The verdict is in—Alexander Wang has won the Vogue CFDA Fashion Fund for 2008. The lucky man and his eponymous label will receive $200, 000 and a year’s worth of mentoring. The two runners up who will each receive $50, 000 and business mentoring (not too shabby) are Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhal of the coveted Vena Cava, and the gifted milliner, Albertus Swanepoel.
On the fast track to fame, at only 24 Wang has quickly become the darling of the fashion world, but plenty of hard work has gone into his seemingly gilded success. Leaving his native San Francisco At age 18 Wang left his native San Francisco and moved to New York to try his hand at fashion. The Parsons wunderkind, who interned with the likes of Marc Jacobs and Derek Lam, began his line during his sophomore year in 2006. He showed the line to an editor at Teen Vogue, whose accolades gave Wang the courage to quit school and work on his line full time.
Wang’s long lean silhouettes have been much publicized in part thanks to his collaboration with model-cum-stylist, Erin Wasson (who has since left Wang to start her own line). Wasson brought an edginess, not to mention lots of attention to the line. Wang is a huge proponent of layering and fragile fabrics primarily in dark hues and neutrals. The effect highlights delicacy and femininity while also hinting at an inner ‘downtown’ bad girl. Good and bad girls alike clearly identify with Wang’s urban aesthetic, and have catapulted him into the spotlight. Monday evening’s prestigious award sealed his stunning trajectory as a fashion golden-boy. (Kari Skaflen)
Alexander Wang is carried in Chicago at Blake, hejfina and Jake
