On Tuesday night, Juan Carlos Obando, Suno’s Erin Beatty and Max Osterweis, and Veronica Beard’s Veronica Miele Beard and Veronica Swanson Beard of Veronica Beard were at the center of attention at Los Angeles’ Lombardi House. The occasion: the celebratory cocktail to launch the Rising Talent Program, an initiative by the CFDA and FORWARD by Elyse Walker, the online shopping destination. The program evolves around mentorship and support of hand-selected up-and-coming talent.

Nicole Richie, Pamela Skaist-Levy, Gela Nash-Taylor, George Esquivel, Louise Roe, Katharine McPhee, Gillian Jacobs, Jamie Chung, Abigail Spencer, Portia Doubleday, Rowan Blanchard, Chiara Ferragni, Jessica De Ruiter, Jessica Paster and Kate Foley came out to toast the program and talent.

Obando, Beatty, Osterweis and the Miele Beard and Swanson Beard are the first set of designers to participate in the program, which includes a two-day workshop in Los Angeles featuring the likes of FORWARD fashion director Elyse Walker and co-owners Michael Mente and Mike Karanikolas.

“The expertise and experience that Elyse Walker and the FORWARD team have in the retail sector is invaluable and will propel the businesses of the participating designers to the next level,” said Steven Kolb, President and CEO of the CFDA.

The designers also created a special exclusive capsule collection with the retailer’s buying team for Spring/Summer 2016.

“FORWARD has always been a champion of emerging designers, and with the current shake-ups in the fashion industry, from e-commerce and fast fashion to social shopping, it’s a challenging time for early talent to achieve that critical next stage in their growth,” Walker said.. “As we continually work to support top creative talent in the industry, it was natural to collaborate with the CFDA.”