Thirty years is a long time in fashion. Trends come and go, houses change hands, entire aesthetics rise and collapse within a single decade. And yet, through all of it, the Fashion Group International’s Rising Star Awards have remained one of the most consistent and genuinely meaningful events on the New York fashion calendar. Not because of the spectacle, though the annual luncheon always delivers, but because of what it has consistently done: find the names nobody knows yet and put a spotlight on them before the rest of the world catches up.
The list of past winners tells the whole story. Tory Burch, Jason Wu, Brandon Maxwell, Thom Browne, Gabriella Hearst, and Joseph Altuzarra all passed through these doors before they became the names they are today. That is not a coincidence. That is thirty years of good judgment.
The 30th Edition
This April, the milestone 30th annual FGI Rising Star Awards will be held at 583 Park Avenue in New York City, and the organisation has made sure the occasion feels worthy of the number. Ruben Toledo, a past Rising Star honoree and Fashion Visionary Award recipient, will take the stage as keynote speaker, a full-circle moment for a man who, alongside his late wife, the legendary Isabel Toledo, has embodied the spirit of creativity and imagination that these awards were built to celebrate.
The competition is open to founders in business between two and six years, competing across categories including eveningwear, ready-to-wear, bridal, accessories, beauty, jewelry, and sustainability, a lineup that reflects how much the definition of fashion has expanded since the awards began.
The Special Honours
Beyond the competitive categories, the 30th edition will also recognise one of the industry’s most enduring figures. The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Mindy Grossman, partner and vice-chair of Consello, in recognition of her transformative leadership and lasting impact on retail and fashion. It is the kind of honour that lands differently at a 30th anniversary, a moment to look back at what the industry has built, and forward at who will carry it next.
Why It Still Matters
In a fashion landscape increasingly dominated by algorithm-driven visibility and social media shortcuts, there is something quietly radical about an organisation that still does things the old-fashioned way, sitting with applications, judging on creativity and business acumen, and handing a microphone to someone the world hasn’t fully discovered yet.
FGI president and CEO Maryanne Grisz said it plainly: the event reflects the organisation’s long-standing commitment to championing emerging talent and uniting the industry in support of innovation, creativity, and growth. Thirty years in, that commitment hasn’t wavered. If anything, in a year when the fashion industry is navigating more uncertainty than usual, it matters more than ever.
The winners will be announced at the awards luncheon on April 16. Watch this space.
