The American Apparel & Footwear Association has revealed its slate of honorees for the 2025 American Image Awards that take place April 29 at Gotham Hall in New York.
The 49th annual event honors visionaries across all sectors of the apparel and footwear industry, including design, manufacturing and retail, and the full product life cycle. The event benefits the Council of Fashion Designers of America Foundation.
Honorees include Target as Retailer of the Year; American Textile Co. as Company of the Year; Ulla Johnson as Designer of the Year; Dr. D’Wayne Edwards, president at Pensole Lewis College, as Fashion Maverick; Apparel Impact Institute as Eco-Steward of the Year, and Katherine Gold, chief executive officer of GoldBug, a company that designs and manufactures high-quality products from baby gear to essential accessories for babies and young children, as Trailblazer.
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Target will be honored as a leader and visionary and for democratizing fashion by partnering with nearly 200 of the biggest and most respected names in the fashion industry. As Designer of the Year, Johnson will be recognized for investing in her supply chain, working with artisans and craftspeople across the globe including Peru, Kenya, India and Uruguay with a focus on uplifting and sustaining traditional craft in often female-led rural communities.
Lance Ruttenberg, president and CEO of American Textile Co., which is a 100-year-old family-owned and -operated company that designed products to improve sleep quality, will accept the award for Company of the Year. The Eco-Steward of the Year award will be accepted by Lewis Perkins, president and CEO of Apparel Impact Institute, which identifies, funds, scales and measures the apparel and footwear industry’s proven environmental impact solutions.
Edwards of Pensole Lewis College holds more than 50 patents and has designed more than 500 footwear styles for athletes and recording artists such as Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter, Carmelo Anthony, Tupac, Notorious B.I.G. and Nas. In 2020, he founded Pensole, the first academy in the U.S. dedicated solely to footwear design. Gold of GoldBug is being honored for her dedication to philanthropy, advocacy and global partnerships.
“As we approach a half of century of hosting the American Image Awards, I am proud to reflect on the breadth, innovation and reach of this industry, as well as the individuals who drive it. Collectively and individually, this year’s honorees have forged a legacy of accomplishment, inclusion and empowerment, which will be vital as we tackle pressing challenges in such areas a supply chain flexibility, talent and mentorship, healthy communities, industry accountability and global sustainability. We are excited to celebrate the next generation of designers, manufacturers, supply chain partners and circularity pioneers,” said Steve Lamar, president and CEO of the AAFA.
Steven Kolb, CEO of the CFDA, added, “The longevity of the AAFA-CFDA Foundation partnership — now in our ninth year — allows us to inspire our unique membership to align on and amplify future-focused impact year-over-year. Thank you to AAFA for another year of partnership and investment.”