CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalists Announced: Meet the nominees: this year's 10 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalists were announced at Rag & Bone's studio in New York City on Wednesday. They are: Misha Nonoo of Nonoo, Tim Coppens;, Veronica Miele Beard and Veronica Swanson Beard of Veronica Beard, Dao-Yi Chao and Maxwell Osborne of Public School, Marc Alary of Marc Alary Jewelry, Juan Carlos Obando, Parabellum’s Commodore Jason Jones, Tome’s Ryan Lobo and Ramon Martin, Shimon and Ariel Ovadia of Ovadia & Sons, and Todd Snyder. Winners will be rewarded $300,000 and a collaboration with J.Crew, and the two runners-up will receive $100,000. Rag & Bone designers David Neville and Marcus Wainwright (who have come a long way since their own nomination) were named to the Fashion Fund selection committee along with J.Crew's Jenna Lyons, Theory’s Andrew Rosen, and Reed Krakoff. [WWD]
Beyoncé Covers Flaunt Magazine In Only Glitter: If you like it, then you should put some glitter on it. Beyonce covers the newest issue of Flaunt magazine wearing nothing but shimmering gold glitter. The Daily Mail reports that the photos were actually take in 2011 by photographer Tony Duran as part of the "Year of 4" campaign, but were repurposed by Flaunt. The accompanying interview is slightly less dramatic than its cover: "Sunday pizza is a must for me," she says. [Daily Mail]
Instagram Becomes More Fashion-Blog Friendly: With the announcement on Wednesday that Instagram will allow its 130 million users to imbed images on Websites, blogs, and other online outlets, the fashion world responded accordingly. Since the app's inception, the fashion industry has been eagerly using it's photo abilities to promote and share ideas. Director of Business Operations at Instagram Emily White said: “Fashion brands have found a home on Instagram from the beginning. The industry is already using Instagram’s medium of beautiful images and videos as a way to share their latest creations, trends, and showcase the lifestyle associated with their products in a way that is immediate, visual and authentic.” Fashion executives like Uri Minkoff of Rebecca Minkoff echoed this sentiment: “It can be the rise of a new type of a blogger: the Instagram blogger. People with great photography skills can all of a sudden proliferate their images. It’s a new sense of branding for consumers. And for brands, whether they take their own photos or use consumers’ photos — it can help sell product.” [WWD]
Model Agency Scouts At Music Festival: If you're headed to the four-day Benicassim music festival on the Spanish coast this year, you could be one step closer to starting your modeling career without even realizing it. Premier Model Management has teamed up with the festival to scout models in the crowd of around 200,000 people. Premier founder Carole White tells Vogue UK that she chose this particular festival as a scouting arena because of the diversity of its audience. "The good weather and the proximity to the beach make it a great deal easier to scout, as you can see people's figures" she adds. [Vogue UK]
