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 from diverse backgrounds and awards over $1.4 million each year in scholarships to help these students succeed in all sectors of the industry including design, merchandising, marketing analytics, 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.
Our Heritage
Founded in 1937, the FSF started as the Young Menswear Association (YMA), an informal group educating the next generation of professionals. Over 80 years later, YMA has evolved into the Fashion Scholarship Fund (FSF), the oldest and foremost fashion-oriented education and workforce development nonprofit in the country.
The FSF raises millions of dollars every year from individual and corporate sponsors such as: Burlington Stores, Coach, Eric Emanuel, Levi Strauss & Co., LVMH, Macy's, Neiman Marcus Group, Nordstrom, PVH, Ralph Lauren, and SKIMS. And although the name has changed, our mission remains the same. The FSF is — and always has been —investing in the fashion industry’s most promising up-and-coming young talent.
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 $7,500 to $25,000 — more than $1.4 million each year — to more than 130 undergraduates annually from 72 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. And now, with our world and our industry changing, the Fashion Scholarship Fund is stronger than ever because we are positioned to help the industry meet its goals. To be more diverse. 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 equity and inclusion 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 diverse and inclusive 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
Our Board
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.
Executive Committee
John Tighe
Tailored Brands
President
FSF Board President
Yehuda Shmidman
WHP Global
Chief Executive Officer
FSF Board Vice President
Marc Mastronardi
Macy's, Inc.
Chief Stores Officer
FSF Board Chairman
Peter Arnold
Fashion Scholarship Fund
Executive Director
FSF Board Secretary
Paul Rosengard
WHP Global
Senior Advisor
FSF Board Treasurer
Sam Archibald
Macy's, Inc.
General Business Manager - Apparel
Carolyn D'Angelo
Gordon Brothers
Senior Managing Director, Brands
Nata Dvir
Macy's, Inc.
Chief Merchandising Officer
Howard Feller
H Feller Enterprises
Founder
Kiera Ganann
Delta Galil
SVP / Global GM Ralph Lauren Intimates & Sleepwear
Heath Golden
Marquee Brands
President
Celeste Gudas
24 Seven
CEO and Founder
Stacie Henderson
TOD'S Group
Chief Marketing Officer, Americas
David Katz
Randa Apparel & Accessories
EVP, Chief Marketing Officer
Dan Orwig
Peerless Clothing
President
Kristin Rehberg
Kohl's
VP of Design
Michael Setola
Tharanco Lifestyles
CEO and President
Amanda Smith
Fairchild Media
President
Chip Thompson
Ralph Lauren
President & Head of Womenswear and Men's & Women's Footwear & Accessories North American Wholesale
Lana Todorovich
Neiman Marcus
President and Chief Merchandising Officer
Jennifer Vecchio
Burlington Stores
President and Chief Merchandising Officer
Board of Governors
Virgil Abloh*
Off-White
Founder & Chief Creative Director
Mike Alic
Management One
President
Michael Allison*
Burlington Stores
EVP/Chief Human Resources Officer
Mike Fralix
[TC]2
President and CEO
Alex Grinberg
Movado
Senior Vice President Customer and Consumer Programs
Matt Laukaitis
SAP
EVP and Global GM, Consumer Industries
Jessica Lomax
Calvin Klein
EVP, Global Head of Design
Mecca Mitchell
Burlington Stores
SVP, Leadership & Organizational Development, DEI, and Community Impact
Kenneth Nolan
Halston, G-III Apparel
President & Chief Creative Officer
Heather Roussel
Levi Staruss & Co.
Vice President Merchandising Global Women's, Collections, Collaborations, Accessories & Footwear
Emilie Rubinfeld
Carolina Herrera, Ltd.
President
Stanley Silverstein
WHP Global
Chief Commercial Officer
Gena Smith
LVMH Inc. - North America
Chief Human Resources Officer
Maureen Storch**
AAFA
Senior Vice President Membership
Meghan Willis
Under Armour
VP of Product Development, Apparel & Accessories
Michelle Wlazlo
JCPenney
EVP/Chief Merchandising Officer
*IN MEMORY
**Non-Voting Member
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
Abbey Doneger
DONEGER | TOBE
President and CEO
Debra Malbin
Karen Murray
Electa Varnish
Peter Sachse
William Susman
Kenneth Wyse
Director + Creative Consultant
Debra Malbin Associates
Founder
Fivestory
Owner
Industry Consultant
Tailored Brands
Co-CEO
Cascadia Capital LLC
Managing Director
Wyse Consulting
President
