Fashion Trust U.S. roundup
The 2026 Fashion Trust U.S. Awards took place April 7 at Nya Studios in Los Angeles, honoring emerging American designers while giving lifetime recognition to Tory Burch and Michèle Lamy — so it was both a red-carpet moment and an industry funding event. ( ) The carpet drew celebrities — Fergie, Coco Jones, Melissa McCarthy (who wore a noted curve-hugging gown) and many others — which keeps the event culturally visible while the nonprofit awards supply mentorship and grants to rising labels. ( )
A fashion awards show in Los Angeles handed out $600,000 on Tuesday night, which is a more unusual sight than the pink carpet outside. Fashion Trust U.S. used its fourth annual ceremony at Nya Studios on April 7 to turn celebrity attention into cash grants and mentorship for young American labels. (wwd.com) The winners were not household luxury giants. Five finalists won grants and mentoring through Fashion Trust U.S. and Google: Zane Li of LII for ready-to-wear, Marcelle Barbosa of Amaramara for graduate design, Andrea Marron for accessories, Josefina Baillères for jewelry, and Maxwell Osborne and Kristy Chen of An Only Child for sustainability. (fashionista.com) There was also a separate future-focused prize that worked more like a design brief than a normal trophy. Deborah Won of Pisces Rising won the Type One Ventures and Lanvin Group Future Form award after finalists were asked to submit an original concept around the theme “Space, Reimagined,” with support promised to turn her drawing into a finished product. (fashionista.com) That setup explains why this event keeps pulling serious industry names. Founder Tania Fares said the nonprofit is backing the next generation of designers with financial support totaling $600,000 this year, plus tailored mentorship programs, which makes the night part gala and part funding round. (wwd.com) The room was built to feel like a spectacle, not a board meeting. Ego Nwodim hosted in Los Angeles, guests ate dinner from Jon & Vinny’s in an emerald-draped space with pink sculptural lights, and Lykke Li performed live between the award presentations. (wwd.com) The celebrity list was long because the awards need famous people and emerging designers in the same frame. WWD reported attendees including Dove Cameron, Julia Fox, Natasha Lyonne, Mindy Kaling, Coco Jones and Becky G, while Fashionista noted stars wearing labels like Simkhai, Monse, Ashley Williams and Nicholas Oakwell on the carpet. (wwd.com) (fashionista.com) Melissa McCarthy showed how that visibility works in practice. She arrived in an Emilio Pucci bodycon gown in army green and gold, then went inside and presented the Graduate Award to Marcelle Barbosa of Amaramara, so the red-carpet photo and the funding moment were part of the same event. (hellomagazine.com) The honorary prizes gave the night a second lane beyond emerging talent. Tory Burch received Designer of the Year from Pamela Anderson, and Michèle Lamy, the Owenscorp co-founder and longtime creative figure around Rick Owens, received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Design and Culture from Erykah Badu and Travis Scott. (wwd.com) (fashionista.com) Burch used her speech to give the kind of advice these awards are designed to protect. She told designers to nurture their own point of view and build the thing only they can build, which lands differently when the people listening are also leaving with grants, mentors and new industry contacts. (wwd.com) So the real product of the night was not just a gallery of gowns from April 7. It was a pipeline: 16 finalists, five main winners, one experimental design prize, and a nonprofit using star power in Los Angeles to finance labels that are still small enough for one award to change their year. (fashionista.com) (wwd.com)
