Zane Li wins the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Here is everything you need to know about the designer

Last night saw the awards ceremony for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, a prize that each year supports the businesses of the most deserving emerging designers with $300,000 and a mentorship period. This year's winner was Zane Li, founder of Lii, a New York-based womenswear and menswear brand. The designer stated that he will use the prize to grow his company with new employees and categories. 

 

The awards ceremony was held at the Crane Club in New York, an event hosted by Tory Burch, Thom Browne, Chloe Malle, head of editorial content at Vogue US, and Anna Wintour. The other finalists were Aisling Camps and Emily Dawn Long (who will each receive a $100,000 prize), followed by Amir Taghi, Terrence Zhou of Bad Binch TongTong, Jamie Haller, Julia Ferentino of JujuVera, George Inaki of Milamore, Claire Sullivan, and Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen. 

Lii's strength appears to lie in its founder's ability to blend the minimalism and "effortless" sensuality of the '90s (many of his collections are reminiscent of the Jil Sander universe) with tailoring details of refined technique. The brand manufactures in the founder's home country of China, while the design studio is in New York and is currently run by Zane Li and his husband. For this reason, the designer stated last night, the prize money will be invested in the company's human resources. Li added that Lii will soon also be carried by Bergdorf Goodman, in addition to already being available at Nordstrom, Moda Operandi, and Galeries Lafayette.