Richman, Litman to Be Honored by Fashion Industries Guild

Directives West’s Sandy Richman and Stony Apparel’s Tony Litman have been named 2009 “People of the Year” by the Fashion Industries Guild of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

The two will receive their awards at FIG’s annual gala, set for Oct. 3 at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in Beverly Hills.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Cedars-Sinai Fashion Industries Guild Pediatric Acute Care Unit, which provides advanced medical and nursing care in a focused setting.

Richmond co-founded the Directives West buying office with Mona Danford in 1982, building the retail consultancy to encompass all areas of women’s, men’s and children’s apparel and accessories. In 2008, she merged with New York–based Doneger Group and became president of Directives West, which is an independent division of Doneger.

A second-generation retailer, Richmond got her start in the business as a buyer for a specialty retailer in Rhode Island before moving to California and joining Bullock’s department store, first as a buyer and later as divisional merchandise manager and then product-development manager. She spent 11 years at the upscale store, which was acquired by Federated Department Stores (now Macy’s) before she opened Directive’s West.

Litman is a 30-year apparel-industry veteran who started in the business as a sales representative for the Chemin de Fer label in the 1980s. His career has taken him to Swat/Fame and Francine Browner, where he helped launch the Los Angeles company’s D’Knits juniors crossover line. In 1996, Litman and Steve Maiman co-founded Stony Apparel Corp., a manufacturer of juniors, plus-size and girls’ apparel.

For more information about the FIG gala, call Steve Marienhoff at (213) 627-2151, Hal Kaltman at (213) 627-9055 or Eileen Ellis at (818) 704-1853. —Alison A. Nieder