The Femmy Awards

By Adam Welsch
Cupid Intimates

It’s awards season.  Perhaps you’ve already seen the 2010 Golden Globe®, People’s Choice, Screen Actors Guild, and/or Grammy® Awards shows.  Few people will miss the Academy Awards® in early March.  But how many of you know that the 2010 Femmy Awards were presented last week?  “The Emmy® Awards?” you say.   No, not the Emmys® – those for Primetime TV will be presented at the end of August.  The Femmys. They’re presented each year by The Underfashion Club, Inc. to members of the intimate apparel industry for their achievements.  This year’s Femmy Gala took place at Cipriani 42nd Street in Manhattan on February 2nd.

Born in 1958 as the Corset & Brassiere Women’s Club, Inc., the Underfashion Club, Inc. adopted its current name in 1963.  As a non-profit organization, it helps participants in the intimate apparel industry trade information and ideas, discuss the industry’s needs and challenges, and ensure that intimate apparel continues to be seen as a key component of the fashion world.

Underfashion Club, Inc. members come from all links of the intimate apparel industry’s supply chain, including retailers, garment makers, textile producers, and fiber manufacturers, and work in management, sales, marketing, merchandising, design, and education positions.  They help create and distribute bras & shapewear, day wear, sleepwear, robes, and loungewear.   The Club’s stated mission includes its two principal goals of supporting the education of new talent and attracting that talent to careers in the industry.

So, who were this year’s winners?  In no particular order:

• Macy’s

With headquarters in New York City and Cincinnati, Macy’s is one of this country’s largest retailers of intimate apparel, operating more than 800 stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.  Its total-store annual sales amount to more than $20 billion.  The company also operates macys.com.

• Felina Lingerie

Founded in 1982, Felina is a family-owned lingerie company based in Los Angeles.  Felina creates bras, panties, day wear, sleepwear, and specialty lingerie incorporating European-inspired design.

• Regina Miracle International

Established in 1998 as a bra pad manufacturer in Shenzhen, China, Regina Miracle has grown to be a manufacturer for many internationally-recognized brands.  It specializes in the use of “no seam, no stitching, and no sewing” production technology.

• BareNecessities.com (winner of the Innovation Award)

Begun in 1998, BareNecessities.com is now the largest online specialty retailer of women’s intimate apparel and men’s underwear.

• Gwen Widell (winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award)

Ms. Widell has been the Senior Vice President of Merchandising for Wacoal America, Inc. since 2006.  Her career in the intimate apparel industry has included positions with Wanamaker’s , Rich’s, Macy’s New York, Venture Stores, and the Warnaco Group.

So next time you watch the stars walk the red carpets of the Oscars®, Grammys®, Tonys®, and Emmys®, and you marvel at how great they look in their beautiful dresses, remember that, but for the achievements of the Femmy Award winners, your favorite actresses and singers wouldn’t look quite as good.

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