Christian Cota

>> Twelve American designers have banded together, each creating one-off dresses and accessories that will be unveiled tonight at the Project Art charity event to raise funds for the victims of violence and crime in Ciudad Juarez. Each of the designers involved — Phillip Lim, Thakoon, Wes Gordon, Eddie Borgo, Yigal Azrouel, Peter Som, Rag & Bone, Sara Beltran, Anndra Neen, Christian Cota, Juan Carlos Obando, Michael Bastian, and Alejandro Ingelmo — was given a piece of traditional, handwoven fabric from the Oaxaca region of Mexico to work into their one-of-a-kind design.

The pieces will be available during and after the event on L-Atitude (they're already available to see online), with 100 percent of proceeds to be donated to Project Paz. See what Cota — who is from Mexico himself — designed for the occasion, in the slideshow.

If you don't know Christian Cota, it's time to get acquainted with the mesmerizing up-and-coming designer. In addition to the CFDA picking Cota as a CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalist, Cota has also garnered accolades from Style.com as one of its “10 Newcomers to Watch." Needless to say, everyone wants a piece of him — and now's your chance to get a little Cota in your life without the runway price tags. Christian Cota just launched a limited-edition boot collection for Aldo, showing off gorgeous mountain- and hiking-inspired pieces that will surely add that perfect rustic, yet luxe, touch to your Fall ensembles. "I really wanted to bring in all of the utilitarian elements, like the shin guards that can actually come on and off," said Cota. "I also wanted the color to be really rich, like this crimson. There was also a Tibetan influence as well. . . . It's the first time I decided to show very little stilettos [in my Fall runway show]. I wanted to offer something casual and comfortable this season." We love it all, especially the rad crimson red and brown combo with decadent pony hair details. Want to hear more? We caught up with Cota at the event to chat about his favorite style, what makes a shoe sexy, and three essential shoe styles that every woman must own. Listen up:

FabSugar: What makes a shoe sexy?
Christian Cota: It's all about how a woman feels when she wears the shoe. With the flats boots I designed, the models who wore them on the runway had a cooler confidence; they walked stronger and sexier. This season, sexy is about strength and toughness.

FS: Do you have a favorite style?
CC: I love the red [Laremont] pair, because it really catches my attention.

FS: What are three shoe styles every woman must own?
CC: A great pair of classic pumps, flat boots, and a really crazy pair of fashion-forward shoes, like ones with heavily constructed details, interesting materials, or amazing heels.

Now click the slideshow to see party shots from the event plus an up-close look at the new collection, available at select Aldo stores.

Fashion Week's penultimate day was a restatement — and in some ways a restructuring — of the trends we've seen all week. New, softer iterations of textured, ratted hair, dramatic eye color, and braiding came down the runway, with a little naturalism to balance things out. It was one of the week's most wearable days, so check out our picks and see which looks you'd be excited to try for yourself.

>> Last night, the 2010 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winners were announced, but before they could be named during the dinner gala at New York's Skylight Studios, the results were leaked on WWD's Twitter: Billy Reid won outright, and Prabal Gurung and Eddie Borgo were both named runners-up.

Style.com's Nicole Phelps wrote that the results were a bit of a surprise: "Many in the audience had pegged Gurung and Joseph Altuzarra as the front-runners." But nevermind: the prizes were even bigger this year, with Reid granted $300,000 (up from $200,000), and Borgo and Gurung each taking $100,000 (up from $50,000). "The main prize is the mentoring we provide," CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg noted of the increase, "but a little cash never hurts."

The rest of this year's finalists — Christian Cota, Robert Geller, Oliver Helden and Paul Marlow of Loden Dager, Pamela Love of Pamela Love Jewelry, Moss Lipow and Gregory Parkinson — were treated to a keynote speech by Karl Lagerfeld, who talked about how much fun Yves Saint Laurent was "before Pierre Berge" and advised: "Young goes. But good? If you're good, it may all last."

>> The Chateau Marmont hosted the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund West Coast runway show and tea yesterday afternoon — part of the competition for fund finalists (Joseph Altuzarra, Pamela Love, Prabal Gurung, Christian Cota, Moss Lipow, Gregory Parkinson, and Eddie Borgo among them); each finalist showed five Spring 2011 looks to an audience that included Rachel Zoe, Erin Wasson, Noot Seear, and Jenna Lyons.

Nerves were high for the designers, with a winner to be announced next month. “I have to tell myself to stop and enjoy the moment,” said Gurung. “But it was hard for us all not to tear up.” And Laura Love, Vogue West Coast editor Lisa Love's daughter, who was reportedly convinced to check out modeling by Anna Wintour and has since signed with Ford Models, walked the runway for Altuzarra.