New York – It may have been the American fashion industry's big night, but international fashion greats also got their due at the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Awards last night at Lincoln Center in New York on Monday, June 7.
The late Alexander McQueen was honored with a special tribute, presented by Sarah Jessica Parker, and his Fall 2010 collection was shown for the first time outside the small Paris presentation in March, where it was originally shown shortly after his death on February 11, 2010.
British designer Christopher Bailey of Burberry also received this year's "International Award," presented to him by Donna Karan.
A typically star-studded affair - like the Academy Awards and fashion week wrapped into one event - actors including Jessica Biel, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rachel Weisz and CFDA designers themselves, Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen, mingled with fashion's finest, such as CFDA president and designer Diane von Furstenberg, Kenneth Cole, Zac Posen, Betsey Johnson, Rachel Roy, Brian Atwood and Peter Som.
Top honors of the Swarovski-sponsored night went to Marc Jacobs for "Womenswear Designer of the Year," David Neville and Marcus Wainwright of Rag & Bone for "Menswear Designer of the Year" and the "Accessory Design of the Year" award went to Alexis Bittar.
Swarovski also underwrote the awards for the top emerging designers, who this year included Jason Wu for womenswear, Richard Chai for menswear and Alexander Wang in accessory design. The winners in this category will receive financial support from Swarovski, as well as access to the company's crystals for use in their own designs.
The Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Michael Kors, presented by Anna Wintour who recalled a humorous anecdote about how Kors once stayed in the ocean in Jamaica for four hours because Ralph Lauren was also on the beach - and Kors didn't want Lauren to see that he was, in fact, wearing Ralph Lauren swim trunks.
Paper magazine's founding editor and publisher Kim Hastreiter, a longtime champion of new and undiscovered fashion talents, was given the Eugenia Sheppard Award for excellence in journalism, which actress Brooke Shields introduced, while Caroline Kennedy presented Vogue fashion director Tonne Goodman with the Eleanor Lambert Award. Isabella Rossellini introduced Iman, who received the "Fashion Icon" award.
For the second year in a row, the "Popular Vote" award went to Ralph Lauren. Through a joint Web site sponsored by L'Oreal Paris and WWD.com, anyone could vote for their favorite fashion designer |
