NEW YORK — A Who’s Who of the apparel industry filled the 36th-floor ballroom of the Mandarin Oriental hotel here Tuesday night for a gala dinner marking the latest exhibit of the Yeshiva University Museum.
George Feldenkreis, chairman and chief executive officer of Perry Ellis International, was honorary chairman of the event, which highlighted “A Perfect Fit: The Garment Industry and American Jewry 1860-1960.” Feldenkreis touched on his own life in his remarks, speaking of earning a law degree before fleeing Cuba with his wife and young son in 1961 and then entering the apparel industry.
The dinner also honored two men whose family roots are deep in the apparel world.
Robert Haas, chairman of Levi Strauss & Co. and a descendant of the company namesake, was cited for helping to maintain the high level of ethical standards that have played a major role in defining the firm. In an interview, Haas attributed his selection for the award to the efforts of his family and Levi Strauss & Co. to act in a socially responsible manner.
“It’s doing well by doing good,” Haas said. “Starting with Levi’s, there’s been a commitment to building better businesses.”
The family history seems never far from Haas’ mind.
“My grandfather always used to say ‘Never make a prediction less than five years out,'” joked Haas when asked about his thoughts on the immediate future of the denim industry. “My grandfather would probably throw down a bolt of thunder if I did that.”
Haas said he was impressed by how the exhibit conveyed the level of impact Jewish immigrants and Jewish Americans have had on apparel and fashion.
“It’s not just a New York focus,” he said. “They talk about the nodes, like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Baltimore, where these industries first developed. It’s really a national story.”
Andrew Rosen, founder and president of Theory, was the second award recipient, honored for maintaining his family’s legacy in the industry and for encouraging young designers. Rosen’s grandfather, Arthur, founded Puritan Fashions in 1910.
As with Haas, fashion and family are intertwined for Rosen, whose father, Carl, was a leading Seventh Avenue executive.
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“What I realize is that this business, the fashion industry, is truly a family business,” Rosen said during his acceptance speech. “This is not just about making clothes to fill up racks in stores. It’s about relationships, about community, about threading one generation to the next.”
A map at the exhibit depicting the changes of New York’s Garment District reinforced Rosen’s belief that the business is still based on relationships.
“Family businesses have been founded and flourished, and are now public companies,” Rosen said. “Yet, the culture is the same.”