CUT TO the FUTURE

Spotlight

These nine young American designers may not exactly be cut from the same cloth, but they have one thing in common: they are unstoppable! Pictured here alongside their muses, they are some of the most sought-after designers in the industry at the moment. Yet we can hardly call them the new kids on the block—one has dressed the First Lady for the 2009 and 201 3 inaugural balls (Jason Wu, who recently added the title of creative director of Hugo Boss to his resume); three (Nicholas Kirkwood, Christopher Kane, and Joseph Altuzarra) have deals with major fashion groups, including LVMH and Kering; Jennifer Fisher and Tabitha Simmons are the accessories darlings of the moment; Simon Spurr is breathing new life into Kent & Curwen; and Public School (Maxwell Osborne and Dao-Yi Chow) will be one of the most anticipated shows at New York Fashion Week. Among them, they have a total of 1 0 Council of Fashion Designers of America nominations, six C.F.D.A. wins, and numerous other awards. "It's incredibly flattering to be in the position that I am in today," says Altuzarra, "and I am excited for what's to come." Perhaps one day they— like Ralph, Donna, and Calvin before them—will achieve worldwide notoriety and be known by the chic shorthand of their first names only. Dao-Yi and Maxwell already sound pretty good, no?

MICHAEL CARL

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@vf.com VIDEO: TO GET TO KNOW THE NEXT-GENERATION DESIGNERS, GO TO VF.COM SEPT2014.