How the 2021 CFDA Emerging Designers are Moving the Fashion Industry Forward
From rewriting the codes of menswear to celebrating diverse voices, L'OFFICIEL speaks to the American Emerging Designer of the Year nominees of the 2021 CFDA Fashion Awards.
The CFDA Fashion Awards return on Wednesday, celebrating the industry's brightest creatives. In addition to fashion heavyweights like Marc Jacobs, Rick Owens, Virgil Abloh, Miuccia Prada, and Raf Simons receiving nominations, it is also an opportunity to recognize rising talent from various corners of the industry. The five nominees for the American Emerging Designer of the Year category, for example, consist of creatives that span womenswear, menswear, and jewellery. And while their category name may suggest they are new to the scene, Edvin Thompson, Jameel Mohammed, Maisie Schloss, Kenneth Nicholson, and Eli Russell Linnetz already have immeasurable experience and personal foundations in fashion and design.
Before a winner is named on November 10, get to know the American Emerging Designer nominees as L'OFFICIEL speaks with them about what changes they want to see in the industry, how to overcome a creative block and their advice for other young designers.
Edvin Thompson for Theophilio
Edvin Thompson’s Brooklyn-based label Theophilio is a culmination of the designer’s Jamaican heritage and journey since immigrating to America. Bringing Caribbean culture to the forefront, his Spring/Summer 2022 collection features the yellow, green, and black of the Jamaican flag, in addition to the sense of liberation from gender binaries seen amongst the islands. Netting, satin, and slinky silhouettes are presented across men’s and women’s styles.
Thompson has become a leading creative in New York’s fashion scene. After interning for Amanda Uprichard and Gypsy Sport in the mid-2010s, Thomson launched Theophilio in 2016. Since then, his multicultural perspective has resonated amidst the push for more diversity and inclusion in the fashion industry. This year, Thompson was named a CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalist (along with fellow Emerging Designer nominees Jameel Mohammed and Kenneth Nicholson) attended his first Met Gala, invited by Lewis Hamilton, and dressed model Alton Mason and track star Sha’carri Richardson.
L'OFFICIEL: Can you please share a bit about the background of your latest collection?
Edvin Thompson: Air Jamaica—once the national airline of Jamaica—formed in August 1968 and ran operations until 2015. It was the first airline I ever flew on and the aircraft he travelled on when I immigrated to America in 2002. From the fried dumplings to the vibrant uniforms, ‘champagne flights’ and Sky Writings Inflight Magazine, Air Jamaica was known for its distinct experience. For myself, the airline is not only a piece of home but an endearing example of Jamaican pride and sharing culture with the world.
L'O: What's a piece of advice you've received that has stuck with you in your career?
ET: Advice I received from a friend early on was for me to always stay true to myself, to champion myself and what I believe in—the world will catch up.
L'O: What change do you want to see in the fashion industry?
ET: I want to see more camaraderie amongst designers in the fashion industry. Genuine support amongst creatives within the fashion industry is very inspiring. I’d love to see more of that.
Jameel Mohammed for Khiry
Khiry’s sculptural jewellery offerings are the type to seamlessly elevate your everyday look. Inspired by the African diaspora, silver and gold are complemented by natural materials in minimalist yet evocative forms. Designer Jameel Mohammed had a knack for design early on, interning at several fashion houses while still in high school and deciding to forgo his undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania to pursue a career in jewellery shortly thereafter.
Mohammed has had a banner year, making Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in the Art & Style category, becoming one of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalists, and branching into clothing design with a collection shown at New York Fashion Week, titled Fights, Flights, and Fantasies (go but so far). The seven-look capsule was Mohammed’s “personal exploration of escapism and its ability to either move us through or keep us stuck in our personal and societal traumas.” Articulated through handmade pieces that honour Khiry's Afrofuturist lens, the creations utilized crafting skills like macramé and unorthodox materials like marijuana packets to comment on escaping the harsh realities of America today.
L'OFFICIEL: What was a professional highlight for you over the past year?
Jameel Mohammed: It was incredible to get to attend the Met Gala in a look that we created as a brand—one of the first non-jewellery pieces that we’ve ever done—and to have so many of the world’s most recognizable people see and compliment me on a totally new undertaking was a huge professional accomplishment.
L'O: What's a piece of advice you'd give yourself or other young designers at the start of their career?
JM: I would give the advice that it’s so important to build infrastructure that replicates the value that you create as an artist and that you have ultimate control over independently. Whether that be a team, your business model, your product, or the combination of all the above.
L'O: How do you get out of a creative slump? What motivates you?
JM: I use creativity to respond to and reflect on things about the world that I don’t understand. Typically, creativity is my way out of a personal slump, and the energy that is generated by finding solutions to personal problems through creativity moves me to push the art even further.
Maisie Schloss for Maisie Wilen
On the surface, Maisie Wilen’s collections boast girly elements like body-con silhouettes, candy-coloured palettes, and psychedelic prints that resonate with the Internet’s current obsession with the avant-basic aesthetic. Look closer and you’ll find founder Maisie Schloss’ knack for synthesizing the ease of streetwear with more celebratory statements—which makes sense as the designer formerly worked for Yeezy.
Originally from Chicago and a graduate of Parsons, Schloss launched Maisie Willen after working on the streetwear giant’s womenswear design team and becoming the first recipient of Ye’s (formerly Kanye West) fashion incubator grant. Worn by the Kardashian-Jenner sisters (even North and Stormi, too!), Bella Hadid, Olivia Rodrigo, Madison Beer, and more It girls, Schloss’ label serves fresh ideas through of-the-moment style.
L'OFFICIEL: What change do you want to see in the fashion industry?
Maisie Schloss: Slow down! Produce at a more conscious, reasonable rate.
L'O: What was a professional highlight for you over the past year?
MS: Being able to finally show in person at NYFW. It was so rewarding to finally get to send looks down a live runway.
L'O: What's a piece of advice you'd give yourself or other young designers at the start of their career?
MS: Create pieces that you're excited about! Whenever I feel forced to make an item it never performs, but the pieces I feel most passionate about during the design process are always crowd-pleasers.
Kenneth Nicholson
Los Angeles-based designer Kenneth Nicholson has been observing the menswear greats that came before him since his teen years, but now all eyes are on him. With a background in the U.S. Navy and an appreciation for global influences, the designer's collections are equally precise as they are liberating.
Nicholson's namesake brand challenges the conventions of menswear. From skirts and tunics to lace and florals, his work proves that fashion as a whole is moving in a more fluid direction. In addition to his Emerging Designer of the year nod, Nicholson is a 2021 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist.
L'OFFICIEL: What change do you want to see in the fashion industry?
Kenneth Nicholson: As an emerging brand I would love to see legacy fashion houses embrace new design talent in more collaborative efforts. Not only would it revolutionize fashion in a new exciting way but it would speak to a larger conversation of sustainability lending voice to new talent. I see these efforts in other industries and it has become a commonplace practice in the music industry however it is not widely seen in fashion.
Often times when the conversation emerges concerning sustainability it’s usually limited to consumption and the effects on the earth's ecosystem. Sustainability by definition is the ability to maintain at a consistent rate or level. As an emerging designer, my purview of sustainability is broader. It’s known that oftentimes labels that have enormous means to execute their work have been known to take inspiration or blatant ideas from smaller emerging labels, which is counter predictive to fashion’s creative sustainability as a whole. I believe a more sustainable practice would be to partner and nurture emerging talent which would enrich both parties and create a more sustainable model for the community as well as equity.
L'O: What's the story behind your latest collection?
Our Spring/Summer 2022 collection, entitled Cy Falls after my high school alma mater, was inspired by the time when I first began designing. It is somewhat of a coming of age tale that encapsulates my experiences at that time. The struggle, the self-discovery, the colours and sounds of the era that surrounded me then. Notes from Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet, Nirvana, Radio Head and Smashing Pumpkins amongst many more '90s grunge/rock bands of the era, these were all references I drew from and translated through the lens of the brand.
L'O: What was a professional highlight for you over the past year?
KN: Without a doubt, I’ve had many great experiences over the past year. If I could narrow it down to two, the first would be having the chance to dress Lewis Hamilton for the Met Gala. I was completely blindsided in the best way possible. The whole experience was so enriching. Being able to see up close how he conceived then executed his vision centring diversified inclusivity was nothing short of culture-shifting. The second would be meeting Mr. Tom Ford and Anna Wintour. Tom Ford has always been such an inspiration to me. I’ve gleaned so much from his career from afar ever since I was a kid. Obviously, his designs created great cultural impact for an entire era, but the way in which he so effortlessly and publicly blends art and commerce is masterful. In my head, I refer to him as my Halston. Likewise, meeting Anna Wintour was also an amazing benchmark. For years as a kid, I imagined meeting this force and fantasizing what that experience might be like.
Eli Russell Linnetz for ERL
Another representative for the Golden Coast among this year's nominees, Eli Russell Linnetz puts a subversive spin on all-American style from his Venice Beach studio. The creative's career took off when he became a Ye collaborator, and he was soon working with other major players in the entertainment realm—Lady Gaga, Kid Cudi, and Teyana Taylor have all tapped Linnetz for everything from production to stage design.
Linnetz made the pivot towards fashion after landing a spot with DSM's Dover Street Market Paris incubator program, ultimately launching ERL. From deconstructed football jerseys to oversized denim, ERL communicates a new type of American spirit by remixing nostalgic tropes. Justin and Hailey Bieber, Dua Lipa, and A$AP Rocky are all fans of the brand. Beyond its celebrity stamps of approval, ERL is also among the brands featured in the Met Costume Institute's historic In America: A Lexicon of Fashion exhibition.
Linnetz was not available to participate in this story.
