For 80 years the Fashion Scholarship Fund has been a leader in fostering talent across the fashion industry. This year, its 10-week Summer Scholarship Series virtual program featured an array of conversations from leaders in their respective fields.

The program consisted of two parts: workforce preparedness sessions and masterclasses. The 2025 edition of the Summer Scholar Series had thought-provoking insights from a range of industry leaders from companies including LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Fifteen Percent Pledge and Levi’s, alongside WWD editors, Raul Lopez of Luar, Rachel Scott of Diotima, Robin Givhan and Edward Enninful.

“We are so pleased to continue the Summer Scholar Series — which we launched five years ago during the pandemic — as a way to stay connected virtually with our young scholars and alumni, wherever they may be,” said Peter Arnold, executive director of Fashion Scholarship Fund. “The program has expanded to feature a broader range of speakers, yet its core mission remains unchanged: to offer our community of scholars and young alumni valuable opportunities to learn from and connect with industry leaders. I’m deeply grateful to each of our speakers and moderators for sharing their time, insights and expertise with us.”

The Power of Partnerships and Collaborations

For the first workforce course, attendees heard from Macy’s chief merchandising officer and FSF board member Nata Davir; Levi Strauss & Co.’s vice president of merchandising and design collaborations Leo Gamboa, and The North Face’s director of design collaborations and energy David Whetstone. The panel discussed how to harness cross-industry collaborations and the power of collaborations.

“The type of partnerships we’re seeing — whether it’s Cactus Plant McDonald’s, North Face and Brain Dead, or Levi’s and Sacai — shows an evolution of what a product means to the consumer,” said Gamboa. “Right now, there are so many collaborations in the marketplace, so it’s our job to make sure the ones we bring forward are authentic and organic to the consumer — and that everything we do is meaningful. It’s an exciting time to watch the world of collaborations.”

Landing the Dream Fashion Role

The second workforce course included LVMH’s director of talent acquisition and development Alexander Morffi-Correoso; Uniqlo’s lead university recruiter in HR Michelle Lee; Gap Inc.’s senior manager of talent acquisition Jess Spencer, and Korn Ferry’s managing partner Divina Gamble. The four top talent recruiters spoke about how the interview process works and how job seekers should tell their story through their resume and LinkedIn social platforms.

Lee told attendees that being “open minded to different departments” is critical. She also advised people to be vocal about where they want to be so people can “achieve their goals.”

“Do your research,” said Spencer. “What are the company’s values, and how do they connect to yours? Be authentic — bring personal experiences into your answers. At the end, ask thoughtful questions and always follow up with thank-you notes. That personal touch goes a long way, even with senior leaders.”

Turning Creativity Into a Thriving Business

The third workforce course heard from Jonathan Cohen Studio’s cofounder and creative director Jonathan Cohen; Lizzie Fortunato’s cofounder, head of sales and operations Kathryn Fortunato; Jessica Rich’s founder Jessica Rich, and Fifteen Percent Pledge’s senior director of growth and development Robert Burns on how to bridge the gap between creativity and entrepreneurship.

Rich noted that her brand has been largely driven by “gut feeling” rather than jumping on trends — her philosophy is to “create timeless pieces” that last forever.

“For every success, we’ve had a thousand no’s,” said Cohen. “Learning how to deal with that while running a business is something people don’t talk about. I didn’t realize how much it would affect me. Advocating for myself wasn’t easy when I first started. When you dream, you imagine winning all the time, not the hardships it takes to get there. Then it’s a shock to the system. That’s something I mentor others on — how to deal with it, stay strong, get the money you deserve and enjoy the experience.”

Fashion in the Digital-first Age

For the final workforce course, Moda Operandi’s director of strategic communications Charlotte Bentley; Tailored Brand’s social media strategist and 2023 FSF Scholar Angel Stewart; Meta’s creative production lead and 2013 FSF Scholar Lauren Youngblood, and FSF’s social media and brand marketing consultant Sam Todd looked at how social content is heavily influencing the fashion industry and how to build up a brand’s presence.

“Brands are always thinking about how to grow and how to connect with their audiences,” said Stewart. “It’s not just about converting your customer and making a sale. The approach is usually full funnel. And for my team, it always starts at the top of the funnel. Driving awareness and getting engagement with our content organically, so that it’s humanizing our brand and making sure that the content has value messaging. You want to make sure that the content is authentic.”

Youngblood also noted that there’s been a major shift back to text-based content — noting the popularity in the rise of Threads and Substack. She said hiring a copywriter for social media should be a major focus for brands to convey and home in on their distinct voice.

Inside the Met Museum’s “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” Exhibition

The first masterclass heard from the Met’s exhibition curator for “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” Monica L. Miller and Vogue’s features editor Marley Marius. The session gave attendees an inside look into the 300 years of Black American fashion and how dandyism has been quietly shaping the cultural landscape of America for decades.

Miller also spoke about how fashion is a form of resistance and change; it has also played a major part in shaping Black people’s identities, and how the exhibition curation has played a powerful role in shaping history through the lens of sartorial.

“One of the lessons I learned doing this was that people don’t know what they have, and people don’t save things,” said Miller. “Don’t throw your stuff away. There’s value in some of these things that really have to do with recovering even personal fashion histories. It might just be about remembering the incredible style of your aunt who wore this blue dress in a particular moment and felt amazing when she had it on. There are different ways to learn history.”

Luar’s Rise to the Top Through Community and Heritage-first Approach

The second masterclass with Luar’s founder and creative director Raul Lopez and Vogue Runway’s senior fashion news editor Laia Garcia-Furtado looked at how the designer turned his personal vision into one of the leading fashion brands in the American landscape. Lopez also shared how he homed in on his community and Dominican heritage to inform his approach.

“You need to put yourself out there,” said Lopez. “That’s part of the process. Cross that bridge, find spaces that you feel are like your community. Find your tribes. I found gay culture and I found Christopher Street. I remember taking my clothing in my backpack, getting dressed on the train platform, and then walking to Christopher Street — the Mecca of gay culture. I found people who looked like me, who had the same color, who identified like me, who dressed like me, who wanted to do things, who had the same taste. As I started going there, I started meeting friends. And then I met Shane, who I created Hood by Air with.”

The Cultural Impact of Virgil Abloh on Fashion and Beyond

For the third masterclass, a friend of FSF, Pulitzer Prize winner, former senior critic at large at The Washington Post and author of “Make It Ours: Crashing the Gates of Culture with Virgil Abloh,” sat down in a conversation with British Vogue’s former editor in chief Edward Enninful to discuss the late Abloh.

The two discussed Givhan’s book and how Abloh’s unconventional approach and career continue to redefine fashion, even after his passing. Givhan covered his career from his launch of Off-White to being named the creative director of men’s at Louis Vuitton, marking a major moment for the fashion industry.

“Nobody had punctured the pop culture bubble the way that Virgil did,” said Givhan. “Not only could he communicate and create a community around him, but that community had the power and the volume to be able to speak up, to elevate him and to make it very clear to the industry that this guy doesn’t move forward alone. He moves forward with this enormous population of fans and potential customers.”

Moreover, Givhan said Abloh was intent on demystifying the fashion industry for students and young people coming up in the industry. He also gave a different meaning to what value meant — with the power of storytelling. She said Abloh’s work gave people a new perspective and allowed people to reconsider what is considered luxury and to decide for themselves what they value.

Diotima’s Jamaican Craftsmanship and Valuing Artisanal Techniques  

In the fourth masterclass, Diotima’s founder and creative director Rachel Scott spoke with creative director Edward Buchanan about how she created her brand — rooted in Jamaican craft, storytelling and contemporary design. Scott shared the journey of launching Diotima and how she now aims to bring Caribbean artisanal techniques into the global spotlight.

“So much of fashion is really about collaborations and partnerships with manufacturers and people don’t talk about that,” said Scott. “I spent so much time with craftspeople in New York, India and South America. Fashion often talks about the creative genius, like it’s just the director’s vision. But for me, it’s more collaborative. There are so many people involved — not just within the design team but with manufacturers, with the people making things. I worked with incredibly skilled craftspeople outside of the canon of where we expect craft to come from. Their knowledge exists everywhere, with its own specificity and specialty, and I wanted to bring those excluded voices to light.”

An Inside Look Into Fashion Media

For the final masterclass, FSF’s board president and Fairchild Media Group’s chief executive officer Amanda Smith hosted a conversation about where the fashion media landscape is headed and what’s newsworthy with WWD’s style director Alex Badia; deputy managing editor Evan Clark, and deputy Eye editor Kristen Tauer.

Amanda Smith, president of FSF

“Fashion is culture and more than ever we’re seeing collaboration across culture and fashion,” said Tauer. “There’s so much crossover. Who are designers working with now and who might they want to work with in the future? Our job is to distill that for the industry.”

Badia said he’s always on the lookout for new designers, photographers and models. “I love an underdog. I love discovery.” As a forever student always looking everywhere, he said that research is his bread and butter — he’s endlessly curious.

On the business reporting side, Clark said to connect the dots, he’s always reading. “I dig through financial filings, triangulate information and talk to people. There’s the thrill of the hunt, the discovery and then the linking together. It’s competitive — other people are chasing the story, too. We want to win. Getting the story first has always been the culture of WWD.”