Andrew Rosen, Founders Award

The Theory CEO is also an investor in Womenswear nominees Proenza Schouler. Rosen is a third-generation fashionista: his grandfather founded Puritan, the preppy staple, in 1901. The line was unusual in that it was the among first to create licenses with everyone from designer Mary Quant to tennis star Chris Evert. Rosen has carried on that spirit, throwing his support behind young talent like Hernandez and McCollough and appointing Olivier Theyskens to a post designing his own line, Theyskens’ Theory.

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