Tonight: the CFDA Fund Award!

As we all know, being an upcoming designer can be tough work. And expensive. Especially right now—when no one seems to be buying anything, let alone going after the work of lesser known (but extremely talented!) brands. Enter: the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. Since 2004 (when the honors went to Proenza Schouler), the fund has highlighted emerging talent with $200,000 for the winner, along with $50,000 each for two runners-up. Refinery29's picks rightly highlight the indomitable Alexander Wang and Richard Chai (both serious editors' darlings) as serious contenders, with Richard Chai emerging the winner, we're really gunning for Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock of Vena Cava. Fashionologie also points out the style pull of Jason Wu and Obedient Sons & Daughters, while also describing the (we'll also admit) hilariously huge schism between the pool likely to win and the kind-of-unknowns: "organic designer John Patrick, milliner Albertus Swanepoel, cobbler Alejandro Ingelmo, Juan Carlos Obando, and jewelry designer Irene Neuwirth" ... um, who? (Granted, being classified as a "milliner" or "cobbler" is pretty dope. Sigh. So much American talent, so little money.