FIDM to Host Couture Fabric Sale
California private couturier Nora Martin is retiring and has donated her entire stock of 2,150 yards of designer fabric to the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, which will sell the yardage in its FIDM Scholarship Store beginning May 21.
The collection of fabrics—many originally priced from $90 to $250 per yard—will be sold at “greatly reduced prices” to raise funds for the FIDM Scholarship Foundation. In thanks for the generous donation, FIDM will found a scholarship in Martin’s name.
Brocades, wool, tweed, cotton, metallics, leather, hand-beaded Chantilly lace, French lace, and hand-loomed and hand-embroidered silks are among the fabrics for sale. There will even be embroideries and beaded fabric custom designed by Martin, who operated her couturier salons in Sunset Plaza in West Hollywood, Calif., and, later, in the Palm Springs, Calif., area.
The sale will run through May 25—or while supplies last. The Scholarship Store is located on the design college’s downtown Los Angeles campus at 919 S. Grand Ave. The first day of the sale, May 21, will run from noon to 7 p.m. The sale will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the remaining days, May 22–25, or until the entire inventory is sold.
The FIDM Scholarship Foundation is funded with the support of manufacturers and retailers whose donations help provide tuition assistance for students looking to pursue FIDM degrees in fashion, footwear and jewelry design; apparel-industry management; beauty-industry merchandising and management; digital media; film and television costume design; theater costume design; graphic design; interior design; international manufacturing and product development; merchandise marketing; merchandise product development; textile design; entertainment set design and decoration; visual communication; and business management. The FIDM Scholarship Foundation has raised more than $5 million to help students pursue their education.
The FIDM Scholarship Foundation Store was founded in 1992, offering bargains on merchandise donated by manufacturers, including clothing, accessories, textiles and home decor. The store also functions as a merchandising lab for student interns, who work as managers and associates.
For more information about the Scholarship Fund, call Nicki Anderson at (213) 624-1200, Ext. 2617. —Alison A. Nieder
