CFDA award split between three designers

New York - For the first time in history, and due to a last minute decision by CFDA Chairman Diane Von Furstenburg, Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, and CFDA President and CEO Steven Kolb, the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund prize was split between three designers. Brother Vellies, Gypsy Sport, and Jonatan Simkhai took home the top prize Monday night, November 2.

Winning the Vogue/CFDA award is easily one of the biggest turning points in a designer's career. Look at what it has done for designers like Alexander Wang, Joseph Alutzarra, Public School, and Proenza Schouler. Apparently, this year it was so difficult to pick just one winner that they had to have three. Aurora James, the designer behind Brother Vellies, Rio Uribe, the designer behind Gypsy Sport, and Simkhai are all three very lucky designers.

Each winner will receive 300,000 dollars in addition to a year of mentoring. The original plan CFDA had in place was to have one winner receive 400,000 dollars, and two runners-up receiving 150,000 dollars each. According to an interview with fashionista.com, Kolb said the decision to split the prize three ways was made just hours before the ceremony.

Wintour, von Furstenburg, and Kolb negotiated over how the prizes would be split, and agreed that if they had the money in the bank to split the prize three ways they would have to commit to raising more money next year.

Vogue/CFDA Fund award split between three designers for first time

The trio was really looking for an eclectic mix of designers to receive the prize this year. "You have Jonathan, who's a traditional womenswear designer; you have Brother Vellies who is doing interesting things around social responsibility; you have Rio of Gypsy Sport with this new way of genderless dressing. Those two are very of-the-moment, combined with a traditional designer, it just felt right," Kolb said to fashionista.com

Simkhai, whose collection is carried in luxury department stores like Nordstrom and Bergdorf Goodman, is already developing his business plan for what to do with his prize. "I really want to focus on the digital strategy, building up e-commerce and also just continue to grow the team and make sure we get better and better every season and that fit continues to improve," he said to fashionista.com.

It was a historic moment for the CFDA/Vogue fund, and a career changing moment for three designers. These brands are sure to be seeing some great improvement in their businesses next year thanks to the influx of capital. It will be exciting to see what results this will produce for the three labels, who have just won one of the CFDA's highest seals of approval.

photo:guestofaguest.com