Early this morning, the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Selection Committee – including Diane von Furstenberg, Steven Kolb, Jeffrey Kalinsky, Mark Holgate and Andrew Rosen – gathered at CFDA’s Bleecker Street headquarters. The reason? To choose the finalists for this year’s edition — and the resulting mix is as exciting as ever!

The 2017 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalists are Ahlem Manai-Platt of AHLEM; Becca McCharen-Tran of CHROMAT; Christopher Bevans of DYNE; Victor Glemaud of VICTOR GLEMAUD; Jordan Askill of JORDAN ASKILL; Matthew Harris of MATEO NEW YORK; Eli Azran of RTA; Sandy Liang of SANDY LIANG; Telfar Clemens of TELFAR LLC, and Patric DiCaprio, Bryn Taubensee, David Moses and Claire Sully of VAQUERA.

“The CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund continues to transform the careers of American designers through mentoring and financial support,” said Steven Kolb, President and CEO of the CFDA. “By fostering emerging talent, the Fashion Fund lays the foundation for the future of American fashion.”

This year, the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Selection Committee welcomes four new judges: Joseph Altuzarra, Creative Director at Altuzarra; Eva Chen, Head of Fashion Partnerships at Instagram; Roopal Patel, Senior Vice President and Fashion Director at Saks Fifth Avenue, and Nicole Phelps, Director at Vogue Runway.

The Selection Committee will meet with each finalist to review their current collections, conduct in-depth interviews and visit their design studios. Mark your calendars for the Chateau Marmont fashion show this October—a CVFF tradition – followed by the gala dinner in New York on November 6, where the winner and two-runners-up will be unveiled.

The winner will receive a monetary prize of $400,000 and the two-runners up take home $150,000 each.

The CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund is generously supported by underwriters Bloomberg, Caleres, Coach Foundation, J.Crew, JD.com, IMG Fashion, Lane Bryant, LIFEWTR, M•A•C Cosmetics, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Ave and Vogue.