Each year, theDesign STLeditors select a local individual or couple to honor with theVisionary Award. This person is recognized for his or her unique contributions to the design community, and, through their efforts and actions, help make St. Louis a more interesting and exciting place to live.
Susan Sherman
This year, we’re thrilled to bestow the award on Susan Sherman. Susan is known and respected for her tireless work on behalf of the organizations that she champions, but none is more closely associated with her than theSaintLouis Fashion Fund, which she co-founded. Under Susan’s leadership and guidance, theFashion Fund has nurtured emerging designers, promoted fashion education, and helped revitalize St. Louis’s historic garment district, bringing national press attention as well as jobs to our city. The Fund’s FashionIncubator attracted promising design talent and helped facilitate the rise of St. Louis as an attractiveand viable option for fashion companies and manufacturers to do business. One of the most successful examples of this endeavor isEvolution St. Louis, a $5 million high-tech knitwear company that opened its first facility in St. Louis.
Susan is also the co-founder ofMERCH, a small St. Louis–based business that connects acclaimed fashion brands with St. Louis clients through pop-up shops for such brands as Proenza Schuler, Jeffrey Levinson, Mansur Gavriel, Moss Antiques, and more.
Past Visionary Award winners include Esley Hamilton, Alise O’Brien, and Carol and Pat Schuchard.
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