Guess Which Celebs Wear This AAU Alum's Designs

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The CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund (CVFF) announced the winners earlier this week for its eleventh annual awards. Congratulations are in order for Ryan Roche, an AAU School of Fashion alumna, for snagging a runner-up designation. The honor comes with $100,000 toward her business plans and an assigned business mentor to help guide the way. It's an exciting achievement for the Idaho native who moved to New York in 2004 after studying fashion design, with a specialty in knitwear, in SF. She tells NY Mag that she transitioned to womenswear from children's apparel after actresses Maggie Gyllenhaal, Milla Jovovich, and Shalom Harlow asked her to design clothing that they could wear.

"I actually did [Maggie's] daughter's dress for [Maggie's] wedding [...] and then Maggie started saying, 'Can I get the cashmere cape in my size?'" Ryan explained to the pub in 2012. Orders from Eva Gentry, Steven Alan, Metier, and others ensued. Photographs from this year's CVFF event show Maggie there, dressed in Ryan Roche, to lend her support. No word yet on what Ryan plans to do with her label next, but fingers crossed for more of her delicious cashmere knits in every possible size.
· Ryan Roche, Academy of Art University School of Fashion Alumna, Named Runner-Up in CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund (CVFF) [Fashion School Daily]
· How Joe Zee Went From Fashion Student To Yahoo Editor in Chief [Racked SF]