Talent Show: The 2014 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalists
Photographed by Norman Jean Roy, Vogue, November 20141/10Orley
Founded on what Matthew Orley calls “gung-ho attitude and a lot of naïveté” by himself, 28 (center right), his girlfriend (now wife), Samantha Florence, 29 (right), and his brother, Alex, 27 (with rising star Ansel Elgort, far left, who will be seen this March in Insurgent), Orley started out as a mere five idiosyncratic knits. Two years on, the trio is summoning an erudite, nostalgia-tinted sunshine. Psychedelic portraits of the Beatles from Alex’s childhood bedroom now hang in their midtown Manhattan studio for inspiration (“Alex went through a heavy Rubber Soul phase at nine,” Matthew says); Eliel Saarinen’s Arts and Crafts architecture at their Michigan boarding school, Cranbrook, is another recurring reference. The new Orley class? Just graduated, in a mix of washed-out Saved by the Bell pastels, high-waisted cropped chinos, and, of course, the jolly Italian-made knitwear that has quickly become their signature. On Elgort: Orley clothing and Greats x Orley sneakers.
Fashion Editor: Sara Moonves
Photographed by Norman Jean Roy, Vogue, November 20142/10Eva Fehren
“I’m not so stacked up today,” says designer Eva Zuckerman (left, with actress Eve Hewson of Cinemax’s The Knick), the New Yorker behind Eva Fehren fine jewelry, by way of apology. (This, after all, is a woman whose favorite hashtag is #toomuchisneverenough.) Her modular designs—structural diamond X rings, reversed cushion-cut diamond drops, and sapphire shards—beg to be layered. Under the tutelage of Monique Péan and Philip Crangi, this Cooper Union art graduate set out in Manhattan’s Diamond District to create jewelry with the DNA of the city in it: Urban patterns and scaffolding are echoed in her edgy settings, as is the artistic tempo of her West Village childhood. “Self-expression and nontradition were the norms,” says Zuckerman, 31—and she credits this bohemian upbringing with imparting a unique dazzle to her modern heirlooms. On Zuckerman: Helmut Lang blazer and Eva Fehren jewelry. On Hewson: Rodarte dress and Eva Fehren jewelry.
Photographed by Norman Jean Roy, Vogue, November 20143/10Tanya Taylor
Though Toronto-born Tanya Taylor (right, with Dylan Penn) left her financial studies behind seven years ago to pursue her colorful design aspirations, a mathematical mind is clearly at work behind her 90-piece spring collection. Vibrant manipulations of houndstooth create a pretty floral-print sundress, while an angular Plexiglas purse is based on a hexagon. Taylor’s are the sort of perfectly poised clothes that easily translate into the real world—and take the designer herself from the Up Down club on West Fourteenth Street, which she hits occasionally for “excellent hip-hop,” to volunteering for the Clinton Foundation. (Taylor, 28, is proud to call Chelsea Clinton a friend—and her designs have also charmed First Lady Michelle Obama.) “The association with intelligent women who possess such sound beliefs is such a positive start to my business,” says the designer, positively beaming. On Taylor and Penn: Tanya Taylor clothing.
Photographed by Norman Jean Roy, Vogue, November 20144/10Simon Miller
“We’re the new blues brothers,” says Daniel Corrigan (right), laughing, about his partnership with Jake Sargent (left, with Vanessa Axente). Three years ago, the bicoastal duo began reacquainting denim label Simon Miller with the ancient art of indigo. Their mission? “To elevate it from utilitarian associations,” says Sargent, 27, from his custom-made indigo sofa, which sits atop an inky Navajo rug in their Manhattan studio. Imbuing original fabrications with a worn-in familiarity, they’ve created a loose-tension denim that’s as easy as a knit, along with splattered jean jackets and soft, overdyed shirting. Their mood indigo is now a way of life: L.A.-based Corrigan, 29, enjoys painting with the dye and is working on an abstract piece for Sargent’s New York apartment. “Our customer wants a product that lasts and has a unique story,” says Sargent. On all: Simon Miller clothing.
Photographed by Norman Jean Roy, Vogue, November 20145/10Wes Gordon
“I was wearing slippers and carrying a pipe at age five,” jokes Atlanta native Wes Gordon, 28 (left, with actress Grace Gummer of The Homesman, in select theaters November 14), who was of course the dapper kid who insisted on wearing his suede bucks and red suspenders to kindergarten. Fast-forward a couple of decades, and his ability to balance elegant practicality (Chantilly-lace gowns with low-slung pockets) with the thrill of the new (hand-painted tweed linen day dresses) has made his self-titled label of clean and lean American sportswear a go-to for modern polish. (It also made him a CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist once before, in 2012.) How did this Southern gent—who worshipped Visconti heroines and Gwyneth Paltrow in A Perfect Murder—divine the needs of the busy woman in 2014? He got to know her, mainly through trunk shows (he held his first, for a group of friends and family, at the age of 23). “It’s allowed me to see America in a way I never have before,” Gordon says. On Gummer: Wes Gordon dress and Manolo Blahnik sandals. On Gordon: Todd Snyder White Label suit and shirt.