This year marks 20 years since the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund was established. Back then the industry was still feeling the destabilizing effects of the 9/11 attacks. “The Fashion Fund is our riposte to the forces of destruction and whimsy to which emerging designers are especially vulnerable,” wrote Sally Singer in the November 2004 issue of the magazine which announced the creation of the Fund. The year prior, she explained, Vogue and the CFDA met to discuss ways to “give a leg up to the next generation,” citing a series of watershed events, including Calvin Klein’s retirement, Donna Karan selling to LVMH, the death of Bill Blass, and the milestone anniversaries of Ralph Lauren (his company had just turned 35), and Oscar de la Renta who had just turned 70.
“The trouble with the young designers—Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Isaac Mizrahi, each singularly gifted—was that they’d been the young designers since the Reagan/Bush era,” Singer explained. “New York, to ensure its place as a world capital of wearable fashion, needed new blood, quickly.” It’s interesting to read those words now, all these years later, both because it seems like our preoccupations have remained more or less the same, but also because that level of candor is rare these days.
In an industry that thrives on and demands a steady stream of newness, it’s absolutely crucial to create a foundation upon which young designers can build and thrive. Looking back at the 200-ish designers that can claim the title of CVFF finalist or winner is a quick history lesson in the trends of the times, as well a reminder that every designer started small, with a dream and a prayer. Just look at Thom Browne, who was a runner-up in 2005, and last year was named chairman of the CFDA. A few years later, when Vogue asked the designer to share advice with the “new class,” Browne said, “I think the most important thing from the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund is the mentorship. So choosing the right mentor should be carefully considered. And don’t see things in the short term. Always think and see things in the long term.”
Although many labels have had to close up shop since being named a CVFF finalist, there are a great number of labels that have prospered and become part of New York fashion’s creative core: Proenza Schouler (famously the fund’s first-ever winners), Rodarte (2006), Phillip Lim (2006 and 2007), Jason Wu (2008), Billy Reid (won in 2010), Prabal Gurung (2010), Altuzarra (2010 and won in 2011), and Todd Snyder (2013), and Tanya Taylor (2014) all took part in the Fund in the first decade, while Bode, Vaquera, Batsheva, Kidsuper, LaQuan Smith, Area, Eckhaus Latta, Luar, Willy Chavarria, and Collina Strada all participated in the last 10 years.
Then there are the designers who have found success in their second or third ventures, like the designer Sophie Buhai, who launched her wildly popular namesake jewelry line in 2015 following the demise of Vena Cava, the label she had cofounded with her classmate Lisa Mayock in the early aughts (they were in the Fund in 2007 and runner-ups in 2008). Or Thakoon Panichgul, a runner-up in 2006, whose line of colorful party dresses were must-haves for cool girls of the era, he went on to launch Homme Girls in 2019 as a magazine/ready-to-wear brand that is once again a must-have for the cool girls today. (The cotton boxers as pants trend of last season? Homme Girls was at the center of it.) Wes Gordon, a finalist in 2012 and 2014, has been steering Carolina Herrera’s feminine legacy since 2018; and Robert Geller, a 2010 finalist is now the head of menswear at Rag Bone, a brand that was also a finalist in 2010. It’s all very “keep it in the CVFF family.” Also keeping it in the family is Orley (a 2014 finalist) cofounder Alex Orley, who is now the CMO at Jennifer Fisher (a 2012 finalist).
Other designers have taken what they’ve learned from their fashion careers and pivoted to new industries—a good amount now work in home and interiors like Libertine cofounder Cindy Greene (2004), Erin Fetherston (2007), Gregory Parkinson (2010), Vena Cava’s Lisa Mayock, and Ovadia Sons’ (2013) Shimon and Ariel Ovadia who re-branded as Ovadia Brothers, and Orley’s Samantha Orley. And a slew of former menswear designers have pivoted to sportswear, like Trovata’s (2005) Sam Shipley and Abdul Abasi, the cofounder of Abasi Rosborough (2019), who head up different departments at Nike; Greg Rosborough is at Philos, a “female-first” running brand, and Tim Coppens (2013), was hired to develop apparel and sportswear at On last year. Behnaz Sarafpour went into fragrances, and House of Waris’s (2009) Waris Ahluwalia went into teas. Alexa Adams, one half of the beloved Ohne Titel (finalists in 2009 and 2011) label is a cofounder of Barrière, a wearable vitamin patch. At least five designers are also now professors at fashion schools across the country.
Back in September, as New York Fashion week wrapped up, the consensus was a renewed sense of energy and zeal was palpable in the city. After seasons of negative chat regarding the state of NYFW, something had definitely shifted, a new appreciation for all the young designers that have decided to put down roots in the city; and for the older designers who act like beacons of creativity and possibility to those who are starting out. Of the more than 100 New York shows, presentations, and appointments that we covered this season, at least 41 are brands or designers that have taken part in the Fashion Fund. It may not be a perfect system, but it’s one that definitely makes a difference. Tonight you will learn who the winner and the runners-up of this year’s edition are, but beyond that, looking at the finalists will tell us what the future of fashion in the city looks like. It’s obviously bright.
