2024 Designer Winners
Ready-to-Wear Award
Harbison Studio
Charles Harbison
Charles Harbison, the creative director of the modern luxury lifestyle brand Harbison Studio, was born in rural North Carolina. He developed an early interest in fashion, inspired by the transformative effect that beauty and clothing had on his mother.
Harbison studied architecture, fiber arts, and textile science at North Carolina State University. His curriculum was heavily influenced by the Modernist movement, an aesthetic he continues to embrace. After graduation, he spent a year abroad in Uzbekistan studying Central Asian textiles, then moved to New York City to join the fashion program at Parsons School of Design.
He began his career as a textile designer before transitioning to fashion design. Harbison worked at Michael Kors Collection and had stints at Luca Luca and Billy Reid, designing womenswear and accessories.
Jewelry Award
MANLUU
Moana Luu
MANLUU, a New York-based luxury fashion house that celebrates Creole culture, was founded by Martinican creative director and brand architect MoAnA LUU. The brand reimagines the evolution of Creole jewelry and pays homage to the rich, diverse cultural heritage of the French West Indies. MoAnA's passion for Creole jewelry, rooted in generations of heritage and expertise, was nurtured in her grandparents' jewelry store in Fort-de-France, Martinique.
Launched in 2021, MANLUU quickly gained notoriety with its fine jewelry line, especially after superstar Cardi B was seen in a series of viral pregnancy photos wearing MANLUU bracelets. The brand, under MoAnA Luu's guidance, has also adorned celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Mary J. Blige, Issa Rae, Wyclef Jean, and fashion legend Maye Musk. MANLUU's collections are available in the United States at Nordstrom and Goop, and internationally in St. Barth and Monaco.
Accessories Award
Esha Soni
Esha Soni
Multidisciplinary designer Esha Soni launched her debut collection of handbags and collectible objects in 2022. Born in India, her line infuses her affection for design, art, and craftsmanship by offering heirloom-quality wearable objects that transcend time and trend.
Soni has led the growth of accessories for iconic American brands such as Michael Kors Collection, Ralph Lauren, Proenza Schouler, Mansur Gavriel, and Ghurka for almost two decades. Her work has been featured in prominent publications such as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.
The Mumbai-born creative has been dedicated to providing primary and vocational education to children in India, which was one of the catalysts for starting her eponymous brand, the launch of which was announced in the coveted T-List of the New York Times.
Graduate Award
Le Blanc Studios
Yamil Arbaje
Yamil, a Dominican designer based in New York City and co-founder of LEBLANCSTUDIOS, is interested in addressing conceptions of history, Latin American masculinity, and youth culture through socially engaged practices across different mediums: clothing, media, and cultural platforms. In 2023, Yamil co-founded a cultural platform about the city of Santo Domingo that involves the community of the city: its workers, makers, designers, and artists. The project spreads the story of the city from a documentary perspective.
Yamil’s interest in New Latin American Cinema and the Global South youth culture led him to explore new representations of masculinity in Latin America and the Caribbean. With his garments, he aims to provide a wardrobe that supports young people in redefining their masculine identities, while playing with conceptions of historical narratives and conventional ideas of youth through the culture of graphical production.
Sustainability Award
BATSHEVA
Batsheva Hay
Queens-born Batsheva Hay founded her eponymous womenswear brand in 2016 after quitting her job as a lawyer. A darling of the international fashion press, BATSHEVA is stocked by retailers worldwide, and claims a loyal following of fans, including a diverse array of trendsetting celebrities. The ongoing BATSHEVA x LAURA ASHLEY collaboration has been particularly well-received, and
Batsheva continues to venture into new categories, including furniture, fragrance, and jewelry.
Inclusivity Award
Don’t Let Disco
Ashley Harris
Don’t Let Disco is a collection of one-of-a-kind beaded jewelry individually crafted to capture life’s most significant, evanescent moments. Founded by Ashley Harris in 2021, Don’t Let Disco playfully strings together treasured moments of connection, memory, closeness, and nostalgia within an art historical lens. Harris scours the world to source artisans who deal in bespoke materials, like Murano glass made in Venice or hand painted porcelain in Detroit, to create worldly, sentimental pieces. The brand takes a lighthearted and whimsical approach in celebrating the moments in-between, reminding the wearer, ‘don’t let this go’.
