By W.A. Muller

The Couture Council of The Museum at FIT, created in 2004, is a membership group dedicated to supporting The Museum at FIT, a specialized museum of fashion. The Couture Council helps make it possible for the museum to mount world-class exhibitions of fashion, to acquire important objects for its permanent collection, and to organize public programs, such as the annual fashion symposium. The Couture Council accomplishes these goals through membership dues and by organizing fundraising events such as the annual Couture Council Awards Luncheon, which presents a chosen designer with the Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion.

Members of the Couture Council receive invitations to at least five special events a year, including behind-the-scenes tours of the museum's collection and exhibitions, opening receptions, and visits to the ateliers of fashion designers in New York. Couture Council members are also the first to receive notice of the annual Couture Council Artistry of Fashion Award luncheon.

In addition, Couture Council members receive complimentary admittance to all museum educational programs, as well as to the annual fashion symposium, acknowledgments in FIT's annual report, in the exhibition galleries and brochures, and on the FIT website and exclusive opportunities to meet other patrons of the fashion arts.

The Couture Council of The Museum at FIT's board of directors includes Joele Frank, Laura Lofaro Freeman, Anne Goldrach, Carole Divet Harting, Yaz Hernàndez (chair), Celia Hegyi, Chiu-Ti Jansen, Eleanora Kennedy, Michèle Gerber Klein, Alexandra Lebenthal (president), Kamie Lightburn, Stephanie Loeffler, Julie Macklowe, Barbara Malone, Elizabeth Musmanno, Liz Peek, Darcy Rigas, Valerie Salembier, Peter G. Scotese, Jean Shafiroff, Nancy Raquet Shaw, Michelle Smith, Jieun Wax, and Sarah G. Wolfe.

Couture Council annual membership is $1,000 per individual or couple, or $350 for Young Associates (under the age of 35). Membership is tax deductible to the extent provided by law. Please make checks payable to the FIT Foundation. Mail checks to The Museum at FIT, attention: Couture Council, 227 West 27th Street, Director's Office, Room E304, New York, NY 10001-5992.

For more about the Couture Council visit www.fitnyc.edu/couturecouncil