Kimora Lee Starts Scholarship Fund to Groom Future Kimora Lees
I don’t know how some of you make it through fashion school without killing someone. The process of designing clothes is grueling, and it takes a lot of talent, patience and… fabulosity? Kimora Lee Simmons to the rescue.
The designer, model and former reality TV star announced this week that she’s starting a scholarship program for aspiring designers, in hopes of one day creating an entire room full of Kimora Lee Simmonses.
The goal, she says, is to “give access to that untapped talent, to tell the next Jason Wu, Alexander Wang, or Narciso Rodriguez that we believe in them.”
According to Style.com, the $1 million scholarship fund will be split between three fashion schools, including Fashion Institute of Technology:
$500,000 of the fund will be dispersed to the New York educational organization over the next five years, while the remainder will be distributed to the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation. Additionally, the project will include an internship program with KLS Collection, Simmons’ new, hush-hush high-end womenswear line that will be launching in New York City this November.
Speaking to FIT students on Tuesday, Kimora reflected on her own fashion beginnings, saying:
“I’m from St. Louis, Missouri, for those of you that may not know, and growing up in St. Louis, the fashion industry always felt so far away, like millions of miles away. I always knew that I wanted to be a part of it, but I never really imagined how to make that happen for myself, and I imagine that’s the case for maybe a lot of you…
For the kids who dream of going to college to pursue their goals of being business leaders, designers, and entrepreneurs, I’m excited to be opening up a door to them. It takes being at the right place at the right time to make it in the fashion industry, but it also takes opportunity and resources. That’s what I’m here for.”
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