It’s a big year for CFDA Scholarships. Not just are we celebrating the 25th anniversary – our commitment to education began with the CFDA Scholarship Program founded by the late Monika Tilley in 1996 – but the CFDA is awarding a record $500,000 to 19 top fashion students this year. The CFDA received more than 320 application submissions from 22 participating American fashion schools and graduate programs.
“Over the past 25 years, our scholarships have helped many young designers realize their dream of a career in the American fashion industry,” CFDA CEO Steven Kolb. “We launch into the next 25 years with a strong Scholarship Program that addresses the specific areas required for American fashion to have a leading role in the global fashion landscape. CFDA would like to thank our partners for their support, and we look forward to seeing the 2021 Scholars thrive in the industry.”
In addition to new scholarships from the Coach and Swarovski Foundations – read about the recipients of the inaugural Coach Dream It Real x CFDA Design Scholarship and the Swarovski Foundation Re:Generation Innovation Scholar Award – CFDA is awarding students with scholarships in categories such as Design Scholar, Design for Justice, Covid Relief, Image Maker (Suntchi), Impactful Futures (Liz Claiborne), and Design Masters (Geoffrey Beene).
The 2021 CFDA Design Scholar Award Recipients include:
CFDA DESIGN SCHOLAR AWARD ($25,000 each): Nayon Kim, Parsons School of Design; Ryane (Nyanna) Johnson, University of Cincinnati
CFDA DESIGN FOR JUSTICE SCHOLAR AWARD BFA/BA ($25,000): D’on Lauren Edwards, Savannah College of Art and Design
CFDA DESIGN FOR JUSTICE SCHOLAR AWARD MFA/MA ($25,000): Alexandra Petina, Eva Heugenhauser, Tao Li/Design Team 1, Hearing Disability (Deaf), Parsons School of Design
CFDA SUNTCHI IMAGE-MAKER AWARD ($25,000): Rebecca Flood, Parsons School of Design
CFDA COVID RELIEF FUND ($100,000 DISCRETIONARY FUND): Carmen Lee, Fashion Institute of Technology ($15,000); Iyomi Ho Ken, School of the Art Institute of Chicago ($50,000); Mia Seo, Savannah College of Art and Design ($10,000); Stephanie Kim, Fashion Institute of Technology ($25,000)
LIZ CLAIBORNE DESIGN FOR IMPACTFUL FUTURES SCHOLAR AWARD ($25,000): Nikita Deuja, Fashion Institute of Technology
GEOFFREY BEENE DESIGN MASTERS SCHOLAR AWARD ($50,000): Padina Bondar-Gibbs, Parsons School of Design
This year’s various selection committees included: Alan Mak, Angela Luna, Araks Yeramyan, Brandon Blackwood, Carmen Gama, Dao-Yi Chow, Doo-Ri Chung, Emily Bode, Jeffrey Banks, Ji Oh, Katrin Zimmerman, Kevan Hall, Mara Hoffman, Mara Hutton, Nadja Swarovski, Paul Fang, Ralph Rucci, Ruthie Davis, Stacey Bendet, Stuart Vevers, Tanya Taylor, Tom Hutton, Wes Gordon, and Yeohlee Teng.
The CFDA would like to thank the American Apparel & Footwear Association, Brown Foundation, Catie Marron, Coach Foundation, Dany Garcia, Pinterest, Swarovski Foundation and by CFDA Members Patricia Underwood and Jeffrey Banks, who have made donations to the CFDA Scholarship Fund in honor of Monika Tilley’s legacy.
