The 2023 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalists are as diverse as the inspirations behind their collections. This was evident during New York Fashion Week as they put their creative talents on full display. There were captivating presentations: Who Decides War’s Ev Bravado re-created the space his father and uncle used to work in at their alterations shop, offering both an homage to his lineage and a nod to the textural quality of his and Tela D’Amore’s work at the label. Sami Miró and Diotima’s Rachel Scott also had their minds on craft. Miró cut a pair of wide-leg jeans into jorts with dramatic tails. Scott showed her intricate, Jamaica-made knits and compelling separates for the first time in New York at a gallery space in Chelsea.
Colin LoCascio was thinking about Lisa Frank, Beanie Babies, and his seventh birthday when he approached his spring 2024 collection. “I always go back to this idea of family but also to nostalgia for my youth, which often brings me back to this era,” he said of the 2000s. Just as whimsical and nostalgic was Kim Shui, who designed for her dream version of Italy, where she grew up, and combined her Asian heritage with romantic and historic dolce vita references. Less cinematic but just as retro were Tanner Richie and Fletcher Kasell, who shaped their debut runway show for Tanner Fletcher as an old-school beauty pageant.
The floor at the Melitta Baumeister presentation—seen in her look book here—was full of rubber snakes, which happened to be a theme in her collection. (They appeared to be moving under the fan of the AC.) Serpents were also an inspiration for Kozaburo Akasaka’s New York runway debut: “Through my research I found that in Africa, China, and Japan, there’s always this representation of the snake motif as life, power, or good luck, the snake as representative of nature,” said the designer backstage.
Angelo Urrutia of 4SDesigns brought his spring 2024 collection, which was presented in July at the men’s collections in Paris, Stateside with a re-creation of his original presentation, showcasing his distinct and pragmatic (and very New York) eye for menswear. Russian-born New York designer Henry Zankov worked with the artist Thomas Barger to fill his presentation space with art to play off his colorful and considerate knitwear.
Scroll through for all the happenings by CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalists during NYFW.
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