Multi-role for Joseph Abboud at JA Apparel

Joseph Abboud will resume his role as the creative visionary and design leader of the brand and the business, he founded more then seventeen years ago. Abboud will serve as Founder and Chief Creative Director of JA Apparel Corp., which manufactures and licenses tailored clothing and sportswear, furnishings and accessories, as well as home furnishings, under the Joseph Abboud brand.

The announcement was made on July, 19th, by Marty Staff, President and Chief Executive Officer of JA Apparel Corp.

In his role Abboud will report directly to Staff, and will work closely with the Company's design and merchandising team. Abboud will be in charge of the design and development of the Joseph Abboud Collection, a comprehensive couture collection of clothing and sportswear, scheduled to launch in Fall 2005.

In addition, Abboud, who introduced the first collection of men's apparel in 1987, will provide design input on all licensed collections, and will be directly responsible for the design of certain licensed collections, including eyewear (made by Altair Eyewear), footwear and jewelry, as well as all Home Furnishings collections.

As a demonstration of his confidence in and support of the ownership and management of JA Apparel Corp., Abboud will become an investor and a minority shareholder in the Company.