The CFDA Fashion Awards Winners 2016
The CFDA Fashion Awards Winners 2016
On Monday night, the 35th annual Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Fashion Awards ceremony honored talents in the industry, from Marc Jacobs to Beyoncé.
Marc Jacobs took home the award for Womenswear Designer of the year, selected from peers including Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s The Row, and the sisters behind Rodarte. Meanwhile Thom Browne took home the Menswear Award over nominees including Rag & Bone designers Marcus Wainwright and David Neville, and Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne of Public School.
Accessory Designer of the Year was awarded to the duo behind Mansur Gavriel, Rachel Mansur and Floriana Gavriel. The Swarovski Awards for Womenswear, Menswear and Accessory, which offer both mentorship and financial support to emerging or up-and-coming designers, were awarded in turn to Brandon Maxwell, the designers behind Orley, and Paul Andrew.
Norma Kamali was awarded the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award, while Donna Karan took home the Founder’s Award, and Alessandro Michele clinched the International Award for his work at Gucci. The Media Award in Honor of Eugenia Sheppard was given to Imran Amed of Business of Fashion. Jennifer Hudson and Michael C. Hall each gave performances in honor of Prince and David Bowie, who was the recipient of the Board of Director’s Tribute.
As the council’s website states, “The annual event recognizes the outstanding contributions made to American fashion by individuals from all areas of the industry and related arts, with awards being given for design excellence in womenswear, menswear, and accessories as well as extraordinary accomplishments in journalism, creative vision, and lifetime achievement.” This year, Beyoncé was included in those honored, receiving the Fashion Icon Award in a Givenchy suit, and giving a resounding speech that spoke to her own roots and ancestry in fashion, as well as the potential it holds for so many. Telling of her grandmother’s work as a seamstress, a talent she passed on to Beyoncé’s mother, the singer went on to describe the impact this made on her own career. “Starting out in Destiny’s Child, high-end labels didn’t really want to dress four black country curvy girls, and we couldn’t afford designer dresses and couture. My mother was rejected from every showroom in New York. But like my grandmother, she used her talent and her creativity to give her children their dreams.” She went on to finish with on an inspirational note of gratitude, “I want to say thank you to every designer who works tirelessly to make people think they can write their own story. Y’all are fairy godmothers, magicians, sculptors, and sometimes even our therapists. I encourage you to not forget this power you have or to take it lightly. We have the opportunity to contribute to a society where any girl can look at a billboard or magazine cover and see her own reflection. Soul has no color, no shape, no form. Just like all of your work, it goes far beyond what the eye can see. You have the power to change perception, to inspire and empower, and to show people how to embrace their complications, and see the flaws, and the true beauty and strength that’s inside all of us.”
The CFDA Fashion Awards Winners 2016
