Celebrating with the CFDA
“Tonight is the night where designers celebrate designers,” CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg said as she opened the organization’s annual awards ceremony, “And this is what American fashion is all about.”
It turns out that celebrating American fashion is also a heavily emotional endeavor. Things kicked off with a heartfelt tribute to Ruth Finley, the creator of the fashion calendar and this year’s recipient of the CFDA’s Board of Directors Tribute, and were quickly followed by a series of standing ovations and plenty of tears: Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen touchingly dedicated their award for Accessories Designer of the Year to their friend, the recently deceased designer Jay Ott; Raf Simons choked up while accepting the award for International Design (fortunately, his date for the evening, the French actress Marion Cotillard, was there to comfort him); and Naomi Campbell cried while presenting the legendary model and agent Bethann Hardison with the Founder’s Award (“Bethann is like my mother,” Campbell said. “I call her mom.”). Even an Adam Selman-clad Rihanna, who received the Fashion Icon award for her energetic, inventive style, took the celebration seriously. “I can compensate for all of my weaknesses with fashion,” she said. “I grew up in a really small island. I didn’t have a lot of access to fashion, but as far as I could remember fashion has always been my defense mechanism. Even as a child, I remember thinking ‘She can beat me, but she cannot beat my outfit.’”
But, it wasn’t all heavy. How could it be with actor (and W contributor) John Waters serving as the evening’s host? After jokingly pitching a post-Normcore fashion line to the captive audience, he suggested fashion should become more expensive. (How else are designers supposed to afford luxury vacations? was the justification.) He was also one of three people to dance during the ceremony—Bethann Hardison got her groove on to Nicki Minaj on stage, while Richard Buckley couldn’t contain his excitement when presenting his husband Tom Ford with the Lifetime Achievement award before joking that it was, in fact, he who deserved the honor, not his partner. Womenswear and Accessories Designer of the Year nominee Alexander Wang also brought a lighthearted touch to the evening, bringing the actor Chris Kattan in character as Saturday Night Live’s Mango as his date. “I’m going to find a way to get nominated,” Mango confessed before the show. “I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but I am. Perhaps in the category of best fellatio.”
Watch some of the evening’s highlights in the video below and see the best red carpet looks here.
Womenswear designer of the year: Joseph Altuzarra for Altuzarra
Menswear designer of the year: Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne for Public School
Accessory designer of the year: Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen for The Row
Swarovski award for menswear: Tim Coppens, Swarovski award for womenswear: Shane Gabier and Christopher Peters for Creatures of the Wind, and Swarovski award for Accessories: Irene Neuwirth
The CFDA Turns It Up on the Red Carpet
Rihanna in custom Adam Selman
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen in The Row.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Liya Kebede, Chanel Iman, Bethann Hardison, Iman, and Joan Smalls.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Steven Kolb and Diane von Furstenberg.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Solange Knowles in Calvin Klein.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Lupita Nyong’o in Suno with Joseph Altuzarra.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Anna Ewers in Alexander Wang with the designer.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Chris Kattan as Mango in Alexander Wang.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Marion Cotillard in Dior with Raf Simons.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Blake Lively in Michael Kors.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Greta Gerwig in Zac Posen with the designer.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Jennifer Hudson in Kaufmanfranco.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Alessandra Ambrosio in Nonoo with designer Misha Nonoo.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Richard Buckley and Tom Ford.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Joan Smalls in Prabal Gurung.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Ruth Finley.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
James Marsden in Todd Snyder.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Brie Larson in Diane von Furstenberg.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Tyson Beckford and Naomi Campbell in Marc Jacobs.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Busy Phillips in Honor.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Lazaro Hernandez, Jamie Bochert and Gia Coppola in Proenza Schouler, and Jack McCollough.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Jaimie King in Calvin Klein Collection.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Liya Kebede in Wes Gordon with the designer.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Chanel Iman in Monique Lhuillier.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Karlie Kloss in Band of Outsiders with Scott Sternberg and Hanne Gaby Odiele.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Iman in Juan Carlos Obando.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Keri Russell in a Rosie Assoulin dress and Irene Neuwirth jewelry.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Emmy Rossum in J. Mendel.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Karen Elson in Michael Kors.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
Sophia Bush in Marchesa, Danielle and Jodie Snyder, and Hillary Rhoda.
Photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.