Bonnie Young started her luxury brand BY.BonnieYoung with an impressive resume.

While still at Cornell University, she started working at Ralph Lauren, then joined Donna Karan. She worked with Donna for 16 years; initially in Milan, Italy, and, after LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton acquired the brand in 2001, as Creative Director of Donna Karan Collection in New York.

Young initially started with a luxury childrenswear lineup in 2009, but has since evolved the brand to womenswear. Along the way, she has collaborated on The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, and with Adidas and Swarovski.

Young is also active in philanthropic endeavors. She is the founder of Fashion Fights for Children’s Rights and has been recognized for her contributions to Solving Kids Cancer. She also launched Project Plaid after Covid, which focuses on donating blankets to New York City’s homeless population.

Last week, the designer received a Fashion Group International Rising Star award for ready-to-wear. We checked in with Bonnie about the award, her brand ethos, and what’s next for BY.BonnieYoung.

Bonnie, it is so great to connect and congratulations on the FGI award. Take us back to when you started your brand. What inspired you to launch BY.BonnieYoung?

BY.BonnieYoung was born organically, out of a genuine demand from my customers. While my background has always been womenswear, I initially launched with a children’s luxury lifestyle store in Aspen. Soon after, clients began commissioning me to recreate my children’s design for themselves. Within one month, one of my dresses was featured on the cover of The Saturday Telegraph UK – and I took that as a sign.

How do you describe your brand ethos?

Timeless, Ageless, often Genderless and Each Piece For A Purpose !

What have been your key learnings in the process of building your own brand?

The final consumer is what matters!

You worked very closely with Donna Karan for many years. In what ways has Donna informed your approach?

At Donna, I really learned about the importance of fabrics. It begins with the fabrics and then I create.

How did you feel when the FGI Rising Star Award was announced? What does this award mean to you?

When I was nominated, I was genuinely surprised. Putting myself out there has never come naturally to me. Winning was incredibly exciting. It meant so much to have my work recognized by my peers and colleagues.

Finally, what’s next for BY.BonnieYoung?

After Covid, I made the decision to scale back my business. But deep down, I’ve always envisioned returning to a space of my own – a retail lifestyle store that feels like an extension of the brand. With AI and and an overload of social media, I feel people will crave real life human interaction.

I have always been drawn to the idea of healing as well. We’ve been developing a healing oil inspired by ancient properties and traditions.

We did a small test run for our existing clients and the response has been incredibly positive – they truly seem to love it.

Most importantly for the future, with the world evolving so rapidly, it’s vital to me that the brand remains flexible and responsive – and able to adapt to whatever comes next.