Fashion Fund USA and UK

The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and Vogue...

For the sixth year, up-and-coming American fashion talent competed for cash prizes and mentoring from industry insiders.

“The ten finalists we selected are a talented, diverse group, who are building healthy independent businesses in challenging times.” Anna Wintour.

Sophie Theallet (See above image of s/s 2010 collection)was the winner and two runners-up Jeweler Monique Péan and menswear designer Patrik Ervell were announced at a gala on November 16 2009 in New York City. 


Finalists of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund:

ALABAMA CHANIN – Natalie Chanin

ESQUIVEL SHOES – George Esquivel

GARY GRAHAM – Gary Graham

HOUSE OF WARIS – Waris Ahluwalia

MONIQUE PEAN – Monique Péan **RUNNER UP**

OHNE TITEL – Flora Gill and Alexa Adams

PATRIK ERVELL – Patrik Ervell ** RUNNER UP**

SOPHIE THEALLET – Sophie Theallet **WINNER**

SPURR – Simon Spurr

WAYNE – Wayne Lee

The British Fashion Council (BFC) and Vogue...

On the 11th January 2010 announced the shortlist of designers for the inaugural Fashion Fund.
Taken From the British Fashion Council website...
"The Fund will provide one British based designer with £200,000 and high level mentoring support...The aim of The Fund is to assist talented British designers with the potential for commercial growth to start making the transition from a developing creative business to a global fashion brand"
The shortlisted designers are:

Angel Jackson

Christopher Kane

Clements Ribeiro

E.Tautz

Erdem

Marios Schwab

Nicholas Kirkwood

Richard Nicoll

Supporters of the UK Designer Fashion Fund include:

Arcadia Group, Burberry, Condé Nast, Debenhams, Harrods, House of Fraser, HSBC Commercial Bank, Jaeger / Aquascutum, Marks & Spencer, Paul Smith, Tesco Clothing, TONI&GUY and Westfield Shopping Towns.

They are going to keep us waiting for new of the winner, to be revealed in the May 2010 issue of UK Vogue.

Alabama Chanin

Natalie Chanin left her home town of Alabama for New York before realising the appeal and potential success of her garment designs focused on sustainable values. Finding a manufacturer in New York to produce her collection at an affordable price was proving difficult. Chanin remembered the success of the textiles industry in Alabama in previous years, although ‘textile companies across Alabama...had packed up or replaced people with machinery to keep up with the ways of modern manufacturing’ (Bond 2004).

Fortunately there were many hands ‘itching for work’ (Bond 2004) and the first collection, Project Alabama, was produced by local people whose skills had been replaced by machinery. To redevelop an industry and involve the local community in the production of a collection is an important feature of the brand. ‘We obviously had a product that was right, but I believe showing the people behind it, their stories, had a lot to do with the success,’ (Chanin 2004).

This example shows sustainable fashion not only as a way to bring people together, to promote the importance of community and local production, but also as a source of
income for skilled people. To boost the local economy through sustainable fashion is a pioneering aspect of the Alabama Chanin business.

Natalie Chanin talk to Ecouterre about the importance of craft

Check out the Alabama Chanin website
Taken from the website...

"Sustainable Life - Sustainable Style

Alabama Chanin is a lifestyle company that focuses on creating an array of products through focusing on slow design and sustainability.

We craft limited-edition products for the individual and the home. Our products are made-by-hand using a combination of new, organic and recycled materials. Each piece is constructed with care by talented artisans who live and work in communities in and around Florence, Alabama.

Our products come numbered in one-of-a-kind or limited edition series and signed by the artisan that made it.

We dedicate ourselves to producing quality products that become a part of daily life in this generation and beyond. From farmer to fiber to artisan to home, our products are “grown-to-sewn” in USA. "