YMA Changes Name, Expands Mission

NEW YORK – In a move to reflect its wider scope and establish a “platform for broadened fundraising activities,” YMA has changed its name to YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund.

Under its new moniker, the group remains dedicated to advancing the fashion industry through scholarship, mentoring and internship programs in support of emerging talent and future leaders.

However, according to Phillips-Van Heusen Corp.’s Ken Duane, president of the group, it has undertaken a branding program that will include a new trademark, updated marketing and communication materials, an electronic newsletter, a revamped Web site and, if things go according to plan, a relationship with a corporate underwriter “that shares our vision and will support our programs.”

In a statement, Duane indicated that the renamed YMA is “speaking to a much larger audience of companies and executives encompassing a spectrum of categories from women’s wear to fragrance, from vertical to specialty retailers….  We are headed in the right direction with record donations of $2.3 million this year, including the Estate of Geoffrey Beene’s million-dollar bequest.”

YMA has previously been known as the Young Men’s Association and the Young Menswear Association.