Tom Ford stepping down as Chairman of the CFDA

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
May 16, 2022

Tom Ford is stepping down as Chairman of the CFDA, bringing down the curtains on a three-year terms at the organization, American fashion’s governing body.

 
Ford, who served as Chairman of the CFDA since June of 2019, will end his three-year term on May 31st, according to a statement on the CFDA’s official website.

CFDA CEO Steven Kolb will assume the duties of Interim Chair through December 31, 2022.  In this position, he will remain accountable to the Board with Board oversight. The Board’s current officers – Vice-Chair Tracy Reese, Secretary Vera Wang, Treasurer Stan Herman – will remain in place for the remainder of the year.
“When I began my role as Chairman in June of 2019, my goal was to help the American fashion industry become more globally recognized for its talent and importance,” Ford said in a statement.

“I could not have imagined the extraordinary circumstances that both the industry and the world would have to navigate – that a pandemic would shut the world down and change the course of our lives and of our businesses forever. The pandemic challenged all of us to think about our businesses in new ways – from the design process and production, to how we reach and speak to our customers. We were forced to come up with creative new ways to run our companies,” added the Texan born designer.
 
“Some may think that fashion is just about making beautiful clothes and accessories or having runway shows, dressing celebrities and throwing parties without considering the incredible amount of work that goes on behind the scenes, or that the fashion industry is a $3 trillion industry that employs millions of individuals,” Ford continued.
 
The Board unanimously elected Tory Burch, Thom Browne, and Aurora James to the Board, effective June 1, the CFDA added.
The Board will vote on a new Chairperson in the fall to start in January in alignment with CFDA’s fiscal calendar.