Paula Abdul, Tan France, Laura Brown Toast Fashion Prize Coming to LA – WWD

Paula Abdul, stylist Elizabeth Stewart, B. Akerlund and Mariam Malakpur, Jera Nash Taylor and John Taylor, Jonathan Shimkai and more at the rooftop bar at The Edition Hotel in West Hollywood Wednesday night We packed up and toasted the new young designer award. Bring fashion influence to LA this spring.

Fashion Trust US co-founded the contest, including Kate Hudson and Miranda Kerr, stylists Carla Welch and Law Roach, LB Media founder and former InStyle editor Laura Brown, and Harper’s Bazaar editor. It was the brainchild of Tania Fares, who assembled a vibrant board of advisors. Chief Samira Nasr, Academy Award-winning costume designer Arianne Phillips, and designer/TV personality Tan France.

Fares and friends threw a cocktail party to raise awareness for Fashion Trust US, which is still accepting entries until Monday. The group announced its 15 finalists in February, announced the winners at a star-studded event at Goya Studios in Los Angeles on March 21, and announced the newly announced Green on March 8. Join the Carpet Fashion Awards to present another example of street style dominance.

“I’m thrilled to bring the Fashion Trust to America for designers across America,” she told the audience at the event. “Hundreds of designers have applied so far, and if you know more, please encourage them.”

Living between Lebanon, London and LA, Fares has always had a passion for newcomers. She founded her BFC Fashion Trust in the UK in 2011 and her Fashion Trust in Arabia in 2018. (At these competitions, along with Thom Browne, Marc Jacobs and Naomi Campbell, awards were given to Erdem, Christopher Kane, Hui Shanchang, Marquez Her Almeida, Hussein Bazaza and others among the judges.)

“I thought we needed this in the US as of 2019. I think we need it everywhere,” Fares said over lunch at the San Vicente Bungalows, while she and Laura Brown shared four years ago. He began talking about launching Fashion Trust US, but explained that the pandemic had made him lost, making the initiative more urgent.

“What the pandemic has done is that people are less interested in young designers,” says Fares. “A lot of my friends didn’t think they were wearing big brands now, because they feel they deserve more,” she said, adding that she’s more famous than her new name. We looked back at the reality of the resale market that values ​​luxury brands.

Phares began immersing herself in LA in 2017 when she and her husband purchased a home on the Trussdale Estate, and in 2019 launched a book about young designers with then-West Coast editor Christa Smith of Vanity Fair. Published “LA Scene”. (She published a similar book in the UK in 2016, The London Uprising, and named Vogue journalist and up-and-coming talent Sarah Mower as a BFC ambassador.)

Using seed donations from LA-based British heiress Jordana Reuben Yechiel, jewelry designer Jacquie Aiche, and 24 other founders in real estate, finance, and the arts, she will launch in 2022. Founded the non-profit Fashion Trust US with the goal of awarding prizes. In an amount determined by the designer’s needs.

“New York feels saturated, so the event is in LA. Since I wrote the book, there are more and more designers here,” she said, noting that next year’s gala will be another He added that it could take place in a city, possibly Texas.

Anyone with two to seven years of experience starting a business in the United States is eligible to apply for the St. John Knitted Ready-to-Wear Award. The award includes a monetary prize and the opportunity to collaborate with Irvine, CA on a capsule collection. , based heritage brand.

There’s also a jewelry award sponsored by the tech giant, an alumni award, and two Google awards, each worth $25,000. Awards for inclusiveness and sustainability are also awarded.

“We have a great advisory board and it’s not just LA. Laura, Bethanne Hardison, Proenza Schouler, Fernando Garcia… I hope they all come to LA and decide who the winner is. retail partner.

“We offer a good amount, but it depends on the size of the business. I’ve always done it this way with every award,” she said, adding that mentorship is also part of the deal.

Fashion Trust Arabia award-winning Los Angeles designer Zaid Affas said, “For us as a brand, it’s about mentorship, exposure, Tania, Sheikh Moza bint Nasser, Sheikh Al Mayasa bint Hamad. Bin Khalifa Al Thani’s leadership was a big change,” he said. In 2021, we refer to the Qatari Royal Family as Chair and Co-Chair of that event.

“The final celebration is like the Oscars: a week of parties, dinners and celebrities,” added Affas.

“I want to be a part of it because I want to be able to offer a more inclusive perspective,” said France, who is of Pakistani descent. “I know Tania is a white woman, but I’ve seen a lot of white people making decisions in American fashion, so I want to say, ‘Consider this instead. There may be other groups that can contribute differently.”

For Fares, one of the most satisfying moments of her career was when Youssef Akbar won the eveningwear category at the 2020 Awards in Qatar. “He didn’t have the financial means and he said in his speech that he was thinking of changing his career. Then came the FTA and now he’s thriving. We sell to new stores in Paris, new stores in Paris, new stores in Australia, so for me, that’s why I do it.”

The Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Young Designer Award has been tied to Vogue magazine since its inception, but Fares said Fashion Trust US has no media partners. Editor-in-chief, Alastair McKimm is on the Advisory Board.

“For us, it’s all about being very inclusive. We all want to support each other. We want to work together,” said Sami Miro and Omar Salaam.

Although the CFDA has faced criticism over the years for being too tightly bound to one publication, Fares did not criticize the organization or say he intended to compete.

“Everyone is doing their best, helping and supporting and it’s good that they challenge. It’s easy in life to criticize, it takes two seconds. But it’s a lot of work.” am [CFDA chief executive officer] Steven [Kolb] To do. I’m also a member of the British Fashion Council, so I hear the criticism firsthand, but I feel everyone is doing their best,” Fares said.

“What I appreciate about Tania is that she looks outside the norm of how things have been done,” said Brown. “It should exist on its own and be independent anyway… I want everyone to be able to come,” she said of the results.

Fare agreed.

“We are bringing the community together and we want to do that in LA. And we fly them, they don’t pay for the plane,” she added.

“If I had more financial support, I would love to give prizes for accessories, shoes, bags, etc., but the question is how much support we can get.