The surprise of the night came with the announcement of a 20th Anniversary Mentorship Award Presented by Gap Inc, which was presented to Grace Ling, who launched her label only four years ago and has already dressed Jennifer Lopez… twice. She will receive a year-long mentorship from Zac Posen, who will also be judging the selection committee next year.
The winners were announced during a dinner in Manhattan’s famed Monkey Bar restaurant. among a star-stuffed crowd that included designers, previous winners and finalists of the CVFF, and it needs to be said, David Beckham, accompanying his wife Victoria Beckham who had been a guest at this year’s Forces of Fashion, which took place earlier today, along with Simon Porte Jacquemus and Jean Paul Gaultier
The finalists in this year’s CVFF class also included Sebastien Ami by Sebastien and Marianne Amisial, Kate Barton, Connor McKnight, Presley Oldham, 5000 by Taylor Thompson, and Jane Wade. They were chosen by a judging panel led by Steven Kolb and Anna Wintour, along with Instagram’s Eva Chen, VP and Fashion Director at Nordstrom Rickie de Sole, SVP and Fashion Director at Saks Roopal Patel, Brother Vellies Creative Director and Fifteen Percent Pledge Founder Aurora James, the model Paloma Elsesser, and Vogue’s Mark Holgate and Nicole Phelps. The Fund was first established in the aftermath of 9/11 to help cultivate the next generation of American fashion talent, and has since welcomed 189 designers to its program.
