Anna Wintour called the 10 finalists of the 2019 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund “a true reflection of American fashion – and the world – today, speaking to creativity, community, and sustainability.”

The Editor in Chief of Vogue and Artistic Director of Condé Nast is one of the 11 members on the Selection Committee, which met at the CFDA this morning to decide on the finalists for the program’s 16^th edition.

The finalists are Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough of Abasi Rosborough, Alejandra Alonso Rojas; Victor Barragan of Barragán, Christopher John Rogers, Hillary Taymour of Collina Strada,  Danielle Hirsch of Danielle Frankel, Raffaella Hanley of Lou Dallas, Siying Qu and Haoran Li of Private Policy, Reese Cooper, and Natalie Ratabesi of Tre by Natalie Ratabesi.

“They are following in the footsteps of so many wonderful talents who’ve come before them, and I look forward to seeing what our class of 2019 will do in the months to come,” Wintour added.

The CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund (CVFF) was established in 2003 to help emerging designers and cultivate the next generation of American fashion talent. It was the start of many significant fashion careers, including past winners such as Proenza Schouler (2004), Alexander Wang (2008), Altuzarra (2011), The Elder Statesman (2012), Brock Collection (2016), Telfar (2017), and, last year, Pyer Moss.

In addition to Wintour, the 2019 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Selection Committee features Joseph Altuzarra, Eva Chen, Paloma Elsesser, Mark Holgate, Jeffrey Kalinsky, Steven Kolb, Chioma Nnadi, Roopal Patel, Andrew Rosen, and Diane von Furstenberg.

Over the course of the next few weeks, they will each meet with the finalists to interview them, review their work and visit their design studios. A Business Advisory Committee, meanwhile, will provide a more focused business perspective and targeted feedback to each designer.

In addition to invaluable mentorship by established designers and industry executives, the winner will receive a prize of $400,000 and the two-runners up take home $150,000 each.

The winner and two runners-up will be announced at a gala dinner featuring a runway show of the finalists’ looks, to be held in New York City on November 4.

The CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund is generously supported by underwriters Instagram, JD.com, Klarna, M•A•C Cosmetics, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Theory, and Vogue.