PITCHING IN: The global platform FashWire is supporting the Virgil Abloh “Post-Modern” Scholarship Fund this month.
The charitable effort is being done as a tribute to the Off-White founder and former artistic director of Louis Vuitton men’s wear, who died in late November at the age of 41. He created the fund in 2020 in partnership with the Fashion Scholarship Fund as a means to strengthen equity and inclusion within the industry by offering scholarships to promising undergraduate students of Black, African American or African descent. The initiative also gives participants access to career support services and mentoring.
The inaugural class of Virgil Abloh “Post-Modern” Scholars took part in design, merchandising and marketing internships at such companies as Brandon Maxwell, Estée Lauder, Louis Vuitton, Neiman Marcus, Tommy Hilfiger and Rimowa. Scholars also gained insight through mentoring opportunities with staffers from Nike, Baccarat and other companies. In all, 20 individuals have received $7,500 college scholarship awards through the fund.
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FashWire is a business-to-business data hub and a business-to-consumer shopping platform. Last month the company started supporting the fund with its GlossWire beauty platform. This month $1 for every download of the FashWire or GlossWire app will benefit the Virgil Abloh “Post-Modern” Scholarship Fund.
Chief executive officer and founder Kimberly Carney said the goal is to raise $10,000 on the GlossWire platform and $10,000 more on the FashWire platform. Mentioning the importance of nonprofits that encourage students to never give up on their career dreams, Carney said: “I know if people did not believe in me or give me that mentorship, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
FashWire offers items from 400-plus brands that are from more than 40 countries. She continued: “With Virgil and his untimely passing, [for us] to have a part in being able to keep the momentum going and the organization going is really powerful for us as who we speak to as a company.”