Creatives gathered to toast the slate of designers vying for this year’s Fashion Trust U.S. Awards
Words by ELIZABETH VARNELL
Photography courtesy of JOJO KORSH for BFA
Carlos Eric Lopez, Jennifer Meyer, Dorothy Canton, Alex Israel.
Fashion Trust founder Tania Fares gathered a cast of creatives atop the West Hollywood Edition for a cocktail party and the much-anticipated announcement of U.S. prize finalists on Wednesday, January 31. Each year, the nonprofit seeks to award emerging designers and pioneering innovators with mentorships, internships, and grants. Hosts including Law Roach, Anne Crawford, Petra Flannery, Stephanie Horton, Jennifer Meyer, and Ugo Mozie joined Alex Israel, Jonathan Simkhai, Brigette Romanek, Christine Chiu, Emma Brooks, Eyal Booker, Folake Olowofoyeku, Ian Ousley, Larsen Thompson, Nausheen Shah, Rachel Zoe, and Rocky Barnes for the evening celebration of 2024 finalists selected by the FTUS board and advisory board alongside Shop with Google. The second annual FTUS Awards are again slated for Los Angeles, and will be handed out on April 9.
This year, finalists who will show their lines to the FTUS panel are drawn from four categories: ready-to-wear, jewelry, accessories, and graduates. All 16 of them, from a list that includes Batsheva Hay, Charles Harbison, Jack Miner of Interior, Jackson Wiederhoeft, Jade Ruzzo, Esha Soni, Marie Laffont, Rowell Concepcion of Binata Millinery, Ashley Harris of Don’t Let Disco, Mia Vesper of Vesper Obscura, MoAnA Luu of Man Luu, and Wilglory Tanjong of Anima Iris will also be eligible for the organization’s Sustainability award and Inclusivity prize. A total of six awards are in the balance for these creatives. The FTUS board who will get a first look at all the designs presented by these contenders includes Fares and Crawford, who were on hand for the evening announcement, in addition to Maha Dakhil, Tan France, and Karla Welch. Let the competition continue.
Law Roach.
LEFT: Bruce Proctor, Glen Proctor. RIGHT: Christine Chiu.
Larsen Thompson.
LEFT: Brigette Romanek. RIGHT: Matthew Cooper, Rocky Barnes.
Emma Brooks.
Feature image: Petra Flannery, Papa Oppong, Law Roach, Rachel Zoe, Tania Fares, Anne Crawford, Stephanie Horton, Maha Dakhil.
February 5, 2023
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