“Only in New York on a Saturday morning do you see people dressed up and ready to shop,” Prabal Gurung, a member of the CFDA board, told the chic crowd at Casa Tua New York at The Surrey.

The occasion? An intimate reception to launch the third annual Step Up for Fashion shopping event on Madison Avenue, presented by the Madison Avenue Business Improvement District (B.I.D.) in partnership with the CFDA.

“This year us especially meaningful as we celebrate 30 years of the CFDA Scholarship Fund – three decades of supporting the next generation of American fashion talent. You can see the next generation represented so beautifully around us.”

Gurung was referring to the breathtaking installation created by Raúl Àvila and featuring designs created by four of this year’s CFDA Scholarship winners: Chris Ortiz (Veronica Beard Creative Futures Scholarship), Kineri Shah (Saint Laurent Scholarship), and Anezka Rysada and Giang Luu (Carolina Herrera Women in Design Scholarship).

Fifity-brands across Madison Avenue participated with 10 percent of sales that day going to the CFDA Scholarship Fund.

“I came from Nepal with a dream of becoming a designer, and through the CFDA’s Fashion Incubator program, I was able to build my brand,” Gurung recalled. “This happens only in America. The CFDA and American fashion are truly representative of what America stands for – the audacity for hope, to build your own dream and the relentless pursuit of fashion.”

Then it was off down a block to Carolina Herrera, where guests – including the scholarship recipients – admired the floral masterpiece installation, also by Àvila in recognition of the CFDA’s Women in Design Scholarship with the fashion house.

“We have so many of the [CFDA] scholars in the stores in the stores on Madison Avenue, and the stories are telling us what a great honor it is to work with them,” Matthew Bauer, President at the Madison B.I.D.

Lest there be any doubt, the day proved that the next generation of designers has arrived!