AAFA CELEBRATED THE 2025 AMERICAN IMAGE AWARDS LAST NIGHT IN NEW YORK
The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) hosted the 2025 AAFA American Image Awards last evening at the iconic Gotham Hall in midtown Manhattan. Emceed by Bloomberg’s Chief Markets Correspondent, Scarlet Fu, the gala honored leaders and advocates across the apparel and footwear industries. The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Foundation is the event’s longstanding charitable beneficiary.
The AAFA American Image Awards honorees included Target as Retailer of the Year, accepted by Bill Foudy, Senior Vice President and President of Owned Brands; American Textile Company as Company of the Year, accepted by Lance Ruttenberg, President and CEO; Dr. D’Wayne Edwards, President of Pensole Lewis College as Fashion Maverick; Katherine Gold, President and CEO of GoldBug as Trailblazer; Apparel Impact Institute as Eco-Steward of the Year, accepted by President Lewis Perkins; and Ulla Johnson as Designer of the Year.
The evening celebrated legacy and innovation, with a strong emphasis on sustainability. Katherine Gold was the first honoree of the night, speaking about her company’s three-generation commitment to children’s products and its growing focus on maternal health. “I believe that achieving a better tomorrow for all of us is completely doable if we each make doing so part of our core corporate conviction,” said Gold in her acceptance speech.
Continuing the theme, Lewis Perkins emphasized the holistic side of sustainability, stating, “Because sustainability is not just a technical challenge—it’s a human one. It’s about reconnecting the soul of a company to the soul of its purpose.”
Representing American Textile Company, Lance Ruttenberg reflected on the company’s 100-year anniversary, sharing, “We believe in sharing our success with the communities and people that have supported us on this journey in ways that can make their lives just a little better in the cities we have operations. If we can succeed in business while giving back to those people and those communities, we hope to have demonstrated being worthy of this incredible recognition received this evening.”
Following dinner, the program spotlighted Laura Weber of LW Weber, a CFDA grant recipient who spoke about the critical impact of CFDA’s support on American manufacturing. Ulla Johnson made an emotional statement using her designs “to continue to celebrate women’s voices, our collective power, and our hard won rights for all those less fortunate than I, and for my daughter and all the daughters in generations to come.”She was followed by Dr. D’Wayne Edwards, who inspired the room with a message of resilience, stating, “At Pensole Lewis our mission is clear… Make dreams accessible to everyone willing to work hard for it.”
The final remarks came from Bill Foudy, speaking on behalf of Target, who shared, “I want to thank AAFA for their partnership and for being a trusted voice for the apparel and footwear industry… The work you do to help shape public policy and ensure we are represented at the national level has never been more important.”
“As we face a challenging time for our industry, the 2025 American Image Awards is a powerful reminder of why we remain optimistic,” said Steve Lamar, president and CEO of AAFA. “The honorees we celebrate tonight embody the creativity, resilience, and vision that continue to push us forward. This year has already tested us in new ways, but it’s clear that unity and diversity—across people, ideas, and approaches—are what will drive us through. Our 2025 American Image Award honorees show exactly why our industry will not just endure, but thrive.”
