The 2024 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund has just announced the finalists for this year’s competition and teased the challenges that will make this 20th anniversary year special. Last year’s winner Melitta Baumeister and runners-up Rachel Scott and Henry Zankov, in conjunction with Saks Fifth Avenue, CFDA and Vogue released the list Wednesday, May 29th, and feel that these designers represent American fashion’s creativity, ambition, and diversity.
The CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund is a collaboration between the Council of Fashion Designers of America and Vogue, and the winner receives $300,000. The two runners-up are awarded $100,000 each, and the program has historically supported finalists in creating important business mentorships and gaining success in the fashion world. Supported by major fashion and retail companies like Nordstrom, Saks, and Tommy Hilfiger, the fund has significantly impacted the careers of many successful designers, such as Proenza Schouler and Alexander Wang, by providing them with crucial resources and exposure.
2024 marks the second year of the involvement of Nordstrom SPACE, an online and in-store boutique dedicated to emerging designers. Finalists will participate in Nordstrom’s Secure the SPACE challenge on June 6th, with one winner’s collection being carried at participating Nordstrom storefronts for a season.
To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Fashion Fund, finalists will also participate in a legacy challenge supported by the Tommy Hilfiger Brand: the Design Program. Tommy Hilfiger himself will serve as the lead mentor of this challenge which offers finalists the chance to showcase their creativity and individual styles and gain recognition in the fashion community.
Read on to see the finalists, their websites, and their Instagrams.
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Oakland, California-based designer Taylor Thompson launched 5000 in 2019. Thompson combines elements of formal suiting with workwear and streetwear to create a conversation surrounding elegance and informality.
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In New York City, Connor McKnight uses his luxury fashion brand to explore themes of black life, emphasizing the emotions and vulnerability that exist within the mundane. He strives to add nuance to the perception of the black experience and juxtaposes classic utilitarian and workwear silhouettes with luxury craftsmanship, techniques, and materials.
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Grace Ling bases her brand in New York, New York, but was born in Singapore and studied in NYC and London. Her fashion is multifaceted due to her studies involving sculpture and performance art, and her designs are eccentric, elegant, intelligent, and feminine.
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Hailing from Kansas City, the now-New-Yorker Kate Barton focuses on intuitive design, with graceful creations that prioritize drape and form. Her bold and often sculptural silhouettes combine meticulous tailoring and unconventional construction, creating collections with feminine and modern sensibilities.
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Identical twins Dynasty and Soull Ogun consider their brand to be a creative incubator with many influences, real and fantastic. L’Enchanteur is full of clothing, jewelry, and other pieces meant to convey timeless inspirations of spirituality, with no piece quite like the rest.
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Spencer Phipps started PHIPPS in Paris in 2018 and moved the business to Los Angeles in 2022. His designs take on a rugged sensibility founded in deep respect and curiosity for the natural world. Phipps’ purpose-driven creations define their own rules for American fashion.
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OLDHAM was launched in 2020 and Presley Oldham wants to use his eponymous brand to bring back old-school values of craft and handiwork at an affordable level. His pearl necklaces are thoughtful, intentional, precious, and one-of-a-kind.
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Luxury Menswear company Sebastien Ami began operations with the rise of the Pandemic in March 2020 but was established by Sebastien Amisial in 2013. Amisial wants to redefine workwear as thoughtful day-to-day wear, providing utilitarian and luxurious clothing and accessories to modern artisans.
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In New York, New York Jane Wade combines workwear with traditional office attire to create playful, luxury garments that are multifunctional and adaptable to the wearer. Her pieces are constructed inside-out with considered techniques, ending up with segmented garments with interesting visual proportions.
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Jackson Wiederhoeft considers their design house as obsessed with performance, dance, and theatre: a creative dreamscape reflected in each of his collections. Their ethereal designs bounce from couture to ready-to-wear but never lose the fantastic and romantic character Wiederhoeft chases.
The Fashion Fund Winner will be announced in mid-October.
