Photography by M. Sharkey

As executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the powerful fashion trade organization, Steven Kolb holds considerable sway in the fashion world -- an influence the philanthropically minded former football player uses to help groom a new generation of talent. His most recent coup: a partnership with W Hotels that gets the work of upstart CFDA designers exhibited in high-end hotels around the world.

Montreal native Antonio Azzuolo, an alumnus of prestigious fashion houses including Hermes, Ralph Lauren, and Kenzo, has lately garnered attention for his hand-tailored menswear collection, a.a. antonio azzuolo. It's not just stylish gents taking notice; Azzuolo was a finalist for the 2011 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund and has been nominated for the FGI Men's Apparel Rising Star Award, as well as the CFDA Swarovski Menswear Award.

Former model and rocker Efva Attling hasn't given up the limelight just yet. The Swedish-born jewelry designer, who has logged time at H&M and Levi's, stays plenty current with her stunning, irreverent line of jewelry, which is a favorite for boldfaced names including Madonna and Uma Thurman.

Alejandro Ingelmo, whose six-year-old line specializes in super-high shoes for ladies and blinged-out sneakers for guys, continues his march toward ubiquity thanks to partnerships with high-profile brands, like a recent project for crystal behemoth Swarovski.

Miss Piggy is not the only celebrity to have sported jewelry by Philip Crangi on the cover of a magazine, but she may be the most fabulous. Crangi, who grew up wanting to make sci-fi movies now channels his love of Star Wars, nature, and history (his parents were both history profs) into his other-worldly jewelry. Although he designs for men and women, he says the person in mind when he's working is "always Charlotte Rampling," and that's good enough for us.

Photographed at the Stanford White Library in the Chatwal Hotel in New York City on September 19, 2012