For almost 80 years, the YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund has helped fund fashion students’ education at schools around the country. This year, in addition to awarding over 200 scholarships, it’s honoring three industry names at its annual awards dinner in New York: John Tighe, EVP, chief merchant at JCPenney, will receive Retailer of the Year; Judy Person, EVP and group president at Randa Accessories, will be recognized as Wholesaler of the Year; and Michael Strahan, former NFL player and fashion entrepreneur, with a men’s line for JCPenney, will take home the Future of Fashion Award. Eight Geoffrey Beene National Scholarship finalists will also be awarded.
Industry insiders will celebrate the honorees at a dinner at NYC’s Grand Hyatt on January 12. Schools that partner with the nonprofit include FIT, Parsons New School, RISD, UPenn, Harvard, Brandeis, and SCAD, to name a few. Past honorees have included Ralph Lauren, Manny Chirico, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Tommy Hilfiger, Kenneth Cole, Geoffrey Beene, Iris Apfel, Alber Elbaz, Isabel and Ruben Toledo, Zac Posen, Mark Weber, Tim Gunn, and most recently, Tim Baxter, Ronny Wurtzburger, and Jessica Simpson.