The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and Vogue named Melitta Baumeister the winner of the nineteenth edition of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund on Thursday evening. The designer, who was presented the award from Linda Evangelista, will receive $300,000 USD and mentorship from top-tier members of the fashion industry.
Baumeister is a New York-based, German designer, who graduated from the Parsons MFA program and became known for her distinctive, sculptural design ethos. She founded her eponymous label in 2013, and she has since dressed stars including Rihanna and Lady Gaga.
This year’s runner-ups were Rachel Scott of Diotima and Henry Zankov of ZAKNOV, both of whom will take home grants of $100,000 USD. The remaining finalists, who will also receive meaningful business mentorships, included Angelo Fabricio Urrutia of 4SDESIGNS, Colin LoCascio, Kim Shui, Kozaburo Akasaka of KOZABURO, Sami Miro of SAMI MIRO VINTAGE, Fletcher Kasell and Tanner Richie of TANNER FLETCHER and Everard Best and Téla D’Amore of WHO DECIDES WAR.
“Our CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund class of 2023 are wonderfully talented,” said Anna Wintour, chief content officer at Condé Nast and global editorial director of Vogue. “They all have something to say about what fashion can be—and where it needs to go. As we prepare to celebrate the fund’s 20th anniversary in 2024, this year’s finalists have been a wonderful reminder of why we set up the fund in the first place: To enable a new generation of designers to be seen and heard.”
Thom Browne, chairman of the CFDA, added, “the cfda vogue fashion fund has always supported truly creative talent… it has been a way for the world to see new and unique stories… from my story in 2005 to the new stories we’re celebrating today… congratulations to Melitta Baumeister as well as Henry Zankov and Rachel Scott … and all finalists doing truly individual and creative work…”
The winners and runner-ups were selected by a panel that included Wintour and Browne, alongside CFDA CEO Steven Kolb, Vogue‘s Mark Holgate, British Vogue‘s Chioma Nnadi, Brother Vellies’ Aurora James, Saks Fifth Avenue’s Roopal Patel, Instagram’s Evan Chen, Nordstrom’s Sam Lobban, Afterpay’s Nick Molnar and model Paloma Elsesser.
Elsewhere in fashion, Hypebeast Goods and Services launched a minimalist capsule collection.
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