[ot-caption title=”With judges like Anna Wintour and Diane Von Furstenberg, the CFDA winners are guaranteed to make an impact on the industry. (via Rachel Rutstein, senior)”][spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

The annual Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Fashion Awards provides American fashion and accessory designers the chance to share their creations with the world. The CFDA is a non-profit organization, dedicated to helping future designers jumpstart their career, as well as provide support for already established designers. The organization is also known for its numerous collaborations that help further the careers of the CFDA members. Through their collaboration, the CFDA and Vogue Magazine have created an endowment to support the next generation of American fashion designers. Receiving this award is such a high honor that some even refer to it as the “Oscars of Fashion.”[spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

The CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund Awards usually falls on the first Monday in November. The goal of the organization is to grant financial rewards to a winner and two runners-up, as well as a mentor to aid the winners in understanding how to run and expand their businesses. Past winners of the awards include Paul Andrew and Dao-Yi and Maxwell Osborne for Public School. Last year’s winners were Aurora James of Brother Vellies, Rio Uribe of Gypsy Sport, and Jonathan Simkhai.[spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

The award recipients are selected by a committee of the industry’s finest experts. They are chosen based on their exceptional talents demonstrated in fashion design and their potential for an outstanding career in the fashion industry. Each year, the CFDA committee selects three emerging fashion designers to be nominated for the award.[spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

This year’s winner of the CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund awards were Laura Vassar and Kristopher Brock of the Brock Collection. The runners-up for the award were Stirling Barrett of Krewe du Optic and Adam Selman. The Brock Collection specializes in luxury womenswear. The brand will only continue to expand with the $400,000 grant and mentorship from the Vogue Council of Fashion Designers of America.[spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

The CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund recognizes unique and special talent in the field of design. It is an amazing opportunity to allow fashion designers a chance to pursue their careers. It gives designers an opportunity to step out of their comfort zone and bring new ideas to the world of fashion. No one knows for sure what is in store for next season, but one thing is for sure, the designers have some big shoes to fill.  So stay tuned until November of 2017 to find out which designers could be nominated for the award of a lifetime.[spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

Sources: Wikipedia, Refinery 29, Vogue, Fashionista