EVENTS
CFA’s Metchek Honored at FGI Luncheon
Ilse Metchek, president of the California Fashion Association, was the guest of honor at a recent luncheon hosted by the Los Angeles chapter of Fashion Group International.
The event, held June 26 at Fig & Olive in West Hollywood, Calif., was hosted by the FGI-LA board—Michelle Calvert, Christine Chiu, Leanna Lewis, Linda Arroz and Michelle Dalton Tyree.
At Tyree’s request, Metchek shared a little Fashion Group history with the guests:
“In 1961, when I joined Fashion Group, I was a showroom girl for a pants house called Pants International,” she said. “I had to have three sponsors to join—and I’ve paid my dues ever since.”
In 1983, Metchek said, Fashion Group was threatened with a lawsuit because its members were all women. She said the board was happy to admit men as long as they paid their dues. Later that year, the group honored four new members: Sydney Morse, then general manager of the CaliforniaMart (now called the California Market Center); Michael Gould, then chairman of J.W. Robinsons (now the chairman and chief executive officer of Bloomingdale’s); Allen Questrom, then president of Bullocks, who became CEO of JCPenney,and Terry Lundgren, then the “mere VP” of Bullocks Wilshire (now the chairman, president and CEO of Macy’s Inc.).
At the luncheon, FGI presented Metchek with a check for the scholarship fund of the CFA’s charitable arm, the California Fashion Foundation.
Lewis praised Metchek for her work on behalf of the fashion industry. “She’s been nothing but a huge supporter. She’s amazing,” she said. The LA chapter of Fashion Group will next host its “Meet the Designer & Muse” event on Oct. 24. For more information, visit www.fashiondistrict.org.
