Internationally recognized fashion designer Denise Hajjar, who is also designer-in-residence at the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston, will be the special guest at the Women of Northern Essex Community College annual Membership Tea on Wednesday, November 14, at 1 p.m. in the Hartleb Technology Center on the Haverhill campus, 100 Elliott St. This event is open to the public. Tickets are $45 per person. Seating is reserved. Fashion maven Yolanda will be the event’s presenter.

Hajjar, born and raised in the Boston area, is said to have inherited her design interest and talent from her grandmother who was a designer in Damascus, Syria, and her grandfather who was a patternmaker and dress factory owner from Beirut, Lebanon.

After graduating from The School of Fashion Design, Hajjar chose to stay close to her Boston roots and start a business here. With almost 30 years in her own design business, Hajjar has established herself as a top designer, having sold her creations nationally to department stores, specialty boutiques, and individual clients worldwide.

Since March of 2006 she has been the designer-in-residence at the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel.
Opening her retail boutique has provided her with the opportunity to showcase her ready-to-wear line of day and evening wear, and her made-to-order, one-of-a-kind designs to customers from all over the world.

Hajjar has designed costumes for television, theatre, commercials and movies, such as:
“Undercurrent” starring Lorenzo Lamas and Brenda Strong; new uniforms for the “Boston Children’s Chorus” and most recently, five gowns for Vanna White from “The Wheel of Fortune”. Yolanda, who will present Hajjar’s fashions, is herself a fashion icon in the Boston fashion industry and owner of Yolanda Online.

The tea menu will feature assorted tea sandwiches, a fruit cascade, and a variety of desserts.
Founded in 1997, The Women of NECC was organized to help Northern Essex in its efforts to raise money for scholarship for needy and deserving students.

For additional information on the tea, contact the Northern Essex Community College Institutional Advancement Office at 978-556-3789. Seating is limited.

For additional information contact Lori Smerdon at lsmerdon@necc.mass.edu or call 978-556-3789.