Eloquii Reveals Charniece White as Winner of The Cultivate Award Year II
● White will receive a $10,000 grant, professional mentorship and the opportunity to create a capsule collection.
Charniece White, a Black designer based in Los Angeles, is the winner of The Cultivate Award Year II, presented by plus-size digital media platform, The Curvy Fashionista with Eloquii as the founding sponsor.
The Cultivate Award is an initiative that supports and nurtures the next generation of emerging Black, Indigenous and people of color designers in the plus-size fashion community.
White was selected Saturday night at the virtual finale show sponsored by Facebook, Eloquii and The Curvy Fashionista.
Born in Baltimore and raised in Howard County, Maryland, White is an economist, curator, patternmaker and full-package technical designer with more than 10 years of experience. Based in Los Angeles, she owns two sister lines that feature styles up to sizes 5X and
30. They are Pinecone Row, a trendforward line, and Barkwood, a more contemporary collection.
She will receive a $10,000 grant, a oneyear professional mentorship program and the opportunity to create a capsule collection designed with and sold on Eloquii.com in 2023.
Runner-up was Anglea Rene and second runner-up was Matthew Robinson, who each were awarded a $2,500 scholarship grant from Eloquii. Fourth runner-up LeAndra “Elle” Dove was awarded a $1,000 scholarship. Each finalist will receive a sponsored bed by BigFig, a plus- size fashion certificate program awarded by dean of Parsons
Ben Barry, mentorships by cofounder of Curvy Couture Evora Russell and general partner at Realist Ventures
Marie Rocha, and Shapermint for the winner of the Voters Choice Awards, who was also Dove.
The winners were selected by a panel of judges who included Eloquii's creative director Yesenia Torres; Gwendolyn DeVoe, creator and executive producer of Full Figured Fashion Week, and Susan Moses, celebrity stylist and author of
“The Art of Dressing Curves.” They were evaluated based on criteria including inspiration, originality, innovation and aesthetic.
At the virtual finale show, inaugural winner Melissa Mercedes shared her experience about what it was like to work with Eloquii on the collaboration, her yearlong mentorship with Eloquii and the importance of diversity in the plus-size fashion space.
As reported last week, Eloquii introduced Mercedes' collection April 14.
“We're thrilled to be a part of this event for the second year now. Propelling diverse, up-and- coming talent in the plus- size fashion industry is a priority at Eloquii,” said Torres. “We have been so inspired by all four finalists this year, and we are really looking forward to working with the grand prize winner, Charniece White, to bring her collection to life and elevate her business.”