The Young Menswear Association was founded in 1937 as an informal group to educate young professionals. The group has since evolved into the Fashion Scholarship Fund (FSF) that annually raises millions from individual and corporate sponsors like Burlington Stores, Coach, Levi Strauss & Co., Louis Vuitton, Macy’s, Nike, PVH, and Ralph Lauren, just to name a few. Each year FSF holds a case study competition to determine the best scholars from across the country which culminates to a conference and gala in New York City.
This year, three UNT students, were honored as FSF Scholars at the gala on Monday, April 3rd - seniors Amira Linson and Fatima Barati from the College of Merchandising, Hospitality & Tourism and sophomore Genaro Ramirez from the College of Visual Arts and Design. This was the second time Amira Linson was named a Virgil Abloh Scholar, and she added the PVH Scholarship to her accolades. She has won $20,000 in scholarship awards from FSF in two years. The gala honored Anna Wintour, the Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Magazine. Students toured Conde Nast Monday morning where they met Anna and other Senior editors at Conde Nast. They also have the opportunity to meet with employers and gain access to phenomenal internships and careers in the fashion industry.
Each summer, CMHT Dean, Dr. Jana Hawley, holds a class to mentor students from across campus to develop their case studies for the FSF competition. Case studies can dive into one of four areas of study: business strategy, merchandising, marketing analytics, and design & product development. The competition and class are open to all majors with an interest in the fashion industry. Students must have a 3.2 GPA and must not graduate before May 2024. Students who are interested in this year’s competition, please contact Dr. Hawley at jana.hawley@unt.edu