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And the the winner — or shall we say winners — of the 2024 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund (CVFF) are Dynasty and Soull Ogun, the twin sisters behind jewellery and lifestyle brand L’Enchanteur, whose intricate and thoughtful statement pieces are not unlike miniature works of art. (And also actual works of art, as their pieces will be part of the Metropolitan Museum’s upcoming exhibition ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’.) They will receive $300,000 along with mentorship from a top industry professional who will help them take their line, which they founded in Brooklyn in 2017, to the next level. It was their first time applying for the fund.
The runner-up prizes, which are grants of $100,000, went to Phipps, a menswear line designed by Spencer Phipps, a San Francisco native who had most recently spent time in Paris working with Dries Van Noten before moving back to California and launching his business in 2018; and to Wiederhoeft’s Jackson Wiederhoeft, whose dramatic womenswear and bridal collections are already a highlight of the New York Fashion Week circuit. Previously an intern at Thom Browne, Wiederhoeft was also a finalist for the Fashion Fund in 2022.
The surprise of the night came with the announcement of a 20th Anniversary Mentorship Award, presented by Gap Inc, which was presented to Grace Ling, who launched her label only four years ago and has already dressed Jennifer Lopez (twice). She will receive a year-long mentorship from Zac Posen, who will also be judging the selection committee next year.
The winners were announced during a dinner in Manhattan’s famed Monkey Bar restaurant among a star-stuffed crowd that included designers, previous winners and finalists of the CVFF, and it needs to be said, David Beckham, accompanying his wife Victoria Beckham who had been a guest at this year’s Forces of Fashion event, which took place earlier on Wednesday, along with Simon Porte Jacquemus and Jean Paul Gaultier
The finalists in this year’s CVFF class also included Sebastien Ami by Sebastien and Marianne Amisial, Kate Barton, Connor McKnight, Presley Oldham, 5000 by Taylor Thompson, and Jane Wade. They were selected by a judging panel led by CFDA CEO Steven Kolb and Anna Wintour, along with Instagram fashion’s Eva Chen, VP and fashion director at Nordstrom Rickie De Sole, SVP and fashion director at Saks Roopal Patel, Brother Vellies creative director and Fifteen Percent Pledge founder Aurora James, model Paloma Elsesser, as well as Vogue’s Mark Holgate and Nicole Phelps. The fund was first established in the aftermath of 9/11 to help cultivate the next generation of American fashion talent, and has since welcomed 189 designers to its programme.
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