In a statement Tuesday, Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour said, "Vogue has a long tradition of supporting young talent — in particular, our local talent — to secure a brilliant future for American fashion. And Gap's Design Editions project…will give a boost to the three CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winners, and bring their wonderful designs to a much bigger audience."

Ironically, last year's fashion fund winner Chung picked up J. Crew chairman (and former Gap honcho) Millard "Mickey" Drexler as a mentor, and she is developing a wedding dress for J. Crew. As for whether that alliance will lead to other J. Crew products, she said: "I hope so. We're talking about a lot of things….Mickey wants me to be huge, which is wonderful. I love his enthusiasm. He thinks I can do much more than I think I can." J. Crew executives couldn't be reached for comment. It's unclear how they will react to Chung's work at Gap, a competitor.

For now, Chung is eager to see her finished Gap products, including a Claire McCardell-inspired shirtdress. "Throughout history people have always tried to redesign the classic white shirt — that's what made it so exciting."

Having Gap's colossal production crew was another bonus. After creating her looks and handling an initial fitting, Chung didn't have to deal with the patternmaking, tucking, seaming and all the other painstaking tasks to which she usually has to attend. "It was nice to have someone else to take care of that part," she said. "It's important as a designer to see how different processes work. You can get so pigeonholed with what you do. I get tunnel vision — once I'm in the building, I don't leave. It's good to step away to see a different perspective."

While Chung is not actively searching for other collaborations, she said if a project was presented that was something she believed in, sounded fun and was not detracting from her signature collection for an extended period, she would consider it.

Lately, designers have been teaming with mass retailers, with H&M lining up Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney and Viktor & Rolf, and Target fronting Libertine, Proenza Schouler's Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough and Behnaz Sarafpour. This month, Alice Roi bows with a Uniqlo line, followed by Phillip Lim in May. Lim has a deal in the works with an international shoe company. If the designer-retailer combo weren't enough, H&M has raised the stakes by having Madonna and pop princess Kylie Minogue design signature collections. Another international retailer, Mango, has Penélope Cruz and her sister on deck for a collection, Kate Moss is on board at Topshop and Naomi Campbell is reportedly working on her own label.