIQUE Accepted by LINDA HEASLEY, President and Chief Executive Officer _____________ _______________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient MARTIN TRUST Founder, Mast Industries _____________ _______________________________ __________________________________________________________________ President’s Award Recipient FRANCESCA SPINETTA Co-owner and Editorial Director, INTIMA Magazines _____________ _______________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Tuesday, February 2, 2016 Cipriani 42nd Street, New York City 2016.FEMMY.Pages.1-29_47443-Femmy PG 1-24 1/27/16 8:04 PM Page 6 SPECIAL HOST DITA VON TEESE Born Heather Sweet in West Branch, Michigan, Dita Von Teese grew up fascinated by the Golden Age of Cinema, pin-up imagery, and vintage lingerie. This naturally blond, mid-western girl transformed herself into a glamour girl like those she admired. Performing striptease since 1992, she is the biggest name in burlesque world-wide since Gypsy Rose Lee, and is credited with bringing the art form back into the spotlight with a new sense of elegance and sophistication. Taking audiences on a journey into fantasy and spectacle, Dita is renowned for her ornate sets and dazzling haute-couture performance costumes adorned with hundreds of thousands of Swarovski crystals. This “Burlesque Superheroine” (Vanity Fair) is the performer of choice at high profile events including those for designers such as Marc Jacobs, Christian Louboutin, Louis Vuitton, Chopard, and Cartier, and was the first guest star in history at Paris’ famed Crazy Horse (established in 1951) where she has performed several sold-out runs. In addition to her burlesque shows, Dita is a self-styled fashion icon, topping best-dressed lists all over the world. Featured on Vanity Fair’s International Best Dressed List 2013, Dita has recently expanded into her own distinct brands. Her lingerie collection debuted exclusively with Bloomingdale’s in the U.S. in March 2014, and has expanded to other popular U.S. retailers such as Nordstrom, Dillard’s, Barenecessities.com and Journelle. Dita also recently launched a luxury glove collection, has collaborated on her very own collection of signature sunglasses, and her fragrance collec- tion offers four award-winning glamorous scents. Her latest book, "Your Beauty Mark: The Ultimate Guide to Eccentric Glamour” was recently added to the New York Times Best Seller’s list. An advocate in the fight against HIV and Aids, Dita was a MAC Viva Glam Spokesperson from 2006-2008 and in 2009 she participated in the H&M/Fashion Against Aids t-shirt campaign. She has also performed and appeared at several events for Amfar and was honored with their Award of Courage in 2008. Her status as a burlesque star and modern- day feminist has also garnered her an invitation to speak at the Oxford Student Union, where other elected speakers have included the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Tony Blair, and Anna Wintour. 2016.FEMMY.Pages.1-29_47443-Femmy PG 1-24 1/27/16 8:04 PM Page 7 DITA VON TEESE 2016.FEMMY.Pages.1-29_47443-Femmy PG 1-24 1/27/16 8:04 PM Page 8 PRESIDENT’S LETTER 2016 Good evening and welcome to the Femmy Gala, the Underfashion Club’s annual dinner that recognizes and celebrates the significant achievements of Intimate Apparel Industry leaders worldwide! Honorees are selected from the retail, manufacturing, supply and design sectors of the business. I would like to extend the heartiest of congratulations to this year’s honorees, Amazon Fashion, Richard Leeds International, Inc., Best Pacific/New Horizon, Lane Bryant/Cacique and Martin Trust, all of whom exemplify innovative spirit and dedication to our industry! Special congratulations to President’s Award VICTOR H. VEGA recipient Francesca Spinetta. As a fundraising event, the Femmy Gala serves a dual purpose: creating a venue for business and social interchange, and generating the monies that enable us to fulfill our mission of “Supporting education today for a better industry tomorrow.” In addition to the extensive scholarship support that has been given for many years to the best and brightest intimate apparel students at the Fashion Institute of Technology, we have expanded our support to include scholarships for fashion merchandising students at LIM College, and graduating seniors from the High School of Art & Design in New York City, and the Design and Architecture Senior High (DASH) School in Miami. And next on our list – design and merchandising students at Parsons The New School For Design. Special thanks to our most generous dedicated scholarship providers, Best Pacific, Fashion Forms, KOMAR, MGF Sourcing, Richard Leeds International, and Tianhai Lace. This is the second year that the Mary Krug Memorial Scholarship in the amount of $5,000 has been awarded to a fashion merchandising student at LIM College. Mary was Vice President and Division Merchandise Manager of Neiman Marcus Stores. When she died in 2013, Mary left a great legacy in the countless buyers, assistant buyers and vendors that she trained and educated over the years. A group of industry executives established a scholarship in her memory for students of fashion merchan- dising, and entrusted the Underfashion Club with its management. As part of our emphasis on the students who are our future, the Femmy Gala is hosting, for the thirteenth consecutive year, a design contest featuring garments designed by student from the Fashion Institute of 2016.FEMMY.Pages.1-29_47443-Femmy PG 1-24 1/27/16 8:04 PM Page 9 President’s Letter (continued) Technology’s Fashion Design program. Thanks are extended to the SAIG Co-Chairs, Suzanne Beck and Clelia Parisi, and to FIT Professor Alexandra Armillas. Special thanks to the design contest sponsors Clover Group International, Regina Miracle International and Stretchline Holdings for providing the cash awards that will be presented to tonight’s contestants and to Eurovet and Curvexpo for providing roundtrip airfare, accommodations and compli- mentary admission to this July’s Interfiliere Paris / Salon International de la Lingerie for the winner of the Student Design Contest. The Femmy Gala takes months of advance planning. Sincere congratulations and thanks to Femmy Co-Chairs, Karen Bromley and Sonja Winther and the entire Femmy committee, for their enthusiasm and hard work. For 58 years, the Underfashion Club has been a bastion of dedicated volunteers who are passionately working to make a difference in our industry! We strive each year to offer our members benefits that will enhance their knowledge of the industry, and their opportunity for advancement: • Our web site, www.underfashionclub.org, is the portal for mining a wealth of information and guidance, which includes an online Membership Directory, and the Femmy Journal Archive. • Our Blog, “Insider,” shines a spotlight on industry leaders and topics and provides trend direction! • Our Seminars inform and educate our members and industry associates in a comfortable, social atmosphere. I want to make special mention of the Intimate Apparel Council, an organization that for many years was responsible for setting the Intimate Apparel market dates in the United States. In 2015, the remaining officers of the IAC