Usually, when an event has the word “gala” in its invite, guests can assume they’re in for a seated dinner of some sort. But on Monday night at The Glasshouse in NYC, the 2025 Fashion Scholarship Fund (FSF) Gala took a different approach: Attendees were instead welcomed to a “fashion science fair,” designer Christian Siriano joked in his opening speech. (Think less paper maché volcanoes and more fashion-focused powerpoints.)

As industry insiders gathered to celebrate the new wave of fashion talent, they spent the evening scanning the QR codes spread throughout the room that digitally linked to presentations by the FSF class of 2025: 160 college students who each received at least $10,000 in scholarships (and were collectively awarded over $1.9 million) to put towards their fashion educations.

Siriano and supermodel Coco Rocha co-hosted the event, which also honored four industry movers, starting with Fear of God Founder Jerry Lorenzo, who was presented by Harper’s Bazaar Editor-in-Chief Samira Nasr. Favorite Daughter Co-Founders Sara and Erin Foster and Macy’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tony Spring, too, were named honorees, introduced by Danielle Frankel Hirsch and Macy’s executive Iman El Khatib, respectively.

FSF Executive Director Peter Arnold then took the stage with Head of Virgil Abloh Post-Modern Scholarship and Equity Farai Simoyi to celebrate the expansion of the Virgil Abloh “Post Modern” Scholars program. As was announced last year, the Abloh-founded program grew its cohort from 30 to 60 scholars. 

“We continue to make important strides to support underrepresented students and ensuring [we’re] equitable, diverse and inclusive,” Arnold told the crowd. “I know those words may be triggering, and I know some may think those words are performative, but the FSF for decades has [supported] this work. I assure you, in my heart, I know that what we’re doing is making this industry better for all of us.”

Furthering its commitment to providing opportunities for students, the FSF announced a pilot program that will award any sophomore FSF scholar the chance to receive a multi-year scholarship award for their college years. 

Throughout the evening, four Scholar finalists — Chloe Allen (Virginia Commonwealth University), Flora Medina (Savannah College of Art and Design), Ryan Cheung (University of California, Berkeley) and Fatmata Camara (LIM College) — competed for the $25,000 Chairman’s Award by presenting brief presentations on their case studies.

The students were tasked with coming up with an idea that bridged fashion and technology: Allen focused on the future of fiber innovation and space suit design; Cheung proposed tech-integrated streetwear for rock-climbing enthusiasts; Medina honed in on empowering individuality by using generative AI to create custom Crocs jibbitz; and Camara pitched an AI-driven skin-care concept via using biosensitive materials to provide personalized skin-care feedback.

NBA All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns concluded the evening by announcing Camara as the winner. 

“Winning this award means affirming I’m on the right track in terms of what I want do and the way that I approached the prompt,” Camara told Fashionista. “I had a lot of fun with it, and ultimately, I learned so much. I’m so excited that it resonated with the judges and that I’m able to represent the brand in this kind of platform because I love the Fashion Scholarship Fund and they’ve been a part of my life for the past three years.”

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