Otis College Celebrates the Future of Fashion at Fourth Annual Atelier Fundraiser and Fashion Show
Stephanie Horton of Google received the Creative Innovator Award, Hector Muelas of Tiffany & Co. received the Creative Visionary Award, and Madison Bigger (’26 Fashion Design) received the Mandy Einstein Fashion Scholarship.
Otis College of Art and Design hosted its annual Otis Atelier scholarship benefit on Thursday, May 1 at 6:00 p.m. at a private residence in Beverly Hills. Fashion celebrity Joe Zee served as the evening’s emcee for the fashion show and dinner party—catered by Angelini Osteria—and DJ Garth Trinidad (’88 BFA Illustration) provided music. Over 175 guests, including Sharon Stone, Ann Philbin, podcaster and politician Jason Lee, Katherine Ross and Michael Govan, stylist Elizabeth Stewart, designer Michael Schmidt, music executive Luke Wood, TV personality Tai Beauchamp, designer Rod Beattie, stylist Nevena Borissova, and others viewed student work by Otis College Fashion Design juniors and seniors. Their work was created in collaboration with 2025 Fashion Design Mentors, which include AGOLDE, Jonathan Cohen, David Meister, and others. The annual event raised critical funds for first-generation scholarships at Otis, where 30% of students are the first in their families to attend a four-year college or university.
Attendees at past Atelier events have included such fashion and cultural figures as designer Betsey Johnson, costume designer B. Akerlund, and Hollywood stylist Jason Bolden, among others.
The fashion show is a culmination of year-long projects that Fashion Design students undertake with industry mentors, which this year also included Activision Blizzard, Cupshe, RTA, Vfiles, Julie de Libran and Vanessa Khattar (sponsored by West Coast Exports), and Zaid Affas. From their mentors students learn more than drawing, sewing, and pattern-making skills: they experience all facets of the industry, from meeting creative briefs and deadlines to styling professional models for the end-of-year runway shows.
Three special honors were presented during the event. Stephanie Horton, Senior Director of Global Consumer Marketing and Strategy for Commerce at Google, received the Creative Innovator Award, recognizing the creative strategy and marketing solutions she has developed and executed for domestic and international brands. Prior to her time at Google, Horton held positions as Chief Executive Officer at Hemp Tailor, Chief Executive Officer at Alexander Wang, Chief Marketing Officer at Farfetch, as well as senior level positions at Shopbop, American Vogue, and The New York Times. She also is on the advisory boards of NYU Stern Fashion/Luxury MBA, The Black in Fashion Council, McMullen Boutique, and Three Hills Capital Partners. Additionally, she serves on the board of FaceGym—an affiliate investment of Three Hills Capital Partners—and holds a position on the Board of Directors for NeueHouse.
Hector Muelas, the Chief Brand Creative Officer of Tiffany & Co., a LVMH Möet Hennessy Louis Vuitton company, received the Creative Visionary Award. Muelas also has held creative leadership positions at Wieden+Kennedy in Amsterdam, Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles, Apple in Cupertino, and LVMH in New York, Germany, and Paris. His work as been recognized with top accolades at the Emmy Awards, Cannes Lions, Effies, One Show, ADC, The Web Awards, and D&AD; it also has been shown at the Berlinale International Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival and is part of the permanent collection of MoMA’s New York archive and the MAMCO in Geneva.
Fashion Design junior Madison Bigger was the second recipient of the Mandy Einstein Fashion Scholarship, which recognized her boundary-pushing designs and passion for sustainability. “Mandy Einstein believed in the power of creativity and resilience to shape the future of fashion. Madison embodies that spirit,” says Jill Zeleznik, Chair of the Fashion Design program at Otis. “We look forward to witnessing her positive impact on the fashion industry and the world.”
Bigger is a first-generation college student originally from Florida. Her work explores the intersections of environmental responsibility and contemporary style. With a drive to redefine fashion for a more sustainable future, she plans to carve out a unique path in the industry beyond graduation.
Mandy Einstein was a passionate supporter of Otis College and the Otis Fashion Design department. Each year, she looked forward to the Otis fashion show, where she would acquire one of the pieces being modeled and wear the creation to the following year’s event, showcasing the student’s design in a new and unexpected context. Einstein was also a member of Otis’s Board of Governors. Together with her husband Cliff Einstein they created and supported the Mandy and Cliff Einstein Visiting Artists Lecture Series, which since its launch in 2019 has invited artists such as Kara Walker, Edgar Heap of Birds, Shirin Neshat, Theaster Gates, Zoe Whitley, Jeffrey Vallance, Doug Aitken, Anicka Yi, and Njideka Akunyili Crosby, among others to connect with Otis students and share a free public lecture.
This year’s Otis Atelier host committee included Cliff Einstein, Leonardo Lawson, Joann Lee, Miky Lee, Jennifer McCormick, Mei-Lee Ney, Patti Röckenwagner, Katherine Ross, Mimi Song, and Debra Wong Yang. This year’s sponsors include American Freight Logistics Inc.; Angelini Restaurant Group; DTE Studio; East West Bank; Hästens; Justin Wines; Mixsoon; Superior Grocers; and Transamerica.
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