The finalists for the 2026 CFDA Awards have been announced The award ceremony will take place in New York on October 20
In the middle of the international fashion awards season, following the winners of the Camera Moda Fashion Trust announced last week in Milan, today attention shifted to two of the industry’s most closely watched emerging talent prizes. On one side, the finalists of the ANDAM Prize in France, and on the other, the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund in the United States, the program that for more than twenty years has helped launch some of the most influential names in contemporary American fashion.
Who are the finalists of the 2026 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund?
For the 2026 edition, the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund selected ten designers who clearly capture the moment American fashion is currently going through. Among the most interesting names is Amir Taghi, the Texas-based designer who has recently gained attention for his almost old Hollywood-inspired couture aesthetic, alongside Terrence Zhou of Bad Binch TONGTONG, probably one of the most viral brands of the new American generation thanks to its deliberately absurd, theatrical and deeply internet-coded silhouettes.
The list also includes Jamie Haller, the Los Angeles-based designer who turned Californian minimalism into an aspirational product for the American quiet luxury aesthetic, as well as Zane Li of Lii, one of the most interesting names emerging from the new Asian diaspora within the US fashion scene. Julia Ferentinos of Juju Vera continues the increasingly common path of contemporary brands evolving beyond accessories, while George Inaki of Milamore keeps pushing forward a vision of contemporary Japanese jewelry.
Rounding out the group is Claire Sullivan of Miss Claire Sullivan, a designer who has built a romantic and craft-driven aesthetic over the past few years. Alongside her, Aisling Camps, Emily Dawn Long and Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen further confirm how the CFDA today seems far more interested in emerging designers with a strong visual identity and storytelling ability.
The jury behind the 2026 CFDA Awards
The winner will receive $300,000, while the two runners-up will each take home $100,000. But as often happens with the Fashion Fund, the real value of the program remains the mentorship network and industry support system built around the finalists. Over the years, the prize has helped launch designers such as Joseph Altuzarra, Aurora James, Bode, Christopher John Rogers, Proenza Schouler and Thom Browne, becoming a sort of barometer for the future of American fashion.
This year, the Fund is also reinforcing its focus on sustainability. In partnership with Humane World for Animals, designers will take part in a Material Innovation Challenge dedicated to bio-based textiles and cruelty-free alternatives, showing just how central material innovation has become even within programs supporting emerging talent.
The official presentations in front of the jury will begin on June 10 in New York, while the winner will be announced on October 20 during a gala dinner organized by the CFDA and Vogue. But the detail that caught the industry’s attention the most concerns the composition of the jury itself. For the first time, Anna Wintour will not be part of the Fashion Fund Selection Committee. In her place, the role of Chloe Malle, Vogue’s new Head of Content, continues to grow alongside Nicole Phelps, signaling a new phase for the Fund that will likely be more aligned with a contemporary editorial vision and a less institutional approach to fashion than in the past.