This June, OG CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winners Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez (the designers behind Proenza Schouler) unveiled the latest crop of CVFF finalists at a cocktail reception at their label’s Greene Street boutique.
The nominees for 2016 (in no particular order) are Adam Selman, Beckett Fogg and Piotrek Panszczyk of Area, Laura Vassar and Kristopher Brock of Brock Collection, Chloe Gosselin, Ji Oh, Stirling Barrett of Krewe du Optic, Morgan Curtis of Morgan Lane, Maryam and Marjan Malakpour of Newbark, Laurence Chandler and Joshua Cooper of Rochambeau and Chris Stamp of Stampd.
How you choose between such an insanely talented group we’ll never know, but one lucky winner will receive a monetary prize of $400,000. The two runners-up will walk with $150,000. The victors will be revealed on November 7 (the day before another well-anticipated announcement) at a celebratory gala in New York City.
Since their selection, the hopefuls have undergone an elaborate review process, including in-depth interviews, tours of their studios, examination of their current collections, design challenges, presentations at last Thursday’s annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Fashion Show at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles.
Formal tests aside, you can’t really pick a CDFA winner until you’ve seen the world’s most in-demand model sporting their wares in the pages of Vogue. And so, on the eve of the champion’s announcement, the fashion bible had Gigi Hadid hit the beach — and the studio — in Chloé Gosselin’s ladylike heels, Chris Stamp’s hip-hop basics, Morgan Lane’s silky pajamas, Rochambeau’s bright, graphic knitwear, and so on and so forth.
Head over to Vogue.com to take in the full editorial, then cast your vote for CVFF winner in the comments section below. (We’re betting on Selman, a known favorite of celebs from Gigi to RiRi…though he probably needs the boost the least.)
Gigi Hadid hit the town in Adam Selman during Paris Fashion Week; Image: @gigihadid
Vogue’s November issue hits national newsstands October 25.