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Our History
FNW (Fashion News Workshop) was created in the late 1950s by six professional women in the fiber, textile and apparel industries as a nonprofit organization committed to the exchange of directional information in fashion and affiliated businesses.
At that time, fashion trend and business information was so highly protected that industry networking groups limited its membership to one person per company or area of specialization. The founding visionaries created Fashion News Workshop as a networking organization well before that term entered the lexicon.
Our membership has grown from its original 20 members to over 90 creative professionals. FNW was one of the first women's fashion organizations to admit men and to broaden its membership to include experts from the fields of accessories, footwear, intimate apparel, beauty, retail, the media, home furnishings and other related business arenas.
Our Members
FNW's membership is comprised of both men and women who are actively working in the fashion and related industries.
Our members represent every aspect of the industry including: fibers, textiles, accessories, the media, retail consultants, executive recruiting, home sewing, home decorating, museum stores, fragrance, licensing, real estate, marketing and business development and graphic design as well as all levels of ready-to-wear and designer fashion.
Reflecting recent changes in the industry, our members include employees of all size companies, from large and established multinational conglomerates to small-scale businesses and independent consultants.
Our Officers
The organization's officers are elected every two years.
2010 officers are: Carole D'Arconte and Jerry Dellova serving as Co-presidents, Dorothy Waxman as Treasurer, Elaine Gross as Web Editor and Roseanne Forde as Membership Chair. Jessica Pfeifer serves as the organization's Administrator. Co-President, Carole D'Arconte
CAROLE D'ARCONTE is a prominent color and trend merchandiser with extensive product development expertise in the woven and knit textile markets, and the manufacturing and retail environments. Her focus has been primarily in the menswear, womenswear and kids’ trend and design areas, as well as in the accessories and make-up markets.
She was President of COLOR PORTFOLIO, INC., a full service trend and communication marketing company for over 25 years, when she successfully sold her business in 2001. COLOR PORTFOLIO offered private trend presentations to the apparel, accessory and home markets, providing directional color recommendations, lifestyle merchandising and textile design input. She continues to consult to leading retailer and manufacturers on trend and styling ideas under her new company name, CAROLE D'ARCONTE LLC. In 2008, she also created a digital color forecasting company, in partnership with Roseann Forde, called ColorEDGE , which is being marketed globally to this day.
Carole studied at The Fashion Institute of Technology and received their Mortimer C. Ritter Award for Achievement and The Alumni Star Salute Award. She continues to maintain active roles in The Fashion Group, Round Table of Fashion Executives, The Fashion News Workshop, Color Marketing Group, The Retail Marketing Group, The Business Connection and The National Arts Club. Her many articles and quotes have been seen in The New York Times, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, Gannett Newspapers, Women's Wear Daily, Daily News Record, America’s Textile and Apparel Industry Magazine, to name a few.
Co-President, Jerry Dellova
JERRY DELLOVA has a B.F.A. in Apparel and Accessory Design/Merchandising from the Fashion Institute of Technology. He also holds an A.A.S degree, from the Fashion Institute of Technology, in fine arts. Jerry has spent over 20 years as a fashion designer for upscale men and women’s sportswear companies. He has traveled the world extensively for fabrics, trends, new stores/restaurants and culture. Profiled in the Style section of the New York Times, and quoted in many trade [WWD,FGI & Premiere Vision] and consumer [Washington Post, People] publications; style savvy Jerry Dellova tells men and women how to look their best! He has dressed Katie Couric, for the Today Show; consulted on clothing for movies and TV; lectured to consumers on building a wardrobe and produced fashion shows. He has also written for many publications.Jerry is a member of numerous professional organizations; including Fashion News Workshop[ board member], DIFFA, The Fashion Group International, the F.I.T. Alumni Association, along with being a industry critic for graduating seniors there, andStanding Tall, a school for special needs children. Along with his partner, an advertising executive, and puppy, Jerry lives in New York City and Tuxedo Park, soaking up all the culture, style and life offered!
Treasurer, Dorothy Waxman
Dorothy Waxman is the New York Editor for Textile View Magazine, a trade trend magazine published in Europe. She founded the U.S. office for Trend Union, the fashion and design service of Edelkoort Inc. and headed it for 15 years. Dorothy worked for Associated Merchandising Corporation, the buying office of Federated Stores and leading independent department such as Hudson's of Detroit, Dayton Co. of Minneapolis and Bullock's of Los Angeles.
During her tenure at AMC, she became vice president of fashion covering the Haute Couture and the Ready to Wear Collections in Milan, London, Paris and New York and the streets of St. Tropez. After graduating from Cornell University, she started her career in the training program at Ohrbach's, a discount story originally based on 14th St., known for its copies of Haute Couture designs.
Web Editor, Elaine Gross Elaine Gross is director of EGI, an editorial and marketing communications consultancy, and owner/designer of the recently launched All Ears, which sells knit and crochet kits to yarn stores. She is the author of Halston: An American Original (HarperCollins) and has an impressive roster of publishing credits in such publications as WWD, DNR, Textile World, Knitting Times, Seventeen and The New York Times, and has edited titles for several book publishers. Elaine wrote and edited the FNW web site.
While Men's Fashion Director for the Paris-based International Wool Secretariat (Woolmark), she developed color, fabric and garment trend forecasts for 34 countries and was the first American to participate in the prestigious Premiere Vision color committee and the multinational Intercolor group. Upon returning to the U.S., she became Fashion and Promotion Director of the American Wool Council and was a member of the Color Association of the U.S.
Her own marketing and consulting service, EGI, directed promotion for the Yarn Fair International and provided trend forecasting, reporting and promotion services for such clients as Celanese Fibers, DuPont Fibers, Tencel, Masters of Linen, Macy's, Joseph Abboud, Ike Behar, and K-Mart.
Website: www.elainegross.com Membership Chair, Roseann Forde Roseann Forde, president of Fordecasting, produces seasonal trend and color direction. She is the former global creative director of DuPont/Invista, where she developed color, fabric and silhouette presentations for the apparel and retail trades throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Roseann has served as chairperson of the women's wear committee of the Color Association of the U.S. and is a panelist for the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. She has also served on the advisory board of American Color & Trends as well as the textile department of F.I.T., where she taught color analysis as an adjunct professor. Roseann is the recipient of FIT's alumni star award.
In addition, she had the honor of being the first American to be named to the Premiere Vision color council. Her colors are the official palette of the Direction show, where she has given seasonal color and trend seminars. Roseann has often been quoted and featured in WWD and DNR. She has acted in an advisory capacity to the NFL and the automotive industry as well as to major retailers and apparel manufacturers throughout the country. Administrator, Jessica Pfeifer
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