Three for the Win at the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards

by Kristen Heinzinger

The CFDA and Vogue hosted the annual Fashion Fund Awards yesterday evening at Spring Studio, and hundreds joined to support the 10 finalists, from fellow designers to musicians, athletes, and models. The 12th annual awards ceremony marked a first, with a three-way tie between Aurora James of Brother Vellies, Rio Uribe of Gypsy Sport, and Jonathan Simkhai.

Also in the running were Baja East’s Scott Studenberg and John Targon, Baldwin’s Matt Baldwin, Cadet’s Brad Schmidt and Raul Arevalo, CG’s Chris Gelinas, Chromat’s Becca McCharen, David Hart, and Thaddeus O’Neil. The selection committee included Anna Wintour, Diane von Furstenberg, Ken Downing, Mark Holgate, Jeffrey Kalinsky, Steven Kolb, Reed Krakoff, Jenna Lyons, Andrew Rosen, Marcus Wainwright, and David Neville.

At the awards dinner, there to introduce speaker of the night Riccardo Tisci was actress Amanda Seyfried, who stunned in an ivory silk Givenchy gown. “It’s super sexy,” she said on the red carpet. “I don’t usually go in this direction. I usually dress for comfort—and this is actually really comfortable, which was unexpected!”

Tisci led a conversation with Vogue’Hamish Bowles about his storied career and the fashion industry of yesteryear and today, followed by a surprise performance by Andra Day, a highlight reel of competitions past, and finally, the anticipated announcement. James, Simkhai, and Uribe will all receive $300,000 and a coveted mentorship to support their lines.

“I’m excited to see which one of my friends is going to win!” James told The Daily before the dinner. “We’ve been bonding for four and a half months, so how could we not love each other at this point!” Asked what pieces of advice she’s received along the way, she exclaimed, “That I’ve already won! Everyone’s told me that I’ve already won and I think they’re mainly accurate!” Talented and intuitive, indeed.

After the main event, guests flocked to The Gordon Bar at SIXTY SOHO for a celebration hosted by Paul Andrew, Eva Fehren, and Ryan Roche, including Zachary Quinto, Christian Louboutin, Reed Krakoff, Eva Chen, and Prabal Gurung, among others.

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