The Cultivate Award is open to emerging, independent BIPOC designers who have offered clothing size 14 and upwards for at least two years, with the chance to win a $10,000 grant, a year of professional mentorship, and the opportunity to sell a capsule collection on plus-size women’s fashion site Eloquii. Two runners-up will be awarded prizes including a $2,500 scholarship grant, and there will also be a “voter’s choice” category.
Applications are open and judged on a rolling basis until March 1, 2021, with finalists and winners announced via livestream in May. The panel of judges includes The Cut editor-in-chief Lindsay Peoples Wagner, celebrity stylist Timothy Snell, Liris Crosse — the first plus-size model to win Project Runway — and Eloquii director of design Yesenia Torres.