The Fashion Fund

How does a fledgling designer become the next big name in American fashion? It takes more than talent—a reality that Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour observed in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center, which essentially shuttered New York Fashion Week and left many young, struggling designers reeling. In the weeks following, she partnered with the Council of Fashion Designers of America to found the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund: a groundbreaking initiative to support new American fashion talent. Launched in 2004, the annual competition not only awards one grand-prize winner and two runners-up with a significant monetary prize, it provides them with invaluable business mentorship from established designers and industry executives. We invite you to follow the 2015 finalists’ journeys in the ten-part Amazon Unscripted docuseries “The Fashion Fund” (find the first episode below) and, for the first time, shop the designers’ spring collections on Amazon Fashion.