NEW YORK — Dress for Success wants more young fashion and beauty executives to say “yes” to its efforts.
The nonprofit organization celebrated the launch of Y.E.S., Young Executives for Success, a volunteer group that offers career advice and encouragement to low-income women striving to be self-sufficient, at Diane von Furstenberg’s downtown studio last Wednesday night.
Eighty executives are already on board with Y.E.S., and the goal is to have 200 within the first year, said Joi Gordon, chief executive officer of Dress for Success Worldwide, which has 73 offices in four countries. Last year, the New York chapter helped 5,200 women, and this year the goal is to reach 6,000.
Kay Unger, Garfield & Marx, Chantelle, Ashley Stewart, Dress Barn and Bobbi Brown are some of the companies that support the group with $2 million worth of product. Dress Barn last year provided 4,500 new suits to job candidates. While many are familiar with Dress for Success’ suit donations, it also provides career services. “Our goal is to keep her employed,” Gordon said.
That’s where Y.E.S. comes in. Volunteers can offer firsthand advice about the workforce, she said. It also provides a networking opportunity for fashion and beauty insiders.
Dress for Success board member Alex Garfield, vice chairman of GM Design Group Inc., the maker of Garfield & Marx, praised Gordon for starting both groups. “She used to be an assistant district attorney in the Bronx,’’ Garfield said. “She didn’t need to do this.”
He continued, “It ought to be a rule that cause-related marketing is part of every business’ curriculum. I already have what I need in life. I won’t sell clothes unless it’s cause-related.”
Some shoppers will only spend money for cause-related products and a few told him just that at a Dress for Success event at Nordstrom’s in Dallas earlier this month, Garfield said.
There’s another reason to get involved with Y.E.S.: “Eventually, the women we empower will become our customers,” he said.
Others in the crowd were busy supporting von Furstenberg by shopping in her store. A few picked up cotton baby-doll dresses. “With this warm weather, spring fever has set in,” the saleswoman said.