Updated March 24, 2026, 2:48 a.m. ET
NEW YORK — Travis Scott surprised the audience on stage at the Fashion Scholarship Fund’s 89th gala on Monday, March 23. In 2025, the hip-hop artist created the Cactus Jack Design Ethos 101 program with the Fund, awarding recipients $10,000 each and mentorship.
Scott, born Jacques Bermon Webster II, appeared towards the end of the evening’s schedule to congratulate the students in attendance. Scott, who created the Cactus Jack brand and has collaborated with Fanatics and Jordan Brand, admitted that “even today I was going through so much,” but despite that, “there’s nothing that’s going to stop me from getting to see the future.”
The artist didn’t elaborate on what would’ve prevented him from attending.
The Fashion Scholarship Fund is a nonprofit that works directly with students who attend college across the United States. For the class of 2026, the fund awarded over $1.9 million in scholarships.
Scott spoke at the gala on Manhattan’s west side, after he appeared at Saturday’s Fanatics Flag Football Classic in Los Angeles.
“Thank you, guys, for locking in with what we’re doing (and) believing in what we’re doing,” Scott, 34, continued. “I can’t wait to see you guys in the future (and) can’t wait to see what you guys create.”
The multi-hyphenate stayed on stage as the night’s biggest honor, the FSF $25,000 Chairman’s award, was presented to the top-scoring scholar finalist. Kuan Jackson, a student at Clark Atlanta University, won the prize for his pitch on a consumer-led collaboration between Lego and the label KidSuper.
Jackson was also named a Virgil Abloh “Post-Modern” scholar by the Fund.
Ciara, Russell Wilson turn FSF Gala into a cute family night out
In addition to celebrating the students who won scholarships, the evening honored businessman Stefan Larsson, celebrity stylist Law Roach, and the power couple of Grammy-winning singer Ciara and Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson.
The couple’s appearance came on the heels of Wilson’s new partnership with Amazon to distribute fully customizable jerseys to youth teams, recreational leagues, and schools across the country under his “3Brand” line.
Wilson and Ciara also appeared at the event with two of their four kids in tow, 12-year-old son Future Jr. (who Wilson is a stepfather to from Ciara’s previous relationship with rapper Future) and 10-year-old daughter Sienna. The two children seemed right at home on the red carpet, posing with their parents for photos.
“Clearly, they have a lot of energy, but it makes us so happy that they get to see us in moments like this because they are the future,” Ciara, 40, told USA TODAY. “And we just want them to be inspired in rooms like this and to see mommy and dad do what they do today at work.”
But it wasn’t all fun and games for the two kids. Their mom said that after the event, they would return home to finish their homework.
