Last night, Manhattan’s fashion glitterati descended on Williamsburg for the 14th annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund ceremony, where Telfar Clemens of the 12-year-old directional label Telfar snagged the top prize: a $400,000 grant, not to mention a direct line to Anna Wintour. The design competition, in which 10 jury-selected, emerging designers compete during spring collections, is one of fashion’s most reliable bellwethers, having launched the careers of Alexander Wang, Rodarte, Adam Selman, and more.
Telfar has been gathering steam with its well-timed, socially conscious praxis, recently partnering with burger chain White Castle to create a capsule collection of uniforms that funded bail bonds for minors on Rikers Island. At the CVFF’s class of 2017 fashion show in October, Clemens enlisted a troupe of voguers to model his designs, which he described as “horizontal, democratic, universal.”
The CVFF committee, which included Joseph Altuzarra (who won in 2011), Eva Chen, and Diane von Furstenberg, also selected two runner-ups: eyewear label Ahlem and swimwear designer Chromat, who each took home $150,000 consolation prizes.
The ceremony, which took place at Brooklyn’s historic events space The Weylin, drew visionaries and muses alike, from Alexander Wang and Nicki Minaj to Taylor Hill and Prabal Gurung. Click through the slideshow to see all the night’s luminous looks.
Main image: Anna Wintour, Telfar Clemens, Diane Von Furstenburg. All images courtesy of BFA.
