Virgil Abloh Raises $1 Million Dollars to Support the Next Generation of Black Fashion Industry Leaders

Designer Virgil Abloh announced today that he has raised $1 million to benefit scholarships for Black students through the Virgil Abloh™️ "Post-Modern" Scholarship Fund, which will be managed in partnership with the Fashion Scholarship Fund (FSF), the foremost fashion-oriented education and workforce development nonprofit in the U.S.  Quotes from Virgil Abloh and Peter Arnold, FSF's Executive Director, are available below.

The Abloh Fund's mission is to foster equity and inclusion within the fashion industry by providing scholarships to students of academic promise of Black, African-American, or African descent. Mr. Abloh named the fund "Post Modern" to represent that recipients will not only receive funds, but will also be given access to vital career support services and mentoring. In addition to his own donation, Abloh raised funds from his partners evian, Farfetch, Louis Vuitton, and New Guards Group, with more partners to be announced in the future as the Fund continues to work for long-term change.

In connection with the launch of the Fund, Mr. Abloh has entered into a long-term partnership with FSF to help enhance their internship, mentorship, and networking offerings.

Peter Arnold, FSF Executive Director, said: “At the heart of the FSF’s mission is elevating the voices and creative visions of talented youth from underrepresented backgrounds who are the future leaders of our industry. Virgil is a trailblazer and a game-changer, leveraging his considerable influence to effect change from within. We are grateful to have this opportunity to partner with him and his partners to impact the lives of so many deserving young people."

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CFDA Announces Initiatives to Fight Systemic Racism in Fashion Industry

The CFDA has outlined several initiatives targeted on making systemic change in light of the “deplorable acts of racism and violence that we have seen play out in our country over this past week,” as announced in a joint statement today by chairman Tom Ford and president and CEO Steven Kolb. It follows behind a string of similar announcements as brands, companies and people worldwide respond to the deaths of George Floyd — the African-American man who was killed while in police custody in Minneapolis last week — and others that have been killed by the police.

“Black people in this country are reeling from years of injustice stemming from institutional constructs such as slavery, segregation, mass incarceration, police brutality and economic and voter suppression,” the CFDA said. “The Black community is experiencing anger and frustration on top of the effects of the global pandemic that has hit communities of color the hardest.”

According to the statement, the CFDA held a board meeting on Tuesday to formulate various actions that the organization plans to take in order to “stand in solidarity with those who are discriminated against.” Among the initiatives, the organization plans to create an in-house employment program to aid Black talent, a mentorship program focused on Black students, and to begin immediately donating to organizations that benefit the Black community.

“Having a clear voice and speaking out against racial injustice, bigotry and hatred is the first step, but this is not enough,” the CFDA stated. “This is a deeply disturbing moment that speaks to us all…We must do something.”

Source: Hypebeast

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