The winners of the 2012 CFDA Awards
The 2012 CFDA Awards- a particularly commemorative year as it marks the organization's 50th anniversary- was hosted by funnyman Seth Meyers. Here's the list of winners.
Designers, magnates, movers and shakers filed into Lincoln Center in New York City Monday evening for the annual CFDA Awards- oftentimes referred to as the "Oscars of the fashion" since it lauds the accomplishments of the industry's finest talent- both established and emerging.
The 2012 CFDA Awards- a particularly commemorative year as it marks the organization's 50th anniversary- was hosted by funnyman Seth Meyers who at one point stood in front of the packed crowd of Alice Tully Hall in boxers and the same lace Comme des Garcons dress Marc Jacobs notably wore to the Met Gala.
Tommy Hilfiger was honored with the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award, which has previously gone to designers and household names like Michael Kors and Marc Jacobs. Hilfiger was met by a fun performance by the Princeton Footnotes and Vogue's editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, who presented Tommy his lifetime achievement award.
The Womenswear Designer of the Year Award went to Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen for The Row: A magnanimous accomplishment for the talented twins who went up against the likes of Proenza Schouler and Marc Jacobs. "I'd like to thank you — you," Mary-Kate (in black) said to her sister Ashley (in purple).
The Menswear Designer of the Year Award, presented by White Collar star Matt Bomer, was handed to Billy Reid who beat out Simon Spurr and Patrik Ervell. In his acceptance speech, Reid joked, "I would like to thank my mother for not letting me pursue my dream of being a football coach." As predicted, Reed Krakoff won the Accessory Designer of the Year Award, opposite Proenza Schouler and Alexander Wang. The award was presented by Mad Men's Jessica Paré.
In the up-and-coming designer categories- Swarthmore grad Joseph Altuzarra won the Swarovski Award for Womenswear, Tabitha Simmons was honored with the Swarovski Award for Accesory Design, and Phillip Lim took home the Swarovski Award for Menswear. "This ones for the guys," Lim said when accepting his award.
Other notable achievement winners included Andrew Rosen of Theory who was the recipient of the Founder Award, graciously accepting the Eleanor Lambert trophy from Kenneth Cole. Meanwhile, Garance Doré and Scott Schuman (as in the Sartorialist) were recipients of the Media Award. Schuman, who alongside his lady accepted the award from a bow-tie adorned Pharrell urged the crowd, "Use your unique vision, it's not about having lots of money."
Elusive actor Johnny Depp was the recipient of this year's Fashion Icon Award, but unfortunately was unable to attend the event in person due to a film-scheduling conflict. Steven Kolb, however, did receive an email from him at one point that evening. Rei Kawakubo, who was honored with the International Award, was also unable to attend.
The large portion of the evening was focused on American design, as CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg reiterated, "To promote and protect fashion is the CFDA motto." Seth Meyers, who started his hosting gig in a Band of Outsiders suit, also did a wonderful job making the room full of fashion's most important figures, laugh- at themselves and alongside their peers. As he poked fun at a range of designers including Jacobs and Galliano, Meyers noted that he didn't care if the room was offended. "Fashion people like hating things more than they do liking things," he said.
Other notable attendees included Mandy Moore who enjoyed the event with Lela Rose, model Devon Aoki paired up with Alice + Olivia founder/designer (and Penn grad) Stacey Bendet, Kate Bosworth went with Altuzarra, and Zoe Saldana stunned in a one-of-a-kind black gown alongside Prabal Gurung.