After a successful first season, the CFDA has brought back its ‘Americans in Paris’ initiative to give 10 more US designers the chance to showcase their work in Europe and get on the radar of international buyers and members of the press. 

“Following the strong response from retailers and editors last September, we are excited to bring ‘Americans in Paris’ back for a second season,” said CFDA chief exec Steven Kolb in a press release. “The designers are able to develop new international contacts and business opportunities that will help them further new business globally.”

This year, the lucky designers are Prabal Gurung, Albertus Swanepoel, Billy Reid, Creatures of the Wind, Gregory Parkinson, Monique Péan, Ohne Titel, Pamela Love and Simon Spurr.

We think this is a wonderful idea for maximum worldwide exposure! Prabal Gurung showcased his flawless lavender spring/summer 2012 collection in New York last season, but we can’t wait to see how he will up the ante for Paris…

[Fashion Etc] [Image] 

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Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Alexander Wang and CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winner Joseph Altuzarra are just a few of the people flying the flag for the fashion world by securing a place on the Forbes magazine 30 under 30 list.

28-year-old New York designer Alexander Wang was mentioned for having a “full-blown lifestyle brand” at such a young age, while 25-year-old fashion entrepreneurs Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen received recognition for their labels The Row, Elizabeth and James, Olsenboye and T-shirt contributions for StyleMint.

28-year-old Joseph Altuzarra and fellow CFDA alumni Chris Benz and jewellery designer Pamela Love were also mentioned, as was Carine Roitfeld’s 27-year-old art dealer son Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld.

Little 14-year-old Chloe Moretz has already made a name for herself in the fashion industry, so it doesn’t surprise us to learn that she not only made the list, but was also dubbed “the next Angelina Jolie” by the magazine. A compliment if ever there was one.

23-year-old Zana Bayne, whose leather goods have secured Lady Gaga and Katy Perry as loyal clients, is another designer who made the list – which you can check out in full here.

Congratulations to everyone!

[Vogue] 

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We’ve avoided getting into it until now, but it’s about time we addressed the ongoing battle of the fashion weeks.

The fashion week hoopla essentially involved Milan throwing its toys out the pram and threatening to move its spring/summer 2013 fashion week to conflict with New York and London because of scheduling disagreements. This, in turn, sent fashion editors into a frenzy, each one taking sides and pledging their loyalty to different cities – and ones that weren’t Milan. Drama!

However, Saint Diane of Von Furstenberg, the CFDA president, has stepped in and written an open letter to the Italian Chamber of Fashion, in an attempt to calmly restore order.

“We did not change from the agreement we reached of starting Fashion Season in New York on the same day every year, which is the second Thursday of February and September,” she wrote. “As the President of the CFDA, I represent my fellow designers… Our shared goal is that we want the editors and retailers to see our work and do theirs.

At a time of great uncertainties in the world, we are lucky to be part of an industry that is flourishing and that provides an enormous quantity of jobs. We should not jeopardise that by being apart.”

If that doesn’t do it, we don’t know what will. Fingers crossed!

[The Fashion Spot] 

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Sometimes, as D:Ream once sang, things can only get better, and for 25 top American fashion designers that sentiment rings particularly true this morning – the CFDA has unveiled the newest names to be added to its exclusive roster this year.

25 names, to be precise, spanning the realms of clothing, jewellery, footwear and accessories will join the Council of Fashion Designers of America in October, making them a part of one of the most prestigious fashion clubs in the US.

“The class of 2010 is a talented mix of creativity,” CFDA executive director Steven Kolb told the Daily. “We are pleased to welcome the designers in to the CFDA family.”

Among those joining the board this year are Rebecca Minkoff, L’Wren Scott, Calvin Klein’s Ulrich Grimm, BCBGMAXAZRIA’s Lubov Azria and CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winner Sophie Theallet, all of whom will be officially welcomed later in the year at a stylish soiree hosted by Vera Wang – at her house, no less.

We suppose congratulations are in order…

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When she met with Michael Kors and Natalia Vodianova last week, Anna Wintour threw her weight into the sample size debate and called on designers to stop the supremacy of sample clothes that “barely fit a 13-year-old”.

Her plea comes not long after the CFDA Health Initiative that focused on resizing the sample size, and Wintour for one is keen to stop the sway of super-skinny models, something that she says is stopping their long-term success.

Quoting WWD, Fashionologie reports:

Most work only when they have the uberslim physique of the very young, stop getting jobs when they fill out and hence don’t last long enough to develop public personalities, like the Nineties supermodels did. As a result, more magazine covers and lucrative beauty contracts have gone to singers and actresses, [Wintour] observed.

And on a different, but not totally unrelated, subject, the editrix verifies Vogue only uses Photoshop to get rid of small imperfections, but never to make a model look thinner than she is.

Er, is she forgetting that little film called The September Issue? We saw it all, Wintour.

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Fashion loves a good award ceremony, especially when its very own industry is getting appraisal. The nominations for this year’s CFDA Awards , fashion’s answer the the Oscars , are in, and it’s time to get placing those bets.

And let’s just say a nomination for these awards, which recognise the crème de la crème of American fashion, is a big deal.

Up for the Swarovski Award for Womenswear, the sought-after accolade which helps hot young things become household names, are three First Lady favourites: Jason Wu, Prabal Gurung and Joseph Altuzzara; closely followed by Alexander Wang, Eddie Borgo and Dan Lorenz (of Fenton/Fallon fame) who are battling it out for the Swarovski Award for Accessory Design.

That Wang chap , a firm favourite in our book , is nominated for another award, too: Womenswear Designer of the Year. But he’ll face stiff competition from the likes of Donna Karan and Marc Jacobs (though we’re pretty sure Marc’s not all that bothered).

Shame, that, because according to Elle UK, he’s up for another one as well , Accessory Designer of the Year, alongside Alexis Bittar and Proenza Schouler duo Jack McCullough and Lorenzo Hernandez.

Nice to see, though, that us Brits haven’t been forgotten: Burberry buff Christopher Bailey is set to secure the acclaimed International Award, but better still, Alexander McQueen will be getting a much-deserved mention. The late designer, who leaves behind a legacy of his genius, will be honoured with a CFDA Board of Directors Special Tribute Award.

The awards will take place in June this year; until then, we’ll spend our days guessing who’ll win what.

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Last season, Mark Fast caused a controversial ruckus when he used plus-size model Hayley Morely to open his spring show. This season, she’s back with a bang. And a bum.

Size 14 Hayley hit the catwalk for Mark Fast again at London Fashion Week on Saturday as part of his campaign to use ‘real’ women on the runway, and she’s steadily securing support.

“I had hundreds of messages of support from young girls and young women, saying thank you for being a more real model, the 21-year-old told the Daily Mail. “I think that finally there is someone young and they feel they can relate to more than a size six model. It makes me proud.

Mark Fast is also sticking by his decision to break away from the standard skinny sample size, proving that his signature skin-tight cobweb knits work on girls with curves, too.

“Hayley is a wonderful, sexy, gorgeous woman, says the London-based designer. “It is important for me to continue using curvier models because there needs to be an understanding that my clothes are for all body shapes. There are real women out there that want to be able to escape into the fantasy of fashion just like everyone else regardless of their size.

And what with the CFDA’s current campaign to use models of a healthy age and weight, it’s an argument becoming fast-acknowledged.

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