The Council of Fashion Designers of America and Vogue have named Rachel Scott of Diotima as the runner-up for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund alongside Henry Zankov of Zankov. Both Scott and Zankov have been awarded grants of $100,000 each. On Thursday, the winner, Melitta Baumeister, a New York-based, German designer who is an MFA graduate of Parsons was also announced. Baumeister will receive a grant of $300,000 in addition to receiving mentorship by titans in the fashion industry–Scott and Zankov are set to be mentored as well.
More participants this year included Sami Miro of Sami Miro Vintage, Everard Best and Téla D’Amore of Who Decides War, Kim Shui, Angelo Fabricio of 4S Design, Colin LoCascio, Kozaburo Akasaka of Kozaburo, and Fletcher Kasell and Tanner Richie of Tanner Fletcher.
Most recently, Scott, a designer with roots in Jamaica revealed her latest collection during New York Fashion Week in September titled “Nine-Night.” Her newest range featured essentials such as tops, skirts, and trousers featuring the knit materials that have become associated with Diotima. Scott is largely known for how she subverts notions associated with Caribbean clothing: her take on knitwear has catapulted her into the fashion lexicon since her launch in 2021. Zankov cut his teeth at Diane von Furstenberg and Donna Karan before launching his eponymous label in 2020.
Baumeister who has been on our radar for quite some time founded her label in 2013. Rihanna has been spotted in her designs which are made up of whimsical silhouettes. The designer experiments with oversized textures and often delves into eccentric territory with exaggerated ruffles or waffle shapes.
“Our CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund class of 2023 are wonderfully talented,” said Anna Wintour, chief content officer at Condé Nast and global editorial director of Vogue in a statement. “They all have something to say about what fashion can be—and where it needs to go. As we prepare to celebrate the fund’s 20th anniversary in 2024, this year’s finalists have been a wonderful reminder of why we set up the fund in the first place: To enable a new generation of designers to be seen and heard,” Wintour added.
Previous winners of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund include Christopher John Rogers in 2019, Kerby Jean-Raymond’s Pyer Moss in 2018, and Telfar Clemens who won the prestigious award in 2017.