CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund

The CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards were the perfect excuse (and a really good one, at that) for bringing much of the industry's most influential players together in NYC last night. To add to the event's de facto chic element, a bevy of A-list starlets — Emma Stone, Ashley Greene, and Alexa Chung among them — showed off their equally stylish wares arm in arm with their favorite designers. For every big arrival and gorgeous ensemble, start clicking — then be sure to tell us your pick for best dressed of the night in the comments.

Additional reporting by Hannah Weil

Last but certainly not least: Creatures of the Wind's much-anticipated mini collection for J.Crew has finally landed. The collection — the third and final installment of this year's CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund capsule series — features four limited-edition pieces inspired by '60s psychedelia and rebellious youth culture. There's a glittery pair of oxford lace-ups ($295), a chambray and floral print zip dress ($350), a boldly striped tee ($195), and — our favorite — a matching cashmere cardigan ($245). "We wanted to design pieces that were totally functional but could add an interesting element to anyone's wardrobe," the designers explained. Click through to see the entire offering, all available now at jcrew.com and at the retailer's 5th Avenue flagship.

Distressed boyfriend jeans and a faded denim jacket may not automatically spring to mind when one thinks of jewelry designer Pamela Love, but that's exactly what's on offer as part of the CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund runner-up's highly-anticipated capsule for J.Crew.

"The collection was inspired by what my friends and I wear almost on a daily basis," Love explains. Sure enough, the three-piece limited-edition selection — which also includes a belt, another first for Love — captures exactly the kind of downtown irreverence that has made Love's tribal-influenced jewelry, and Love herself, such a favorite. "I'm a big fan of mixing bold statement pieces with more subdued vintage classics, and I think that blend is pretty well reflected in the collection," Love says of her aesthetic. "I definitely pull a lot of inspiration from the American Southwest and Mexico and South America — I try to travel as much as I can."

See the entire capsule — available now at Jcrew.com and priced from $135 to $295 — here, in the slideshow.

>> J.Crew's collaborations with Joseph Altuzarra, Pamela Love, and Creatures of the Wind will make separate retail debuts in the coming weeks and months, but you can order the Altuzarra capsule online at Jcrew.com this Thursday. The Altuzarra capsule then hits J.Crew's 5th Avenue store Monday, April 23; Pamela Love's capsule will be available May 17 and Creatures of the Wind's on June 14.

Altuzarra told Vogue his striped collection was inspired by the clothes Jean Seberg wore in Breathless and by pictures of "Brigitte Bardot walking around St-Tropez in espadrilles and a slouchy boy's sweater." Pamela Love — a jewelry designer by trade — created clothing for the collaboration as well: a shrunken jacket, a pair of distressed jeans, and a belt. Shane Gabier and Chris Peters, who design Creatures of the Wind, created a colorblocked twinset and a floral Summer dress.

While there's no information yet on how much the pieces from Love and Creatures of the Wind will cost, Altuzarra's collection is priced between $145 for a striped dress and up to $345 for a pair of platform wedge espadrilles.

See all of the pieces from the Altuzarra collaboration here in the gallery.

>> Joseph Altuzarra, Iris Apfel, and Pamela Love were among those who joined hosts Jenna Lyons and Hamish Bowles at an intimate dinner Wednesday evening in honor of last year's CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund recipients and nominees.

Held in the private dining room at Locanda Verde, the dinner was also attended by Lily Kwong, Derek Lam, Mickey Drexler, Michelle Cushnie, and Carlie Ochs, who nibbled on grilled wild branzino and fonduta ravioli while fellow guests — and newlyweds — Tom and Rachel Chandler Guinness tended to the evening's soundtrack.

"You all deserve to win but there just wasn't enough room," Lyons said, addressing the Fund's runners-up and nominees, as she gave the welcome toast. "You should all be incredibly proud to be here."

A peek at the evening's festivities, in the slideshow.

>> Last night at Skylight studios in New York, the 2011 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winners were announced. Joseph Altuzarra, a favorite the past two years running, took home this year's prize — $300,000 and a year-long mentorship. But the impact of the award lasts much longer than a year, CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg explained: "Once you are in the Fashion Fund, we will protect you and continue to provide you with opportunities.” Pamela Love and Creature of the Wind's Shane Gabier and Christopher Peters were named runners-up, collecting $100,000 each.

Calvin Klein gave this year's keynote speech, focusing on his own days as a young designer. “I started out with less money than probably all of you nominees tonight,” he told the crowd. Of coming up in the '60s and ’70s, he noted: “I dealt with truck men, unions, and gangsters. I got a call from the Gambinos one day, telling me, ‘We are your truck men.’”

Altuzarra's friend and the 2008 Fashion Fund winner, Alexander Wang, told him to "just zone out" during Klein's speech, and just before Rooney Mara announced Altuzarra as winner, von Furstenberg went over to the designer's table, pinched his cheek, and asked him something in French. “She asked me if I went to pee,” Altuzarra told The New York Times. When the announcement finally came, Altuzarra told the audience, “I’m so grateful and humbled.” Love, while accepting her award, announced: “I didn’t prepare anything because I didn’t expect this — and I’m shaking!” before running backstage to hug her fiancé, Matthew Nelson. And Gabier said to the crowd, “You’ve made us really happy and we hope to make you really proud.”