The OnlyFans Creative Fund: Fashion Edition set out to jumpstart the careers of talented up-and-coming creators in the fashion industry in a reality competition series on OFTV, OnlyFans’ free streaming platform. Hosted by high-profile model Francesca Farago and celebrated photographer/creative director Grace Bukunmi, Creative Fund: Fashion Edition not only gave participants the opportunity to showcase their work to a global viewing audience, but also furnished the winners with a mentorship with esteemed fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff, and $100k in prize money to launch their brands on a larger scale.
"The Creative Fund allows us to develop opportunities for creators in a particular field. OnlyFans gives all creators a platform to express themselves and by focusing on fashion, we're able to shine a spotlight on a new wave of creators in this inventive category as they look towards the future." - Amrapali Gan, OnlyFans CEO
By sharing this iteration of the Creative Fund as an engaging OFTV original series, OnlyFans is able to give aspiring fashion enthusiasts around the world the opportunity to be inspired by our finalists’ experiences and learn valuable insights from Rebecca Minkoff and our exceptional Judges– celebrity stylists Maeve Reilly and Law Roach, and renowned makeup artist Sir John.
The OnlyFans Creative Fund: Fashion Edition series on OFTV truly represents our company at its best: passionate creators working collaboratively and tirelessly to bring an ambitious project to life. Winning this Shorty Award would be a wonderful honor for all the immensely talented individuals involved in making this moonshot series happen– not only those from our company and producing partners, but the hosts, judges, mentors, and the exceptional finalists. Please understand, that we didn’t initially set out to produce a competition show!
OnlyFans established the Creative Fund in 2021 as a way of supporting up-and-coming creators both on and off our platform. Last year, we were able to provide four genuinely exciting musical artists with $20,000 and a robust promotional campaign for each. This year, we set our sights on the fashion industry and planned to once again administer the fund behind closed doors. But as the world started re-opening after Covid and we were certain we could do this safely, it was decided that Fashion Edition should be an OFTV show.
That’s when teams from OnlyFans and OFTV jumped into action. We received thousands of application packets and videos from worthy fashion creators all over the world and began narrowing them down. Ultimately, 25 semi-finalists were presented to our panel of all-star Judges (Maeve Reilly, Law Roach, and Sir John). Of those, nine promising designers and stylists were selected to fly to Los Angeles to participate in the production.
In a small window of time, we were able to provide our finalists with a first-rate competition experience. We built out our set, the Creative Space, with all the amenities they needed to conceptualize and realize their garments. They gained priceless experience working in studio conditions in front of a professional film crew. Not to mention the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to share screen time with Francesca (Frankie) Farago and Grace Bukunmi.
Everything about this year’s Creative Fund was bigger than last year’s, including the prizes. Fashion Edition finalists competed for $100,000 in total prize money ($50,000 for first place, and $25,000 each for second and third), plus a mentorship with the legendary Rebecca Minkoff.
In their initial challenge, finalists had to prove to Grace and Frankie that they could successfully communicate their creative concepts to a client. In their main challenge, the competitors were given a set of wardrobe basics and were tasked with upcycling them into showstopping high-fashion looks. The remaining finalists had to draw on their skills, creativity, and ability to perform under pressure in this final challenge. The completed looks were fitted to models and given a runway show for the judges.
The judges offered their critique, praise, and, most importantly, their advice as each finalist presented their final look and pitched themselves as a designer. The judges deliberated, and chose one winner and two runners-up!
Can you believe all of this was originally going to just be an email and a press release?
Our team is absolutely blown away by the impact The Creative Fund: Fashion Edition has already had on the careers of our three winners!
First place winner Charles Smith II received a tremendous amount of press coverage surrounding his win, including a feature in Vogue, as well as write-ups in local Dallas press. He used a small portion of his winnings to produce a runway presentation of his garments and is currently back at work on his next collection.
First runner-up Lee Rickie recently released a resort collection to capitalize on all the new attention towards his brand following his win on Fashion Edition. Several pieces in the collection were inspired by the judges' personal style and their advice to him during the competition.
Mario Miguelito and Rebecca Minkoff formed a strong connection during their mentorship session, and Ms. Minkoff continues to mentor him beyond the competition. He is currently exploring the world of NFTs and their intersecting utility within the fashion industry.
At the time of submission, it has been three weeks since the final episode of Creative Fund: Fashion Edition was released on OFTV.
REFERENCE:
https://www.upsmag.com/meet-charles-smith-ii-the-dallas-designer-taking-fashion-to-the-dark-side/
vogue.com/article/meet-charles-smith-ii-the-dallas-designer-taking-fashion-to-the-dark-side
https://www.dmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/2022/06/dallas-designer-charles-smith-ii-wins-a-major-fashion-competition/#:~:text=On%20June%209%2C%20the%20Charles,to%20secure%20the%20coveted%20prize.
