T Yeshiva University Museum’s A Perfect Fit Awards Dinner, honoring titans of the garment trade, university president Richard Joel revealed he’s the grandson of Velvel Bloom, who did men’s pants, and Perel Lev, who did women’s buttons. "Had their names been Levi Strauss," he said, "I’d be accepting awards, not giving them."
So he gave awards to Robert Haas, a fourth generation head of Levi Strauss; Andrew Rosen, founding president of Theory and whose grandfather founded Puritan women’s clothing; and George Feldenkreis, Cuban-born of Ukrainian parents who is chief of Perry Ellis International.
Joel said that the museum’s current exhibition of 100 years of New York’s Garment Center, created largely by immigrant Jews, is titled "A Perfect Fit." A more appropriate title would have been Lord and Tailor.
Actually, he pointed out, the origins of the garment industry date back to Jacob – he made a coat of many colors for Joseph.
