Last year, Woolmark revived its International Woolmark Prize, a global fashion competition that is credited with springboarding the careers of Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld in the ’50s.
Today, the U.S. finalists have been announced and the list includes some of our favorites. They are:
New show reviews and galleries are in! Check out Nonoo, ThreeASFOUR, and Giulietta.
Designed by seasoned Florentine native and accessories industry vet Sofia Sizzi, Giulietta consistently updates that distinctly “Dolce Vita”, Italiana glamour. Giovanna Battaglia is all about this modern molta-bella, and one could sense her insistence on not missing a single look as she sprinted into Cafe Rouge to grab her seat at Wednesday’s show just as Read more →
Sofia Sizzi, CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund nominee and founder of Giulietta, chats with us about how she’s making it in the fashion biz.
Vogue and the CFDA have assembled another promising bunch of young labels to compete for a chance to win the coveted CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund this year. As usual, the 10 finalists represent various aesthetics, categories, and levels of prominence. Some may be more well-known than others, but given the number of applicants those judges have Read more →
The winner will receive a cash prize and mentorship from an industry veteran. Joseph Altuzarra took home the top prize ($300,000) for 2011, while runners up Pamela Love and Creatures of the Wind got $100,000 each. All three of them got to design a capsule collection for J. Crew. And, it was all documented on a Hulu show.
Now, the following designers will embark on a series of challenges over the next few months, including presenting to a panel of judges, creating a one-of-a-kind piece for Tiffany & Co., and staging a runway show in Los Angeles at the Chateau Marmont. The winner and runners up will be announced at a gala dinner November 13. So, without further ado, the finalists are…
It may have been held in a tiny back room at the National Arts Club on Gramercy Park, but what Sofia Sizzi’s Giulietta show lacked in square footage, it made up for in major-league retailer love. Shuffling in line up the building’s entry stairway, through the library bar, and past seated guests enjoying their meals in the dining room (awkward?), I found myself rubbing shoulders with Ikram Goldman, Amanda Brooks, and Net-a-Porter’s Natalie’s Massenet. After making it through the waiting period (during which I spotted several big-name editors give up and head for the exits–patience, ladies, patience!), I arrived to find a modest runway flanked by a total of no more than 50 or 60 seats.
Originally from Florence, Sizzi boasts an impressive resumé–she’s held design positions at Gucci, Calvin Klein, and Jason Wu, her specialty lying in accessories. As it turns out, however, the lady’s got quite a knack for beautiful ready-to-wear as well, and had her fall debut collection scooped up by both Barneys and Net-a-Porter.
New York Fashion Week has officially begun and as we’ve learned, more designers are showing than ever before. New York seems to breed new talent at an alarming rate compared to other cities. And while that may irritate established designers and make our schedules that much more insane, we love nothing more than being surprised and blown away by a name we’d never heard before.
Still, it can be tough to filter out the real talent from the ones who will fade into the background. All it takes to show a collection is time and money, but to show one that makes us want to see more–that takes something special. So, for the second year in a row, we’ve handpicked 15 relatively under-the-radar designers showing this week who we think are worth paying attention to. Click through to learn about each one and why we think you’ll be seeing a lot more of them for seasons to come.
