CFDA President CaSandra Diggs’s Advice for Making It in Fashion – Fashion News and Trends: Designers, Models, Style Guides | Vogue

In How I Got Here, Black and brown creatives explore how they worked their way to the top of the fashion industry. In conversation with Vogue, these editors, social media stars, and more reveal the unforgettable moment that would change their careers completely. How I Got Here offers (stylish) life lessons, in the artists’ own words.

CaSandra Diggs was named president of the CFDA in 2020, making history as the organization’s first Black president. Her former job at the consultancy Harrison & Shriftman landed her a position at the council as a business manager in 2001. As president, she has since implemented Impact, a diversity initiative within the CFDA to support designers who are historically unrecognized in the industry. Diggs has a clear view on where these initiatives should go next: forward!

In the early ’90s I had my first stint as a sales associate at Macy’s. That’s where I really got my introduction to the fashion industry. I thought, Wait a minute—there’s way more to this than I thought. It wasn’t all about fun. I really felt the business side of it. I’ve always admired fashion, but the more that I grow in this role, the more I respect the artists within it. The craftsmanship, the level of creativity and innovation that goes into building a collection, is amazing to witness as a whole.

I’ve been at the CFDA since 2001. I came as a business manager, and that incorporated everything that had to do with logistics and strategic operations. I recognized that there was a way for me to take different elements of the business, put them together, and create one role for myself. Most people want the P.R., marketing, and forward-facing roles, but I saw the power of the business role. I really gravitated toward that and took it by the horns and made it into what I wanted to do.