CaSandra diggs event recap
Courtesy of CFDA
Written By: Makena Ruggia
On February 15th, we were joined via Zoom by CaSandra Diggs, the President of the CFDA. The Council of Fashion Designers of America is the board of head designers based in the U.S., and has a huge influence on the industry. The CFDA, as CaSandra detailed, is trying to expand its global impact and create programming that impacts DE&I.
Our moderators asked CaSandra questions in the first portion. First, they asked what has changed in DE&I efforts since CaSandra has been elected, and she responded that they’ve seen tremendous change. In 20 years involved with the industry, she has seen the growth accelerate with the Black Lives Matter movement gaining headway after George Floyd’s death. She detailed that “Fashion has a huge place” in the industry, that it is an “identity marker”. It’s how we present ourselves daily, anyway. The CFDA places itself as a leader. CaSandra also noted that she wanted to see more change regarding race, ethnicity, disability, gender, and many more identities, but she acknowledged that these can sometimes be difficult conversations. She wanted to make sure the fashion industry is not risk-averse. She also noted that she was considering bringing in concepts with notes of UN SDG goals. She went on to talk about her personal experience with DE&I, that growing up it was “difficult to see my phenotype be seen as ‘not beautiful’”, that her “assertiveness is misinterpreted” even now, and that she wanted to “minimize how much of a role it will play in your every day”. Her final advice was twofold: get educated, and find support. She said that her biggest strength was “tapping into allies. I tapped into white male or female friends I knew understood”, but also learning about the industry is crucial to enter it and change it. She gave us her background, that she was a Macy’s sales rep and then became a recruitment officer for a fashion school, then was asked to come to the CFDA by someone in her network.
The audience then opened up to ask some questions. We asked about the Vogue Fashion Fund, a huge opportunity for firms to gain support to thrive in the industry. CaSandra told us that it was an older program created in 2003 to help business struggling after 9/11, but has become even more crucial in the pandemic era. We asked what her favorite part of her job was, and she responded that fashion week, obviously, was her favorite. She loved that the community could gather and express their love for all things fashion. Her favorite fashion initiative was the Gucci campaign, but she admitted bias since she was on the Gucci council. I know I have been looking to the fashion industry for a long time to include people with special needs, so I asked her how the fashion industry will take steps to do so, and she replied that she would like to include more people with special needs in the industry, but fashion sometimes drags its feet with inclusion. She mentioned that Tommy Hilfiger has created some initiatives to include people with special needs. Another audience member asked why Zendaya was chosen as the fashion icon of the year and how that decision affected the industry, and Diggs remarked that Zendaya represented a generation of social activism, and that she “admires those who came before her”, and she “pays homage” to those who came before. We also asked how she thought companies would include plus-sized women in the future, and she mentioned brands like Torrid and Universal Standard, but she noted as well that retail is a large issue. Most won’t purchase extended sizing due to expense, so online extended sizes are more available than in-store.
CaSandra also wanted to ask us questions! She asked us How we’re learning about fashion in school, and we replied that we mostly learn from clubs like business of fashion as an outside area of interest supplementing our course load. She also asked us what excites us about fashion, and freshman Khushi Panchal replied that she’s excited about all body types being represented in the industry. I also replied that I was most excited about streetwear because it includes people of all gender expressions. CaSandra even remarked that it gave her an idea for a campaign!
If you’d like to reach out to her or stay in her loop, her Instagram is @casdiggs and the CFDA’s Instagram is @CFDA, and her email (which she always tries to personally respond to!) is c.diggs@cfda.com.