CFDA Award Nominations: Find Out Which of Fashion's Best and Brightest Might Win

Anna Wintour, Michael Kors, Carolina Herrera and Rebecca Minkoff were among those on hand at the cocktail gathering for the announcements by CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg and Nadja Swarovski (the crystal giant is a longtime sponsor of the awards). Honorees and winners from each category (see the full list below) will take home the coveted trophy when the CFDA Awards take place Monday, June 2 at Alice Tully Hall.

Among the highlights: Tom Ford (a four-time CFDA Award winner) will receive the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award, while Raf Simons will receive the International Award, the CFDA’s annual nod to someone working outside the American fashion industry. Among the nominees, Marc Jacobs, Alexander Wang (a double nominee, for womenswear and accessories), Joseph Altuzarra and the duo of Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCullough for Proenza Schouler were among those to garner repeat nods (each also has won in past years), while Rosie Assoulin, Shayne Oliver for Hood by Air and Marc Alary earned their first nominations.

Honorees also included those revered within the industry, though might not necessarily be household names: Paul Cavaco (the “C” in PR behemoth KCD and creative director of Allure) will receive the Eugenia Sheppard Media Award, while legendary model and diversity-in-fashion activist Bethann Hardison will receive the CFDA’s Founders Award. And Ruth Finley, the diminutive dynamo who almost 70 years ago created the Fashion Calendar, the go-to resource for fashion events, will receive the Board of Directors’ Tribute. CFDA CEO Steven Kolb echoed von Furstenberg’s onstage mention when Finley’s award was announced: “Diane said it best—when you get started in this industry, Ruth is your first phone call,” he said later. “What she created with the Fashion Calendar was revolutionary, and she also did it as a single mother, and very much deserves to be celebrated.”

Prior to von Furstenberg taking the stage, Kolb announced that John Waters, a presenter at last year’s awards, will host this year’s ceremony. “He’s someone who understands fashion but who approaches it from a different sensibility as someone outside the industry,” Kolb said. “He is of course funny and entertaining, but not in a stand-up comedy sort of way; he also can appreciate the absurdities than can exist in our business and can point them out in a way that’s witty without being disrespectful.”

In the coming weeks we’ll be highlighting a variety of nominees and honorees: what defines them, who influences them, and what was it about their latest collections that put the nominated designers squarely in the CFDA’s spotlight. But until June 2, don’t bother querying Kolb about any favorites; when asked which nominee truly brought a smile to his face, his answer was short and sweet: “All of them.”

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