Natural silver fox coat with hood Fashions and fundraising are combined to advance ORT's worldwide training programs Extra OFITinair CARLA JEAN SCHWARTZ Special to The Jewish News Black dress with taffeta skirt and rhinestone trim The Michigan Region of Women's American ORT celebrated an extraordi- nary period of member- ship recruitment and fundraising last week. Two glamorous functions — an exclusive fashion show and a musical ensemble — will help the Organization for Re- habilitation through Training's international vocational and technical school system in 30 coun- tries. The key to ORT is members. "Our strength is in our numbers," says Ruth Rosenfeld, president of the Michigan Region. "Every year we have a major member- ship event to recruit new members." ORT has 30 local chapters in the Michigan region with a membership over 3,800. Two new chapters are meeting in the evening to accommo- date the many working women in- volved in ORT. According to Rosenfeld, the most popular events for membership re- cruitment are fashion shows. On Sept. 2, ORT and Saks Fifth Avenue presented an exclusive showing of the "SFA European-American Col- Elegant silk dress with subtle print lection" to benefit the ORT 1987 membership drive. The main purpose of this event is to give the chapters an extra in- centive to get people to join and get old members to pay dues," says Rosenfeld. Two hundred and fifty women attended the regional event at Somerset Mall with 18 new mem- bers. The evening began with dinner from Houlihan's and a fashion show featuring the designs of Bill Blass, Geoffrey Beene, Ungaro, Armani, Oscar de la Renta and other famous designers. "The collection represents the inspiration and imagination of the brightest and the best," stated Cheryl Hall, fashion director of Saks Fifth Avenue. White Roman columns against a black background provided the stage for some striking outfits. The show opened with elegant suits by Ar- mani. Tweed-topped cashmere jac- kets and grey, wool jackets were classic. Surprisingly, many of the fash- ions in the entire collection were short with a -length close to the knee. The '86 executive look was a pin-stripe suit with a 7/8 length swing jacket and a pencil slim skirt. Knit dressing by Ungaro was Print blouse, leather skirt, gold chain belt