NEW YORK – Amid elegant black ties and voluminous gowns, a giant walrus watched as a 94-foot-long blue whale floated overhead. No, it wasn’t a fever dream, but a night at the museum at the 61st Annual CFDA Fashion Awards.
A-list celebrities and the fashion elite ventured uptown Manhattan to the American Museum of Natural History on Monday evening for the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s annual event, which has been likened to the Oscars of American fashion.
“Through fashion, we truly have the opportunity to paint our own tapestry and share our unique perspectives with the world,” said Serena Williams, who received the evening’s Fashion Icon Award, presented to her by friend Kim Kardashian. Williams, who wore custom Thom Browne clothing for the occasion, recalled that he “reinterpreted the traditional tennis outfits,” with “skirts made of denim, and I wore purple tutus and bodysuits and knee-high boots and put pearls in mine Hair and braids.”
“I stand here with all of you today, not just as an athlete, but as someone who has personally experienced the extraordinary power of fashion,” said the tennis great and creator of S by Serena.
The 2023 event — hosted by Anne Hathaway (who stepped in after original host Sarah Jessica Parker “was unable to attend due to unforeseen circumstances”) — focused on women’s clothing, men’s clothing, accessories and emerging talent, among other performance awards.
And although the audience didn’t experience a moment on stage, the “The Devil Wears Prada” actress and the inspiration for the film’s Miranda Priestly character, Vogue actress Anna Wintour, breathed the same air in the room.
“I’m your host, Sarah Jessica Parker’s understudy,” Hathaway joked. “Or as the internet sometimes talks about me, not Amal Clooney.”
CFDA Fashion Award winners include Catherine Holstein of Khaite and Willy Chavarria
For the second year in a row, Catherine Holstein won the women’s fashion designer award for her work at Khaite, battling Joseph Altuzarra for Altuzarra, Christopher John Rogers, Raul Lopez for Luar and Tory Burch for the evening’s coveted top honor.
Hathaway presented the Womenswear Award alongside designer Narciso Rodriguez, listing a list of qualities that womenswear must possess: “Design that fits a variety of body shapes, skin tones, ages, personality types, seasons, budgets, hopes and dreams , passes the 24/7 endurance performance stress tests, it is ambitious yet grounded and fully rooted in the countless responsibilities of a woman’s daily life.
Other winners of the evening included menswear designer Willy Chavarria (“I design to lift people up,” said Chavarria, who noted he had lost his prepared remarks when he dressed Rauw Alejandro and Tokischa); Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen for accessories designer at luxury fashion brand The Row (they were not present); and Diotima’s Rachel Scott as an emerging designer presented by Shop with Google (the Jamaican-born, New York-based designer took the stage in disbelief as Sister Nancy’s “Bam Bam” blared from the speakers).
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Gwyneth Paltrow and Vera Wang receive fashion honors at the CFDA Awards
As waiters carried plates of a dinner of chicken pot pies, Kardashian sat at the head table with La La Anthony, Lil Yachty, Williams and Wintour; Quinta Brunson held court with “The Bear” actress Ayo Edebiri and hugged Prabal Gurung (who designed the “Abbott Elementary” star’s dress for her first Met Gala earlier this year); Instagram fashion partnerships director and writer Eva Chen introduced “The Summer I Turned Pretty” starlet Lola Tung at each table; Ashley Graham hugged Diane von Furstenberg; and photographers made their way around the room to snap photos of stars like Teyana Taylor, Martha Stewart and more.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Goop “have captured the spirit of the times,” said Demi Moore, who presented the lifestyle brand’s founder and CEO with the Amazon Fashion Innovation Award.
“Gwyneth Paltrow didn’t become an award-winning business mogul overnight. I mean, some of you may not know this, but she started out as an actress,” Moore said to laughter from the audience.
“A friend of mine once called Goop an irreplaceable provocateur forever. And as I look forward to the next 15 years, I really hope that we continue to be culture changers, instigating change big or small,” Paltrow said.
Vera Wang received the board’s honor, recognizing her work in bridal fashion as a “disruptor, trailblazer and true visionary,” said presenter Vanessa Hudgens.
“I didn’t think I would be so touched, but I really am,” Wang said as she accepted the trophy.
Wang said she hopes her win “shines a much-needed light on the bridal industry for a fashion veteran like me, who barely made it to the altar at 40 and was probably the woman least likely to get married, let alone more than 30 years.” was old.” years until the production of wedding dresses.
Star-struck Jonathan Anderson, known for his intricate artwork for design houses JW Anderson and Loewe, was honored as international designer of the year and praised for creating what presenter Greta Lee called “a fashion utopia for craft lovers.” “In America you’re great at public speaking, and in Europe we’re not very good at it,” Anderson joked, before recalling his “surreal” year, including Rihanna’s look for the Super Bowl halftime show had designed.
The tone of the evening became more solemn as the evening’s presenters and winners indirectly addressed the world’s problems, namely the ongoing violent conflict affecting Israelis and Palestinians.
But there were still some celebrations as hip-hop and fashion each marked their 50th anniversary with Battle of Versailles, paying tribute to the luminaries who brought both to life.
Mary J. Blige honored the “hip-hop style, a cultural phenomenon” by introducing a video tribute from legendary director Hype Williams, featuring Missy Elliott (recently inducted as the first female rapper into the Rock Hall), LL Cool J and the late Biz Markie. For the Battle of Versailles in 1973, where five French and five American designers competed in a fashion showdown, pioneering models and activists Pat Cleveland and Bethann Hardison joined Stephen Burrows, the last living American designer.
Tom Ford chairman Domenico De Sole took home the Founder’s Award, while the CFDA awarded fashion designer Maria Cornejo the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award and journalist Alina Cho won the media award. Mara Hoffman received the Sustainability Award, which was presented to her by Rosario Dawson.
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