CFDA names Elaine Gold 2019 design finalists

By

Jennifer Braun

Published
Jul 30, 2019

The Council of Fashion Designers of America and the Accessories Council’s joint initiative for young designers, the Elaine Gold Launch Pad, revealed its five 2019-2020 finalists on Monday.

 
The finalists are Loren Thomas and Caragh Bennet for Tribe + Glory; Graham Baldwin for Graham Tyler; Shanel Campbell for Shanel; Rui Zhou for Rui Zhou; and Dana Hurwitz and Mariah Pershadsingh for Bond Hardware.
 
Aimed at supporting young design talent, the finalists -- who have all been in business for less than three years -- will participate in a 23-week virtual residency and hope to win a portion of the fund’s $175,000-prize money.

This year, the CFDA’s first-ever global ambassador, Adrian Cheng, has been elected to the Elaine Gold Launch Pad Selection Committee and Advisory Board. Cheng will provide focused mentorship to each of the finalists, as well as additional financial support towards the program, alongside other advisory board members including Antoine Phillips of Gucci, Karen Giberson of Accessories Council, and Thomas Gibb of Tidal NY, to name a few. 
 
“As CFDA and Accessories Council enter the third year of Elaine Gold Launch Pad, we are immensely proud of the success of past participants. They have pioneered new approaches to fashion such as inclusivity, accessibility, and circularity. They look at the fashion model through a whole new lens, which is exciting and inspiring,” said Steven Kolb, President and CEO of the CFDA.
 
“We were delighted to have more entrants than ever before. It was quite a task to pick the group for this round. We are excited to start working with this talented and diverse team," added Karen Giberson, President of Accessories Council.
 
Past program participants include emerging fashion designers, Emily Adams Bode of Bode, Maria Kazakova of Jahnkoy, and Ali Rose and Jack Burns of Flint, Michigan-based Genusee.