Josie Natori shall be among the many honorees on the Asia Society’s Game Changer Awards Thursday night in Latest York.

The humanities-minded clothier shall be celebrated on the tenth annual event with other standouts, including artist Yayoi Kusama, Yahoo’s cofounder Jerry Yang and his fellow philanthropist wife Akiko Yamazaki, the School of Leadership Afghanistan’s cofounder Shabana Basij-Rasikh, actress and producer Yao Chen, and the Philadelphia Orchestra and OUE Ltd.’s Stephen Riady.

After starting the primary and only boarding school for women in Afghanistan in 2016, Basij-Rasikh led the evacuation of the varsity community in the summertime of 2021 following the Taliban’s return to power. She then reestablished the varsity in Rwanda, where students resumed classes. As the primary Chinese celebrity to open an account on Sina Weibo in 2009, Chen used that platform to spice up philanthropy amongst her 80 million followers.

Natori is an completed pianist, who has performed at Carnegie Hall. On the age of nine, she performed with the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra. By 17, she was studying economics within the U.S., and later became Wall Street’s first female vice chairman of corporate finance. Taking a lead from her grandmother, a serial entrepreneur, Natori switched tracks from finance to fashion and launched her signature company Natori. The name was inspired by her husband Ken’s surname, which translates in Japanese to “the very best type of art.” An East-West design ethos continues to be an undercurrent in her collections.

Her other pursuits include chairing the Asian Culture Council, and she or he is a board member of the Statue of Liberty Ellis Island Foundation. A loyal Catholic, she also helped plan Pope Francis’ four-day trip to Manila. The Asia Society honored her for her ability to merge beauty, art and fashion.

Kusama, a nonagenerian and favorite collaborator of Louis Vuitton, won’t be traveling to the U.S. for the gala at Cipriani 25 Broadway. Citi Private Bank executive Ida Liu will emcee the event, for which Citi is a founding partner.