Whit

Congratulations are in order for a group of young designers including Joseph Altuzarra, Bibhu Mohapatra, and Wes Gordon, all of whom are in the American finals for the 2014 International Woolmark Prize.

The group of finalists, which includes seven other design houses, will compete for the opportunity to go up against designers from Australia, China, India, and Europe in Milan next year. One American designer will be selected to represent the United States this July, when the 10 finalists present competition collections made with merino wool.

The prize for breaking through the other finalists and into the last round of competition is $100,000 toward that designer's next collection; the international prize is another $100,000, plus the opportunity to sell the winning collection in stores all over the world.

A look at who else is in the running, here in the gallery.

It was all about the tropics at Whitney Pozgay's Spring 2013 presentation for her line WHiT. Indeed, the designer — and recent inductee into the CFDA incubator program — not only drew inspiration from a recent trip to St. Lucia, she also said that one of the collection's main themes was the idea of "decompressing." To that end, the silhouettes were just as throw-it-on easy as the brightly hued banana leaf prints were sweet. Adding to the vacation spirit were neon-accented straw bags, wide-brimmed hats, and printed canvas desert booties.

>> Whitney Pozgay knows how to do prep — and she should. The designer cut her teeth working at Kate Spade and Steven Alan before launching contemporary label WHIT two years ago. But what makes Pozgay's particular brand of prep so appealing is that it leans just slightly askew. This season, that means a mod little coat in a brilliant shade of blue, a heavy dose of metallic, and far-out planetary prints.

>> This season, the quintessential "girl" color gets a much-needed update. Spotted on the Spring 2011 runways of everyone from Costume National to Valentino — and in every shade from barely-there pastels to super-bright magenta — pink is definitely the hue of the season. But don't expect to find the bubble gum pop and saccharine sweetness of Summers past — this season's take is unexpectedly edgy and all grown up. Look for pieces with modern, pared-down silhouettes and surprising details: accessories in unpredictable materials; dresses in clean, breezy shapes; and jewelry that walks the line between delicate and tough. Click through to shop our top picks from Cacharel, Prada, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Matthew Williamson and more in the slideshow.

Left to Right: The Row Spring 2011, Celine Fall 2011, Blumarine Spring 2011, Cacharel Spring 2011, Valentino Spring 2011, Loewe Spring 2011, Costume National Spring 2011

>> Whitney Pozgay's sophomore Whit collection — with its paperbag waists and polka dot party dresses — was inspired by a girl playing dress up in her grandmother's closet. "You know when you're a little girl and you put on a blouse and the bow is really big because it's meant for an adult? I tried to take those proportions and play with them in a more wearable way for adults," Pozgay explained. "So it's ladylike but really pushed with proportion and detail and construction to make it seem a little more playful and youthful." As she summed it up in her show notes, the look she was going for — which included a wheat pattern inspired by 1950s wallpaper and a "menacing bird print" handpainted by Jemme Aldridge — is "Hitchcock meets Tavi, with a dash of Grey Gardens." The resultant collection was shown in a Chelsea gallery, with each painting from the gallery strategically chosen to hang behind the look it best complemented.