Our Mission
The Fashion Scholarship Fund is the foremost fashion-oriented education and workforce development nonprofit in the U.S. The FSF works directly with the country's most talented young students and awards over $1.9 million each year in scholarships to help these students succeed in all sectors of the industry including design and product development, merchandising, marketing, and business strategy.
The FSF also provides scholars with a wide range of internship and career opportunities, mentorship, networking, professional development, and unprecedented access to the industry's most influential leaders and companies.
Get To Know Us
In 1937, the Fashion Scholarship Fund was founded as a project of the Young Men’s Apparel Association — a professional association group of young men networking their way to successful careers in New York City’s bustling menswear business. In 1971, 34 years later, the YMA began awarding $500 scholarship grants to undergraduates looking to join the fashion industry.
Fast forward 52 years. The basic model is still the same, but that’s where the similarities end. FSF now awards scholarship grants ranging from $10,000 to $25,000 — more than $1.9 million each year — to more than 160 undergraduates annually from 75 colleges and universities across the U.S. There is no effort of similar scale in the fashion industry, and it is made possible by strong partnerships with many of the industry’s leading corporations. The effort now goes far beyond awarding scholarships. We say, “the scholarship is just the beginning,” and it’s true. With the help of our partners, we educate and support each FSF Scholar to achieve their goals, and we extend that network of support long after the scholarship year. We are truly a lifelong resource.
Generations of the country’s top talent — both in design and in the business of fashion — have graduated through the FSF Scholarship ranks. As the industry evolves, the Fashion Scholarship Fund is stronger than ever because we are positioned to help the industry meet its goals for future talent development that creates impact. To bring innovation and creativity to our many challenges. To embrace the vision and represent the values of fashion’s future.
I’m proud to stand with this historic enterprise that has never been more vital and relevant as it is today.
To embrace the vision and represent the values of fashion’s future.
John Tighe
President, Tailored Brands
President, FSF Board of Governors
Since I joined the FSF in 2018, the FSF has navigated a period of profound change for both the organization and the fashion industry. The FSF has had demonstrable success in advancing impact in the fashion industry’s talent pipeline. This effort owes much to Virgil Abloh, who joined the FSF Board in 2019 and established the transformational Virgil Abloh™ “Post-Modern” Scholarship Fund with the FSF. The “Post-Modern” Scholarships — and Scholarships created by so many other FSF partners — are direct investments in talented young adults who are traditionally underrepresented in the fashion industry.
We continue to serve as an effective partner for the many sectors that comprise our industry in building a global workforce, as we do for elevating other values that are important to our Scholars and Alumni, such as environmental sustainability and ethical production. We make change through our industry partnerships, and we thank our partners for investing in our efforts.
We have also deepened the way we have supported our Scholars and Alumni: providing career awareness, mentoring, and professional development opportunities; making connections to internships and employment; building community. As we move forward, we will continue to learn from our Scholars and Alumni how best we may support them and how we may help realize the vision of the industry they seek to join. Thank you for being part of their — and our — journey.
Peter Arnold
FSF Executive Director
Board of Governors
FSF Board Members provide vital career advice, mentoring, and internships for scholars just starting out in the fashion industry. They are committed to engaging with students at all stages of their career.
Virgil Abloh†
Off-White
Founder & Chief Creative Director
Mike Alic
Management One
President
Michael Allison†
Burlington Stores, Inc.
EVP/Chief Human Resources Officer
Sam Archibald*
Fanatics, Inc.
Chief Merchandising Officer - Commerce
Peter Arnold*
Fashion Scholarship Fund
Executive Director
FSF Board Secretary
Carolyn D'Angelo*
Gordon Brothers
Senior Managing Director, Head of Brand Operations
Nata Dvir*
Macy's, Inc.
Chief Merchandising Officer
Howard Feller*
H Feller Enterprises
Founder
Mike Fralix
[TC]2
President and CEO
Kiera Ganann*
Delta Galil
SVP/Global GM, Ralph Lauren Intimates & Sleepwear
Heath Golden*
Marquee Brands
Chief Executive Officer
Alex Grinberg
Movado
Senior Vice President Customer and Consumer Programs
Celeste Gudas*
24 Seven
Chairwoman, Founder
Stacie Henderson*
TOD'S Group
Chief Marketing Officer, Americas
David Katz*
Randa Apparel & Accessories
EVP, Chief Marketing Officer
Matt Laukaitis
Alpha Insight Partners Founding Principal
Jessica Lomax
Calvin Klein
Chief Design Officer
Marc Mastronardi*
Equinox
President
FSF Board Chairman
Mecca Mitchell
Burlington Stores, Inc.
SVP, Leadership & Organizational Development, DEI, and Community Impact
Kenneth Nolan
Industry Consultant
Dan Orwig*
Peerless Clothing
President
Kristin Rehberg*
Kohl's
VP of Design
Paul Rosengard*
WHP Global
Senior Advisor
Heather Roussel
Levi Strauss & Co.
Vice President Merchandising Global Women's, Accessories and Collaborations
Emilie Rubinfeld
Carolina Herrera, Ltd.
President
Michael Setola*
Tharanco Lifestyles
CEO and President
Yehuda Shmidman*
WHP Global
Founder, Chairman and CEO
FSF Board Vice President and Treasurer
Stanley Silverstein
WHP Global
Chief Commercial Officer
Amanda Smith*
Fairchild Media
Chief Executive Officer
Gena Smith
LVMH Inc. - North America
Chief Human Resources Officer
Maureen Storch
American Apparel & Footwear Association
Senior Vice President Membership
Chip Thompson*
Ralph Lauren
President & Head of Womenswear and Men's & Women's Footwear & Accessories North American Wholesale
John Tighe*
Tailored Brands
President
FSF Board President
Lana Todorovich*
Industry Consultant
Jennifer Vecchio*
Burlington Stores, Inc.
Group President and Chief Merchandising Officer
Meghan Willis
Under Armour
VP of Product Development, Apparel & Accessories
Michelle Wlazlo
JCPenney
Brand CEO
CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE
Keith Baptista
PRODJECT
Managing Partner
Glen Ellen Brown
Ember Advisory
Co-Founder and Managing Partner
June Defabio
Abercrombie & Fitch
EVP, Global Strategy & Business Development
Abbey Doneger
DONEGER | TOBE
President and CEO
Georgie Greville
Director + Creative Consultant
Debra Malbin
Debra Malbin Associates
Founder
Karen Murray
Fivestory
Owner
Peter Sachse
Tailored Brands
Cheif Executive Officer
William Susman
Cascadia Capital LLC
Managing Director
Electa Varnish
Industry Consultant
Kenneth Wyse
Wyse Consulting, LLC
President
†IN MEMORY
*Executive Committee Member
