LONDON, Oct 15,2004/ FW/ --- Lazaro Hernandez & Jack McCollough, the design duo behind the label Proenza Schouler was awarded the grand prize of $200,000 by winning the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Contest in New York.
The Council of Fashion Designers of America, together with Vogue launched the first annual contest to support emerging designers achieve their goals. Established last September 2003, CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund with the goal of providing "emerging" designers with support in the form of a cash award (up to $200,000) to encourage and enable the recipient to pursue his/her design plans
From an original group of 170 designers who applied, 52 designers were chosen by the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Selection Committee to move on to the Phase II round.
In July, the Committee selected ten semi-finalists from this group after reviewing portfolios and written applications. The Selection Committee then met with each of the semi-finalists in August at the Vogue offices to interview the designers and review their collections. They then visited each semi-finalist's design studio to interview them in more depth and view a broader selection of their work.
Criteria for the selection were based on (1) have a primary design business in the United States, which has been in existence for a minimum of two consecutive years; (2) be a designer of demonstrable talent, as evidenced through substantial and recent editorial coverage, and have support (i.e., orders) from key retailers; and (3) have professional staff (paid and volunteer) that can devote the time and effort required to accomplish the stated aims of an applicant's design career plans.
Lazaro Hernandez & Jack McCollough of Proenza Schouler won the grand prize while Cloak by Alexandre Polokhov and Habitual by Nicole & Micheal Colovos were chosen as runners-up and received $50,000 apiece.
The cash awards are designed to encourage and enable these "emerging" designers to pursue their design plans. The recipients will also meet regularly with a team of business mentors, who will be assembled based on the designers' specific needs for business expertise and resources.
The awards were presented in New York at a dinner last night at Skylight Studios, which was attended by more than 250 of New York's most influential designers, press, retailers and VIPs.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented the award to the winner, and designer Narciso Rodriguez and Julie Gilhart, Fashion Director of Barneys, announced the runners-up.
Designer Isaac Mizrahi gave the keynote address. The evening also included a sneak preview of filmmaker Douglas Keeve's behind-the-scenes look at the establishment of the Fund and the search for the first winners. HP, Movado, and Redken underwrote the film and a portion of the evening.
