Kendall Jenner Introduces the Brilliant New Class of CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalists
Photographed by Gregory Harris, Vogue, November 20151/10Gypsy Sport
“I am so excited,” says New York–based Gypsy Sport’s Rio Uribe, 29, far right, fighting back a smile as he talks about his latest commission: making hats for this month’s Hunger Games movie. The admission feels justly full-circle: The Los Angeles native (here with actor-musician Jaden Smith and Jenner, far left) got his start in headwear when, in 2012, DKNY asked him to create 50 or so caps for a runway show. Since then, Gypsy Sport has become a transgressive underground bellwether, offering a wardrobe perfectly suited for a post-gender world. (For proof, see spring’s pleated unisex tank dresses in mesh, raffia, and basketball netting.) And as for Uribe’s silver-screen moment? “The hats are for District 12,” he says. “I really hope Katniss wears one.”
Fashion Editor: Sara Moonves
Photographed by Gregory Harris, Vogue, November 20152/10Cadet
Mexico City–born Raul Arevalo, 47 (far left), and Seattle-raised Brad Schmidt, 41 (far right, with Nick Jonas), are the forces behind New York’s military-influenced label Cadet. “People say military is so one-note, but there are centuries of it to pull from,” says Schmidt. Since launching in 2011, they’ve built a sharply drawn wardrobe of army/navy separates, with a trident of retail stores in Manhattan and Brooklyn to boot. Spring marks the first time they’re selling womenswear, including a jumpsuit reimagined after finding a World War II–era photograph of a paratrooper squadron known as the Filthy Thirteen. “My specialty is fit,” says Arevalo with typical sniper’s precision. “Even if there’s just a little pull here or there, it bothers me.”
Photographed by Gregory Harris, Vogue, November 20153/10CG
For Chris Gelinas, 31, CG is a deeply personal endeavor, harking back to his Ontarian childhood, when he cut his teeth on his great-grandmother’s 70-pound Singer sewing machine (still a cherished possession). “I want the label to be something that you have to seek out—I want you to feel like you’re finding a prize,” he says. His slow-burn approach translates to clothes that are wholly thoughtful, equal parts razor’s-edge exact (the slight curvature to a blazer; the buttoned slits on a day dress) and quietly refined with soft sophistication—a striking balance clearly attributable to his A-league résumé (Marc Jacobs, Proenza Schouler, Balenciaga, and Theyskens’ Theory). “It’s taking the idea of delicateness,” says Gelinas, “and positioning it as a strength.”
Photographed by Gregory Harris, Vogue, November 20154/10Thaddeus O’Neil
Sinewy and blond, Thaddeus O’Neil, 39 (center, with his son Cassius, three, and model RJ Rogenski), is a surfer first and a designer second—which isn’t at all to suggest his priorities are mixed up. “It starts with the ocean,” he says of his aesthetic jump-off, “and ocean people. There’s an effortlessness about their way.” His three-year-old brand channels the salty good life through comfortable shapes and fabrics (think Ultrasuede board shorts), tropical motifs (for spring, a print of “the Lone Ranger and Tonto in the gardens of Henri Rousseau”), and adventuresome vibes—the man has ridden swells from Japan to his hometown break on Long Island. He’s also a provocateur: O’Neil’s most recent men’s show caused a stir with a squad of bloodstained models. “I started imagining a vampire surf-cult brood,” he says, “all friendly in the water—but onshore, they devour you.”
Photographed by Gregory Harris, Vogue, November 20155/10Jonathan Simkhai
Jonathan Simkhai, 30, has always been hawkeyed when it comes to noticing what women want to buy. Growing up in Westchester, New York, he’d go to the mall with his mother on the weekends, then talk up his teachers about their fashion choices at school. “I’d be like, ‘Oh, your skirt is cute; is that from so-and-so?’ ” says Simkhai, far left. Such ingenuity has served him well, as his now five-year-old label, known primarily for sexy mesh-centric dresses and twists on men’s-inspired shirting, resides at a lucrative sweet spot of cross-generational appeal and It-girl approval—“from my mom’s friends in Mamaroneck to the Gigis [Hadid, far right] and the Kendalls,” as he puts it.