Target is one of the major retailers that appear to use the C.F.D.A. Awards as a pipeline for its GO International series of limited-edition designer offerings. Former Swarovski Award winners Proenza Schouler has done it, as have the past two Swarovski Award winners for accessory design: Devi Kroell and Jessie Randall for Loeffler Randall. This spring saw the debut of capsule collections from two of the three Swarovski nominees for accessories: Subversive by Justin Giunta and Gryson by Joy Gryson handbags.

Executives from Target declined to comment, but Giunta, a two-time nominee for the Swarovski Award, admits that his deal with Target was probably a result of the increased attention his collection received after the nomination last year.

“Brand recognition is one of the most important things in America,” he says. “And, yes, I think it definitely translated [through my Target deal].”

For a growing fashion label, the exposure a partnership with a national retailer like Target can bring is priceless, particularly when it is supported with national print and television advertisements.

Nominees for the C.F.D.A. Awards are submitted by current designer members of the C.F.D.A. along with a select group of retailers, editors, and stylists. Once a designer wins a Swarovski Award, they can no longer be considered in that category; they are only eligible for Designer of the Year honors in their category.

One design duo that recently “graduated” from the Swarovski Award category to Designer of the Year is Proenza Schouler. Designers Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough won the award for emerging talent in 2003 and then went on to share Womenswear Designer of the Year honors with Oscar de la Renta in 2007.

Shirley Cook, president of Proenza Schouler, says they saw positive results from the time of their first nomination. “It puts you on everybody’s radar,” she says. “It definitely raised people’s awareness of us, so it helped our sales and getting retailers in the door.”

The continued attention these fashion “it” boys received also helped attract a big suitor. Last July, Proenza Schouler received a reported $3.7 million investment from the Valentino Fashion Group. Though their nomination was announced after their negotiations with Valentino had started, it definitely helped speed the deal along.

“It made everyone so much more confident in their decision that this was the right thing. At the negotiating table, no matter what, when you’re an award winner or an award nominee, it raises your profile, and in this case, raised our value,” Cook explains. “I think it made the Valentino Fashion Group feel good about their decision and reinforced to them that it was the right decision.”