IT’S GOLD FOR GREEN DESIGNER
Score another one for the green team: Rogan Gregory, a New York City designer of socially conscious, eco-friendly brands, has won the Council of Fashion Designers of America/Vogue Fashion Fund top prize.
The award, created to support emerging American designers, comes with a $200,000 prize and a track record of raising the profiles of those who have won it. Last year’s winner was Doo-Ri Chung, with the Trovata collective winning in 2005. Earlier this year the Valentino Fashion Group bought a 45% stake in Proenza Schouler, the label launched by Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, who took home the inaugural prize in 2004.
Gregory’s win was announced at a New York gala to benefit the CFDA/Vogue Initiative for HIV/AIDS on Nov. 15. The runners-up, Philip Crangi and Phillip Lim, will each receive $50,000. All three will receive a year of business mentoring.
Gregory, 35, is best known for the Edun line of men’s and women’s sportswear, a collaboration with U2 frontman Bono and Bono’s wife, Ali Hewson. The line was launched in 2005 with the goal of providing sustainable employment in developing countries. In 2001, Gregory launched the Rogan denim label (with business partner Scott Hahn), followed by the all-organic Loomstate denim collection in 2004. In addition to selling at high-end department stores (Barneys New York) and boutiques (Hollywood Trading Co.), there is a Rogan retail shop on Franklin Street in New York City. In a phone interview, Hahn said the prize money had already been allocated “many times over.”
“We don’t need it for any one thing like putting on a runway show or opening a studio. We need it to help develop things like our sourcing, which is crucial for brands like ours,” he said, referring to the company’s goals of organic and sustainable production.
The Fashion Fund is supported by Gap, Vogue magazine and a handful of fashion manufacturers and retailers.
