The Femmy Awards 2020: Celebrating Dedication and Innovation

20 February 2020

The highly-anticipated awards took place in New York two weeks ago, and The Best of Intima was there for the festivities!

Hosted by the Underfashion Club under the Presidency of Tina Wilson, the 2020 edition marked the 62nd awards ceremony edition and the 17th annual student design contest. Emceed by none other than music icon Nona Hendryx, with a VIP guest appearance by Cyndi Lauper, this year’s Femmy Awards were nothing but spectacular. Five unique prizes were presented to brands and individuals, all of which are united by their significant contribution to the Intimate Apparel Industry and its growth. This year, Berch Schultz, Divisional Merchandise Manager Ladies Intimates Apparel and Sleepwear accepted the Retailer Award on behalf of Walmart Inc. The Brand Award went to Tommy John, accepted by the brand’s founders Tom Patterson and Erin Fujimoto (see our exclusive interview). Mary van Praag, President of the Intimates Group of Chico’s FAS (which includes the Soma and TellTale brands) accepted the Innovation Award on behalf of Soma Intimates. Bruce Getz of Komar Brands introduced the Industry Icon Award recipient, Dorothy Galligan. Following 22 years at Wacoal America, Robert Vitale, former CEO, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

This year’s Student Design Contest was themed “Modern Intimate Movement – Design for evolving lifestyles, technology and retail,” the winners of which will be featured in a dedicated photoshoot in the next edition of The Best of Intima magazine! The six students from the Fashion Design Program at the Fashion Institute of Technology put their designs to the test.

Angela Wang won first place with her design “The Street of Hong Kong.” 2nd place went to Heather Morra with “Iridescence” and 3rd to Tracy Garcia with “Nature’s Romance.” The other participants who unveiled their designs were: Hannah Myers with "Unraveled," Minh-Chau Tran with "Sheetwear Streetwear," and Yajie Niu with her design "Beautiful People."

The awards gala itself serves not only as a way to recognize honorees for their notable contribution and success or to showcase new talent, but also as a fundraiser for The Underfashion Club, which carries out an extensive program of Scholarships, Awards, Internships, and Grants to continue supporting education for the next generation of intimate apparel designers.

“We are proud to say that this premier industry event is just one of the many ways we support the next generation of talent,” says Tina M. Wilson, President of The Underfashion Club.