
Sophie Theallet and Alabama Chanin
Sophie Theallet started her week off right: Last night, she took home a $200,000 prize for top honours at the Sixth-Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards. The Brooklyn-based womenswear designer addressed the crowd at New York's Skyline Studios by saying, "I'm French, so I'm going to try to do my best...Thank you for making my American dreams come true."
Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz and Nicole Kidman gave out the awards, which saw runners-up Monique Pean, a philanthropic jewellery designer, and menswear designer Patrik Ervell take $50,000 apiece. Facing a crowd including Anna Wintour, Diane von Furstenberg and Karen Elson, Pean vowed, "I won't disappoint you."
Wintour said at the event that she had met with the French minister of culture to discuss starting a similar fund in France, and the UK and Italy already have their own schemes. The editor reported that China, Russia, Brazil and India aren't far behind, but admitted still that "New York is the place to come for young designers to show what they're capable of."
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