The CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund is a whirlwind experience for the finalists. Three weeks ago, they found out they had been chosen. Two weeks ago the out-of-towners flew to New York to join the locals for the official announcement, where they encountered many of the competition’s previous winners and finalists, in the process discovering they are now part of a new community. And this week, they were invited to the Vogue offices, along with a rack full of their signature pieces and a “muse” wearing one of their most striking looks, to introduce themselves to the judges, which this year include Vogue’s Mark Holgate and Nicole Phelps, Instagram’s Eva Chen, SVP and Fashion Director at Saks Roopal Patel, VP and Fashion Director at Nordstrom Rickie de Sole, the model Paloma Elsesser, Brother Vellies Creative Director and Fifteen Percent Pledge founder Aurora James, CFDA Chairman and designer Thom Browne, and CFDA CEO Steven Kolb. Phew!
As overwhelmed as the finalists may have been, the mood inside Vogue’s fashion closet, where the event took place, was buoyant. Each designer/brand had 15 minutes to tell their story, show off their clothes, and answer questions about their work and their business, showing off their personalities in the process. Get to know them below:
Grace Ling, 27
From Singapore, now based in New York
Was there a catalyst moment that made you decide to launch your own brand?
I just have always wanted my brand, I can’t see myself doing literally anything else. I was so sure of it that in school I didn’t do any of my homework and I just made my thesis my business marketing launch moment.
How do you navigate the precariousness of the wholesale/retail landscape as a small brand?
Fortunately, our wholesale partners have been very good to us. However, I don’t like to put all my eggs in one basket, and in April, I launched a couture department. The dress is sold before it’s made, and is personal to the client.
Is there someone in the industry whose career trajectory you look up to?
Rick Owens.
If you could dress a character from a TV show/movie/book from any point in time who would it be?
All the characters from The Matrix.
What does American fashion mean to you?
I feel that American fashion has no boundaries. For me, it’s the American dream, you can design whatever you want with no constraints and there will be demand for it.
Connor McKnight, 30
From Washington, DC, now based in Brooklyn, NY
What made you want to start your brand?
I made my first collection during the pandemic, which brought pause and reflection to many of our lives. The time off gave me the time to reorient, and focus on my own work in a way that I likely wouldn’t have had otherwise. The BLM protests inspired a greater conversation about the Black experience in the US, and as a Black person in this country, it made me think a lot about how I wanted to contribute. Despite having reservations on starting a brand, these events took the pressure off in a way; if anything I just wanted to provide my perspective amidst a much larger dialogue that was happening in our country.
Is this your first time applying for the Fashion Fund? What drove you to apply?
It’s my third time applying! I’ve always felt that it would be such an honor to be a part of the Fashion Fund because it has been the path of so many great designers before me. Persistence in this industry is imperative to survival. I continued to develop over the course of my first few years in business, and now I couldn’t be more excited to be here.
Is there someone in the industry whose career trajectory you look up to?
The Row’s Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen. I find their commitment to refinement and creating the best overall product inspiring.
If you could dress a character from a TV show/movie/book from any point in time who would it be?
I would love to dress the titular Invisible Man in Ralph Ellison’s classic novel. I feel that this character’s point of view has always inspired my own personal dialogue; as somewhat of a north star.
What does American fashion mean to you?
American fashion is inherently diverse. I think what is so amazing about fashion here is the variety of perspectives that can come from our country. The United States has always been a creative hub, and I think a large part of that has to do with the depth of cultures here. Even within our own CVFF class, it’s so impressive to learn about my peers and hear their stories.
Soull and Dynasty Ogun, 39
From Brooklyn, NY
What made you want to pursue fashion as a career?
It was something within our family already. Our older sister Catherine was pursuing fashion; she attended the Fashion Design High School and later Pratt by the age of 16. She passed away 29 years ago this year, five days after her 21st birthday. It seems we are carrying the torch for her. Using fashion as a way to honor her memory.
Is this your first time applying for the Fashion Fund? What drove you to apply?
This was our first time. We were absolutely ready. We spoke of it before as a goal, then within the past couple of years, we have really pivoted our company to be ready for such a feat.
Is there someone in the industry whose career trajectory you look up to?
Chrome Hearts
How do you navigate the precariousness of the wholesale/retail landscape as a small brand?
We are primarily direct-to-consumer. At first, we wanted to have large wholesale accounts, but it seems we didn’t seem to click with retailers, or they couldn’t see the vision. That made us pivot to make our own way, and it’s definitely working.
If you could dress a character from a TV show/ movie/book from any point in time who would it be?
Moiraine from The Wheel of Time.
What does American fashion mean to you?
Many eras of new and old merging together. The melting pot of immigrant experiences creating an amalgamation of style.
Kate Barton, 28
From Kansas City, KS, now based in New York, NY
Was there a catalyst moment that made you decide to launch your own brand?
My journey in fashion wasn’t traditional. I initially pursued a business degree, but my desire to explore fashion led me to SCAD. During the pandemic, classes went remote, and with no preconceived idea of how things should be done on a technical level, I was challenged to discover my own way to create. I remember on the first day of class, my professor asked us to bring a “fabric manipulation.” Not knowing what she meant, I googled the term and took it literally. I came to class with a sculpted piece of fabric I created through a draping technique I made up, but looking around, everyone else came with a classic tailoring hem or stitch. The technique I created on the first day of class has evolved into what I still use today: the foundation of my brand.
How do you navigate the precariousness of the wholesale/retail landscape as a small brand?
It’s definitely a tough environment, but I launched my business within it, so I had to build its foundation with that in mind. For me, that meant creating a brand with a very clear visual identity and focusing on a strong direct-to-consumer strategy. I enjoy the challenge of creating something completely original that is also sellable. I’m in it for the long run.
Is there someone in the industry whose career trajectory you look up to?
I draw inspiration from different people for various reasons. Tory Burch’s journey as an independent business woman inspires me greatly. Jonathan Anderson’s talent for creating innovative designs and impactful marketing without resorting to gimmicks feels very contemporary. Additionally, I have respect for Sandy Liang and her remarkable achievements with her brand in a short period.
If you could dress a character from a TV show/movie/book from any point in time who would it be?
Catherine from The Cell (2000)
What does American fashion mean to you?
To me American fashion means tradition. I think of full lifestyle brands with a strong contemporary feel. On the other hand, American fashion successfully merges pop culture with fashion.
Spencer Phipps, 38
From San Francisco, CA, now based in Los Angeles, CA
What made you want to start your brand?
I worked for Marc Jacobs for a long time, and I worked for Dries Van Noten, and I was struggling to figure out my next move—like theoretically I was going to get another job somewhere else, but there was nothing I was excited about or that I felt represented what I love about fashion and menswear. I’d found that especially in luxury menswear, there was a certain sort of elitism; things felt very out of touch with reality and the way that real guys actually dress and live their lives. Also at the time—which was 2018—nobody was really exploring corporate responsibility, and sustainability. So I kind of outlined the things that I was looking for, and in the process outlined what is now Phipps.
Was this your first time applying to the Fashion Fund? What made you decide to apply?
It’s my first time. I applied out of necessity. I started the business when I was in Europe. After I worked at Dries I moved to Paris and I set up the business there. At the end of 2022 I moved back to the United States, and really wanted to lean into our American heritage and the identity of the company. We’re about a year-and-a-half into it and it’s been really hard, to be honest. It’s a struggle, financially, and the mentorship and the money would make a big difference.
How do you navigate the precariousness of the wholesale/retail landscape as a small brand?
I was doing wholesale, doing the showrooms, the whole thing. We were doing market in Paris and then we just stopped. We’re not doing wholesale anymore; the orders are not as big as they need to be, the stores are not paying on time. But we’ve also had a really strong turnaround on our direct-to-consumer business, so we decided to focus on marketing directly to our community on social media—which is free. So we’re really building up a strong community and maybe later we can return to wholesale. Part of the reason why we entered the Fashion Fund is also because winning would help me navigate this transition successfully.
If you could dress a character from a TV show/movie/book from any point in time who would it be?
Billy the Kid.
What does American fashion mean to you?
One thing that I always think about is—I don’t want to call it casual—but it’s like pragmatism. Everything’s very straightforward. It’s very real. It’s real clothes for real people. I think it’s about communities and just useful shit made really fucking well.
Presley Oldham, 29
From Texas, now based in New York
What made you want to get into fashion?
I’m very lucky that I grew up in a very artistic family. My grandmother was a fine artist and jeweler, my dad’s a sculptor, my uncle [Todd Oldham] was a fashion designer. So all of those experiences really showed me an artistic way of life from a young age and also made it seem very normal—being a banker, for example, would’ve been very abnormal. I studied dance and acting, actually, because so much about my upbringing was about visual art and that was my way of rebelling.
I remember growing up, my dad had this large vat of molten hot metal that he would pour into molds. And he would always take the metal and pour out a little puddle of it—it would transform from liquid to solid in a few seconds—and he would make these little puddles for me and then I would make jewelry out of them.
Was this your first time applying to the Fashion Fund? What drove you to apply?
It was my second time. For me, the mentorship is a really big factor. Since I started the brand during the pandemic, it was a very solitary effort. I have a lot of supporters, but ultimately my company has grown because of the intention I’ve put into it. I’m really eager to grow through collaboration and through learning from mentors—to build better business practices and also step more into the community. The recent collaborations I’ve done with Henry Zankov and Willie Norris, for example, have really shown me the great benefit from working in these ways.
How do you navigate the precariousness of the wholesale/retail landscape as a small brand?
I think the beauty of running your own small business is that you can move very intentionally— it’s something I strive to do in my work and in my life. In fashion moving slowly is not necessarily what we’re told to do, but since I’m a jewelry designer I don’t always need to work on the fashion calendar; jewelry is very seasonless. I’ve found a modality that works for me, where I am putting out collections for summer and winter and maybe something for Valentine’s Day, but it’s about being adaptable and responding to the world around you. I sell mostly direct-to-consumer but I have close to 10 wholesalers as well—half of those are for my main collection and a handful of those are for the pieces I’ve done in collaborations.
Is there someone in the industry whose career trajectory you look up to?
I really admire Tracy Reese, who has had a very long career. In the last few years she’s changed her entire business model to develop more sustainable business practices and also work with the community in Detroit, where she lives. Similarly, Anna Sui is a big inspiration for me. She’s stuck to her guns for 30-plus years at this point. You can look at a piece and you can just tell it’s hers. And then I also love Alexis Bittar’s work. I think he’s making work that has mass appeal, but also a very distinct point of view.
If you could dress a character from a book, TV, or movie, who would it be?
I don't know if this is the most astute answer, but the first person that comes to mind is Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra. Both Taylor and the character she played had a certain association with jewelry that is longstanding. So that would be fun.
Sebastien Amisial, 36, and Marianne Amisial, 37
From Silver Spring, MD, and Ketchum, ID, now based in Los Angeles CA
How did you two meet?
Sebastien: We met while I was working at a luxury retail gallery in downtown LA called Guerilla Atelier. We had an event and Marianne was bartending. We were supposed to go out to dinner with mutual friends but then they bailed, so it was just the two of us and we talked for pretty much the rest of the night.
What made you want to get into fashion?
Marianne: I grew up ice skating. My mom’s an interior designer and she’s always been super artistic and creative. She would take me to San Francisco when she was going to her market appointments, and we would design my ice-skating dresses together. There was a local dress store that we would always go to, and the owner, Paula, became my mentor. She has a bridal salon in Sun Valley, Idaho, and I spent my summers working at the store, and eventually she started bringing me to market and I would go do buys in LA. I was like 16 years old, buying from Nicole Miller, it was magical!
Sebastien: I grew up as an illustrator and a painter. By the time I was in high school I started getting into Japanese street fashion and skating. At the time I was doing a lot of Manga drawings. One day I was sketching a little character for a story I was working on with a friend and I absolutely hated what I was doing. I erased the head and the arms and the legs so just the clothing was left behind and that’s when it clicked. By my junior year I was going back and forth between New York and Maryland, learning about patternmaking and sourcing and the world of fashion.
Was this your first time applying to the Fashion Fund? What drove you to apply?
Marianne: This is the fourth time we applied.
Sebastien: We’ve had a really big year; working on special projects, working with celebrities. Every year we applied we had so much support, but this year we went into it with a different intention. Someone described it as the difference between taking the elevator and taking the stairs—we just felt this was a way to open up our avenues to really further our vision.
How do you navigate the precariousness of the wholesale/retail landscape as a small brand?
Marianne: Our community and our direct-to-consumer business is the most important thing. We had an order from a big retailer and it almost killed our business—to be completely honest with you. We can’t afford to do wholesale production like that, we can’t do Net-90 terms; so the relationships we have with smaller luxury boutiques, those are the important things.
Is there someone in the industry whose career trajectory you look up to?
Marianne: Jennifer Fisher is someone that I have looked up to. The way that she’s been able to scale her business in such an organic way.
Sebastien: I think Ralph Lauren and Thom Browne in terms of how they started, the way they believe in themselves and their work, and their level of perseverance. I also love that they both started small.
If you could dress a character from a book, TV, or movie, who would it be?
Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop or Lupin III.
Taylor Thompson, 31
From Oakland, CA, now based in San Francisco, CA
What does 5000 mean?
I think of three questions about jazz asked to three jazz musicians. From Duke Ellington: “If it means anything at all, it means freedom of expression.” From Louis Amrstrong: “If you don’t know it by now, you probably never will.” And “I don’t know and I don’t care” by Charles Mingus
What made you get into fashion?
I was always kind of into it, but I think it really kicked off my first year of college. I went to Pace to study business, and there were so many people around that were into it that it became something I gravitated towards. So I’ve been working in the industry since I was about 18 or 19 years old. From the beginning I always felt like a student to the game.
Was this your first time applying to the Fashion Fund? What made you decide to apply?
It was my second year. I always felt like it’s something that’s a big step forward for any young designer. It’s kind of like you have to shoot your shot a little bit and see what’s possible. I think that there’s a point where you have to be like, you know what? If you want to be here, you got to be there. And I think that that was always in the back of my head.
How do you navigate the precariousness of the wholesale/retail landscape as a small brand?
You have to build up a direct-to-consumer base. It may not be the easiest and it may not be the most financially wise decision because you have to put so much overhead up front, but I think it’s kind of the way you have to go. I mean, if I can’t sell my own clothing, how can I tell the store how to sell my clothing? It’s about knowing you’re going to have to run a race and build on that.
Is there someone in the industry whose career trajectory you look up to?
Rei Kawakubo has always been an inspiration. From her work as a designer to how she’s built Dover Street Market with Adrian Joffe. Her work is always top-tier. From her runway shows to the Play collection, the business side of it all is really strong and I’ve always wanted to emulate it a bit.
What does American fashion mean to you?
It’s actually a difficult question because ‘American Fashion’ usually just means New York City and the New York City landscape of it all. I feel like it’s the place for all of American fashion to come to represent themselves. I think for me there’s an aspect of streetwear to it, but it’s also very dynamic and wide-ranging. I think it’s about freedom and expression.
Jane Wade, 29
From Portland, OR, now based in New York, NY
What made you want to work in fashion?
Growing up, I was not into fashion. When I was young I had these beading magazines and I would bead and make jewelry. I went to art school thinking I would be a fine artist, like a painter or an illustrator. I went to the Academy of Arts and what I love about the school is it’s very technical and they make you choose two other departments beyond the one that you’re interested in. So I did painting, jewelry design, and on a whim I thought ‘fashion seems interesting, let’s check it out.’ When I got to school I think I was very fearful of becoming a fine artist and then having to find a way to make a living, and I thought fashion is such a robust industry, there are more places for me to find my own path and utilize my skills.
Was this your first time applying to the Fashion Fund? What made you decide to apply?
I hired a PR person last year. I think that as a small business owner, there’s certain aspects that you have to invest in right out of the gate. And I knew that having really good PR would help me expedite where I wanted to go. When he and I initially met, we made a timeline—like, okay, in a year I would like for the CFDA to be paying attention to me as a designer, or have someone come to the show or have a meeting with them—and all of these pivotal moments came a lot faster than we anticipated. In our original plan I would apply to the Fund maybe two or three years in. But the track is moving at its own pace.
Is there someone in the industry whose career trajectory you look up to?
Gabriela Hearst is a super big inspiration to me. I love the fact that she had an unsuccessful business and then tried it again. Seeing her trajectory, it’s such a true perspective of somebody that never gave up and took every single moment of their career and learned from that. I think we have a lot of similarities in terms of our technique development, and how we create within a collection; creating a commercial pocket within the collection, but also creating space for some more exciting looks that feel a little bit more experimental.
If you could dress a character from a book, TV, or movie, who would it be?
Kika from Almódovar’s Kika.
Jackson Wiederhoeft, 30
From Houston, TX, based in Brooklyn, NY
What made you want to start your brand?
After I left Thom Browne I thought I would get another job. But I had this collection I’d been sketching for years and I thought I should just do it and see what happens. I did that first collection as a sort of test. It was so much harder than I thought it would be and it’s only gotten harder since, but it was also so much more fulfilling than I ever expected so I got hooked. I did a second collection and then Covid happened and I thought, ‘Ok, I’m locked in.’
You were a finalist for the Fashion Fund in 2022, why apply again?
The first time was so formative for me and the brand in terms of really legitimizing us and it was so powerful to have the CFDA and Vogue take a stance on Wiederhoeft. It really helped us transform from this fledgling business into one that could really exist in the fashion conversation.
I feel like we’ve grown so much in the past couple of years, and I really want to dig our feet into some of the products and stories we’ve been telling, and cement our place a bit more. Back then I had one employee and now that I have a couple more and a lot of consultants and people who believe in the brand so it’s exciting to think what we’d be able to do with all the new information.
How do you navigate the precariousness of the wholesale/retail landscape as a small brand?
I’m really lucky in that wholesale is a very small part of my business. The business has really been built on direct-to-consumer—especially within the bridal collection, which has been our bread and butter and supports the business. We really waited until bridal was super stable in order to start doing wholesale, because for a small brand, wholesale is more of an investment because the profit margins are lower than DTC. We’re just taking it slow and working with key partners.
Is there someone in the industry whose career trajectory you look up to?
Thom Browne is a huge inspiration for me. I think his emphasis on storytelling and authenticity is so key, and just he’s such a proponent of people discovering their own stories and promoting their own product in a way that’s genuine. I was reading an interview the other day where he said something like, honestly, I’d much rather people talk about the work, than about me, and I feel similarly. I’ll have bridal appointments where the client doesn’t realize I’m the designer, and it’s kind of fun to just almost ‘cosplay’ as the shop assistant and just let them feel that emotion through the garment without me even needing to explain who I am or anything.
If you could dress a character from a book, TV, or movie, who would it be?
First thing that comes to mind is Cruella de Vil. But it's hard to compete with the Glenn Close adaptation.
