Against the glow of a sweeping New York City sunset, more than 80 guests gathered on the 36th floor of the Virgin Hotel to celebrate creativity, innovation, and sustainability during Climate Week. The evening, hosted by the CFDA and the Swarovski Foundation with support from The Conduit, celebrated Future Materials: Creative Solutions for a Sustainable World. From panoramic skyline views to a vibrant mix of designers, scientists, manufacturers, sustainability leaders, and visionaries, the night embodied the collective energy driving fashion’s sustainable future.
The event spotlighted Sci-Lume Labs, recipient of the 2025 CFDA x Swarovski Foundation Re:Generation Innovation Fund, a program designed to empower next-generation creative innovators shaping the future of fashion and sustainability.
WWD’s Rosemary Feitelberg moderated a dynamic panel discussion featuring Oliver Shafaat, founder of Sci-Lume Labs; Uyen Tran, co-founder of TomTex; and Sara Kozlowski, CFDA’s Vice President of Sustainability and Education. The conversation explored the transformative potential of circular design, cross-sector collaboration, and equitable access to resources to advance sustainable materials.
As the 2025 Fund recipient, Oliver Shafaat highlighted the importance of early-stage support, both financial and through mentorship, in helping innovators transform bold ideas into tangible impact. The Re:Generation Innovation Fund provides a $30,000 grant and tailored business guidance to help emerging leaders accelerate their growth and scale their vision for sustainability.
Guests also experienced a curated showcase of pioneering materials, from biofabricated textiles to low-impact composites, while engaging with innovators, investors, and representatives from the United Nations.
The networking sessions fostered genuine connections and thoughtful dialogue, laying the groundwork for future collaborations that aim to shape the next chapter of material innovation. Attendees represented a wide range of disciplines including fashion, architecture, science, finance, and philanthropy, illustrating how interdisciplinary partnership continues to drive meaningful progress across creative industries.
Jakhya Rahman-Corey, Director of the Swarovski Foundation, said: “At the Swarovski Foundation, advancing creativity as a solution for the world’s sustainable development challenges is a core principle of what we do through both our global partnerships and initiatives.
This event was an opportunity to highlight the power of innovation and creative thinking, as well as the importance of collective positive impact. Together, these values can drive practical and scalable solutions to some of the most pressing development challenges facing the fashion industry and beyond.
CFDA’s Kozlowski added: “Our partnership with the Swarovski Foundation exemplifies our shared belief in fostering cross-sector collaboration to enable transformative change. The CFDA is committed to growing industry connections and creative collaboration. Working together with the Swarovski Foundation, we believe in the future of next-generation material innovation. We are proud to celebrate Sci-Lume Labs, amplifying this message as an essential part of unlocking gateways to design innovation at the intersection of fashion, science, and technology so designers can fully adopt circularity.”
United by a shared vision for a more responsible and imaginative future, the CFDA, together with the Swarovski Foundation, closed the evening with a renewed sense of purpose and possibility – a reminder that progress begins with collaboration and imagination.
By empowering emerging innovators such as Sci-Lume Labs and fostering meaningful exchange across disciplines, the CFDA reaffirms its belief that the future of fashion depends not only on what we create but on how we create it, together.
