FASHION'S MOST INFLUENTIAL LEADERS RETURN FOR SEASON TWO OF OVATION'S ORIGINAL SERIES "THE FASHION FUND"

Premiering on Ovation on November 5, the Critically Acclaimed Docu-Series Follows the Fashion Industry's Prestigious CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Competition as Ten Promising Designers Vie to be Named the Winner of the 2014 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund.

Santa Monica, CA - October 8, 2014 Following the January break-out debut of The Fashion Fund, Ovation, America's only arts network, is announcing that season two will premiere Wednesday, November 5th at 10 PM ET. Condé Nast Artistic Director and Editor-in-Chief of Vogue, Anna Wintour and Diane von Furstenberg, President of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), are back along with the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund selection committee composed of top-level fashion executives and designers. The committee includes Ken Downing, SVP and Fashion Director, Neiman Marcus; Marcus Wainwright and David Neville, Founders of Rag & Bone; Jenna Lyons, President and Chief Creative Director, J. Crew Group, Inc.; Steven Kolb, CEO of the CFDA, and more. This panel of esteemed fashion industry judges will determine the recipient of the coveted 2014 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund prize.

Each year, ten American-based designers and design teams compete for the opportunity to win $300,000, in addition to a year-long mentorship with a fashion industry icon. Two runners up are also selected to receive $100,000 each. The first season of The Fashion Fund provided TV viewers with their first glimpse into this high-stakes process. Offering unprecedented access to the world of fashion, The Fashion Fund demonstrates all that it takes to be a successful fashion designer. The series follows these designers as their respective visions, technical abilities, and business acumen are tested.

The CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, in its 11th year, has transformed emerging designers into established fashion icons. Previous winners include Alexander Wang (2008), Sophie Theallet (2009), Billy Reid (2010), Joseph Altuzarra (2011, Altuzzara), Greg Chait (2012, Elder Statesman), and last year's winners Maxwell Osborne and Dao-Yi Chow of Public School, who were featured on season one of Ovation's The Fashion Fund. This year's designer finalists include Edie Parker (acrylic clutches and handbags), Eva Fehren (fine jewelry), Gigi Burris (millinery), Grey Ant (eyewear), Orley (menswear), Paul Andrew (footwear and accessories), Ryan Roche (womenswear), Simon Miller (denim), Tanya Taylor (womenswear) and Wes Gordon (womenswear).

This year the series takes viewers inside legendary studio visits, a Vogue fashion photo shoot and culminates with a presentation at NYC Fashion Week and the announcement of the 2014 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winner.

"As we proved last season, this is not your typical reality TV fashion competition show. The Fashion Fund is the real deal," said Scott Woodward, Ovation's SVP, Programming and Production. "The access to the fashion world is unlike any other program on television today. There is nothing else as authentic or as inspiring. The designers' incredible talent is matched with the judges' exceptional ability to spot creative assets and flaws, which makes for fascinating television."

The series is produced by Break Thru Films for Condé Nast Entertainment and Ovation.

"We are excited to be working with Ovation on the second season of The Fashion Fund," said Michael Klein, Executive Vice President, Programming & Content Strategy for Condé Nast Entertainment. "This season will give viewers an even more immersive look inside the real world of American fashion."

Season Two of The Fashion Fund is comprised of 6 one-hour episodes, which will premiere on Ovation beginning Wednesday, November 5, with episodes airing every Wednesday at 10pm ET.

About Ovation

Ovation is America's only arts network, whose mission is to inspire the world through all forms of art and artistic expression. Ovation programming is a one-of-a-kind mix of original and selectively curated art-centric series, documentaries, films and specials. Ovation's signature programming includes The Art Of, A Young Doctor's Notebook, and The Fashion Fund. Ovation reaches a national audience of over 50 million homes and is available on cable, satellite, and telco systems, such as Comcast Cable/Xfinity, DIRECTV, Time Warner Cable, DISH, Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-Verse, Charter, Bright House Networks, RCN, and Hawaiian Telcom. Ovation is also available on VOD (in both standard and high definition). Ovation's diversified viewer experiences extend across its linear network, the popular ovationtv.com, and active social presence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more. Ovation is a cause based-media company and is deeply engaged with the arts both nationally and locally, providing more than $15 million in contributions and in-kind support to community organizations, cultural institutions, and arts education programs. See the Ovation Facebook page for the latest information and conversations happening across the Ovation brand and the arts: www.facebook.com/OvationTV.

About Condé Nast Entertainment (CNE)

Condé Nast Entertainment (CNE) is a division of Condé Nast that focuses on the development, production and distribution of original television, feature film and digital video offerings based on the company's iconic media brands, which for more than 100 years, have created the world's greatest content for the world's most influential audiences. Follow us on Twitter @CNE.

Condé Nast is home to some of the world's most celebrated media brands. In the United States, Condé Nast publishes 18 consumer magazines, four business-to-business publications, 27 websites, and more than 50 apps for mobile and tablet devices, all of which define excellence in their categories. The company also owns Fairchild Fashion Media (FFM), whose portfolio of brands serves as the leading source of news and analysis for the global fashion community. Condé Nast has won more National Magazine Awards over the past 10 years than all of its competitors combined. For more information, visit condenast.com or follow us on Twitter @CondeNastCorp.

About Break Thru Films

Break Thru Films is headed by Emmy nominated directors, writers, and producers Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg. Their mission is to create powerful character--driven documentaries and dramatic films. Ricki and Annie's films Joan Rivers -- A Piece Of Work, The Devil Came on Horseback, Burma Soldier, and The Trials of Darryl Hunt have been Sundance and Tribeca Film Festival favorites winning numerous awards airing on HBO, National Geographic, Showtime. Other projects include: Secret Access: UFO's On the Record (History Channel), and short films for Kenneth Cole, Sundance Institute / Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Most recently, they created the national marriage equality spots for the Human Rights Campaign. Annie and Ricki have been recognized with the Best Female Filmmakers Award--San Diego Film Festival, Adrienne Shelly Excellence in Filmmaking Award and Lena Sharpe/Women in Cinema Persistence of Vision Award-Seattle International Film Festival.