ORT’s Fashion Show Fundraiser was Full of Style

Milan fashion week and the Paris runway have nothing on ORT Atlanta’s cadre of moving, shaking, and modeling women. On April 16, with a capacity crowd of 100 at The Dupree on Powers Ferry Road, supporters came for a box lunch and fashion show featuring local supporters and models coordinated by Beth Friedman alongside local ORT president Robbi Strauss.

Norma Greenspan, Shelley Shapiro (Friedman’s mother), Miriam Haviv, Phyllis Cohen, Nancy Weismann, Sonia Mitropoulos, Lizzy Lack, and Friedman each modeled three outfits from Fox’s on Roswell Road, one of Jewish Atlanta women’s most treasured fashion finding destinations (along with popular Fox’s locations in Boca Raton and the New York region.) Jewish-owned Fox’s also has a line of modest Orthodox-appropriate dresses alongside their more contemporary lines and at very reasonable prices.

Atlanta and Southeast ORT Director Kenny Silverboard welcomed the crowd, explaining that he was the only rooster in the hen house. “It takes a village to put over a fashion show of this nature,” he said, adding, “When I took this job, I never envisioned that I would be coordinating a sold-out women’s event/ fashion show.” He thanked ex-ORT Director Rachel Miller, who was responsible for hiring him a few years ago.

Much of the action and excitement sprung from multiple door prizes featuring a variety of goodies, ranging from tap dancing lessons to art, dining, and gift certificates.

Robbi Strauss explained her passion for volunteer work and recalled when she asked her grandmother for advice on how to connect and contribute when weighing charities like the Red Cross or United Way.

She said, “I could’ve lived a life of leisure and been laying on a raft somewhere in the swimming pool. But then I got a call that ‘ORT needs you.’ Nothing is more compelling than that.”

Her grandmother was clear to point out that ORT was the best way to make a lasting impression because people were trained to be able to have a profession and support themselves. She revisited the old quote about teaching a man to fish, giving him an occupation vs. just a meal. She said, “ORT opens doors and has ripple effects and purpose plus connection … today, we will show our power one outfit at a time. And this is l’dor v’dor for me.”

Strauss served as the peppy fashion moderator as she praised and encouraged the women coming down the runway. She began by touting how much energy event chair Friedman had coordinating multiple projects at one time including her matchmaking business.

In a fascinating historical note, Strauss explained ORT’s connection to fashion. “We’re art workers and, in many countries, design dress patterns, and work in the fashion industry in quiet moments of learning.”

Models began their parade well-timed, well-tuned, well-coiffed and well-accessorized. The themes were light, baby blue hues, summer sweaters, beige and white, some elaborate large lace, studded and bejeweled, jeans, white jackets, and scarves wrapped on purses (a Hermes trend), along with affordable price points. Some pieces originated in France and Italy. Miriam Haviv sported a lively two-piece, long-sleeved red and white print, while Lack, holding up the more youthful end, wore a strapless brown dress embroidered with contrasting flowers. Sonia Mitrolpoulus sported some snazzy French jeans priced at $44.

The runway ended with a real show stopper, an elegant metallic mother-of-the-bride floor-length gown for $159, and Shapiro in an elaborate white suit and hat.