Virgil Abloh joins governing board of Fashion Scholarship Fund

Virgil Abloh has joined the board of governors of the Fashion Scholarship Fund (FSF). This news comes three months after the fashion designer and creative director launched the Virgil Abloh Post Modern Scholarship Fund in partnership with the FSF.

As a board member for the FSF, Abloh will mentor and help provide scholarships, internships and professional development opportunities to the organization's scholars.

"We are so honored to have Virgil join the FSF Board," Peter Arnold, FSF's executive director, said in a statement. "His efforts to promote equity and inclusion directly align with our inherent mission to attract and support a diverse pool of industry talent. The FSF has received a record number of applicants for this year's scholarship competition. By working with top HBCUs and other schools that have significant populations of students of color, we are attracting highly talented students who we believe represent the future of the industry. We are expanding our outreach to these schools and have plans to onboard an additional six HBCUs in 2021."

Abloh's work with the FSF started this past July when he launched the Post Modern fund and raised 1 million dollars with the support of partners Evian, Farfetch, Louis Vuitton, New Guards Group and Off-White. The scholarship will provide greater opportunities for Black students through grants of 5,000 dollars for their spring semesters as well as paid summer internships at various fashion companies and access to FSF career programming and professional development resources.

"I'm thrilled to be ramping up my involvement with the FSF as we work together for long-term change in our industry," Abloh stated. "Since announcing the Post-Modern fund, I've had the privilege of speaking with FSF students, and their determination and optimism is inspiring. Young Black people are ready to be heard, and it's high time we provided them with the in-roads and opportunities they need to become the next heads of our fashion houses."

Images: Off-White AW20, via Catwalkpictures