The Couture Council
The Couture Council is a membership group dedicated to supporting The Museum at FIT, a specialized museum of fashion. The Couture Council helps make it possible for the Museum to mount world-class exhibitions of fashion, to acquire important objects for its permanent collection, and to organize public programs, such as the annual fashion symposium. The Couture Council accomplishes these goals through collecting membership dues and by organizing fundraising events such as the annual Couture Council Awards Luncheon, which presents a chosen designer with the Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion.
Read what others are saying about the Couture Council
Membership:
Download Membership form here
A Couture Council Annual Membership is $1,000 per individual or couple, or $350 for Young Associates (under the age of 35). Membership is tax deductible to the extent provided by law. Please make checks payable to the Educational Foundation for the Fashion Industries. Mail checks to The Museum at FIT, attention: Couture Council, Seventh Avenue at 27th Street, Director's Office, Room E304, New York City 10001-5992.
Benefits:
Members of the Couture Council receive invitations to at least five special events a year, including behind-the-scenes tours of the Museum's collection and exhibitions, opening receptions, and visits to the ateliers of fashion designers in New York. Couture Council members are also the first to receive notice of the annual Couture Council Awards Ceremony and benefit luncheon.
In addition, you will receive the following special membership benefits:
- Complementary admittance for two to all paid Museum educational programs, including the annual fashion symposium, which includes an invitation to meet the speakers at a cocktail reception a the home of Valerie Steele, Director and Chief Curator, The Museum at FIT
- Acknowledgments in FIT's annual report, in the exhibition galleries and brochures, and on the FIT website
- Exclusive opportunities to meet other patrons of the fashion arts
Board of Directors
Elizabeth T. Peek
Chair
Vice Chair
Alexandra Lebenthal and Charlotte Moss, Heads of Nominating Committee
Board Members
Suzi Cordish
Anne Goldrach
Michelle Harper
Celia Hegyi
Eleanora Kennedy
Michèle Gerber Klein
Doris P. Meister
Marcia Mishaan
Peter G. Scotese
Jean Shafiroff
Adrienne Vittadini
Whitney Wolfe
See gallery to right for photos from the last Board of Trustees Meeting.
Members of the Couture Council 2009-2010
| Valerie Steele, Director MFIT Georgianna Appignani Gale H. Arnold Melissa Lewis Bernstein Michael Bruno Robin Burns-McNeil Danielle Augusta Cannon Bonnie Cantor Deborah R. Chatman Marsha Chun-Matsubara Suzi Cordish Christina R. Davis Ria A. Davis Doria de la Chapelle Heidi Dillon Allison Ecung Patti Elliott Caren Forbes Joele Frank Michèle Gerber Klein Anne S. Goldrach Mr. and Mrs. Carl Goldstein Joyce Goss Martin and Jody Grass Audrey Gruss Susan Zies Green Susan K. Gutfreund Michelle Harper Celia Hegyi Yaz Hernandez Evelyn Blose Holman Amabel James George and Mariana Kaufman Eleanora Kennedy |
Pat Kerr |
Highlights from Previous Special Events
- Invitation to the annual Couture Council Artistry of Fashion benefit luncheon. Ralph Rucci (2006), Alber Elbaz of Lanvin (2007), Isabel Toledo (2008), and Dries Van Noten (2009). Venues have included Brasserie 8 ½, The Rainbow Room, and Cipriani.
- Private visits to the ateliers of fashion designers such as Isabel Toledo and her husband, fashion illustrator Ruben Toledo, Ralph Rucci, Zac Posen, Angel Sanchez, Chadwick Bell, and Prabal Gurung.
