Exclusive: An Intimate Photo Portfolio of Emerging Designers, From Virgil Abloh to Monse’s Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia

On June 5, the annual CFDA Fashion Awards come to Manhattan, honoring not only the best and brightest of American fashion but also, this year, celebrating Planned Parenthood’s Cecile Richards, for whom designer Gabriela Hearst is designing a dress, alongside Janelle Monáe and Gloria Steinem. Hearst, who designed her “ram-ovaries” sweater for the Woolmark Prize on International Women’s Day, is just one of the nominees for the Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent at this year’s awards. In a departure from previous years, the award now collapses menswear, womenswear, and accessories into a single prize category; in addition to Hearst, Virgil Abloh of Off-White, Sander Lak of Sies Marjan, Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia of Monse, and Laura Vassar Brock and Kristopher Brock of Brock Collection have all earned nods. In an effort to widen the audience for the ceremony this year, the whole affair will be broadcast on Facebook Live, and the annual Fashion Awards Journal, a portfolio of designers’ portraits released each year, will also be published online. The 2017 portrait series, photographed by Cass Bird, finds the designers in a playful mode. Here, find an exclusive first look at the designers nominated for the Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent from the Fashion Awards Journal ahead of the awards next month. While we doubt this tireless group is ever truly off-duty, this might be the closest they get.