2024 CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year Rachel Scott of Diotima Photo by Lexie Moreland for WWD
On Monday evening, an eclectic and eclectically dressed fashion crowd took over the American Museum of Natural History to celebrate one of fashion’s biggest nights of the year: the CFDA American Fashion Awards ceremony and gala dinner presented by Amazon Fashion.
As someone who has covered almost all of these events since their inception in 1981, held at various locations around the city (Lincoln Center, The New York Public Library, The Brooklyn Museum, Hammerstein Ballroom, etc.), I was left with many thoughts after being bombarded with so much sensory overload. It’s an understatement to say things have changed. Good or bad? I guess a bit of both. It’s always a double edged sword.
The evening is, first and foremost, a celebration of American fashion. Even the International Designer of the Year honoree, Texas-born Daniel Roseberry, creative director of Schiaparelli, is an American. That only happened once before, when Marc Jacobs, creative director of Louis Vuitton, was so honored in 2009.
CFDA Chief Executive Steven Kolb wearing Thom Browne – Photo by Marilyn Kirschner
After walking up the dramatic stairs to the Museum of Natural History, guests enter The Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda, best known for the iconic dinosaur exhibit at its center. In a dramatic representation of an imagined prehistoric encounter between predator and prey, a Barosaurus rears up to protect its young from an attacking Allosaurus.
Forget about the elephant in the room; let’s discuss the dinosaurs. The older, well-established names are now the venerable honorees or the ones doling out the awards, not the award winners.
New York fashion is evolving and engaging with a different kind of clientele; there are fewer ladies who lunch and more people who are creating culture. I like the rawness of it. – Daniel Roseberry, Creative Director, Schiaparelli
Emerging Designer of the Year nominee Jackson Wiederhoeft and Austin Goodwin – Photo by Marilyn Kirschner
To say there’s a new guard in fashion is an understatement. Some of the newer designers have such little name and face recognition outside of fashion that even veteran fashion insiders like myself would probably not recognize them if they saw them on the street.
Monday night’s big winners are Rachel Scott (Diotima), Willy Chavarria, Raul Lopez (LUAR), and Henry Zankov. Whether they become the next Donna, Calvin, Ralph, Marc, or Michael remains to be seen.
Blake Lively and Michael Kors – Photo by Marilyn Kirschner
While I wouldn’t necessarily refer to this year’s honorees (Michael Kors, Stephen Burrows, Annie Leibovitz, Hamish Bowles) as fossils, they are not exactly spring chickens. Neither am I. At 75, the only ones who make me feel like a “child” (as Bill Cunningham used to say) are 93-year-old Marylou Luther and 94-year-old Stan Herman.
“This year’s nominees and honorees represent the gamut of American fashion creativity and excellence,” – Steven Kolb, chief executive of the CFDA.
Michael Kors, who recently qualified for Social Security (he turned 65 in August), received the Positive Change award for his work fighting hunger. When I congratulated Michael on his philanthropy and longevity in this tough business, he laughedly said to me, “Let’s not tell anybody how long we’ve known each other.”
The ceiling falls on Suzy Menkes’s head at Michael Kors Fall 1991 Show – photo courtesy of CR fashion book
No kidding. That would be at least 10 YEARS before the ceiling at the loft space Michael rented for a show in 1991 fell and hit the famed fashion editor Suzy Menkes in the head, while bits and pieces of the ceiling fell on The New York Times editor Carrie Donovan. The bass was so loud from the music that the ceiling came apart and descended on the guests. The event, of course, changed NYFW forever.
Stephen Burrows with some of his colorful designs at a Tribute to the 1973 Battle of Versailles held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2011 – Photo by Marilyn Kirschner
How many in attendance Monday night were alive then? Of course, the night’s oldest honoree was 81-year-old Stephen Burrows. I first met Stephen in 1970 when Geraldine Stutz gave him his own store inside Henri Bendel, aptly named Stephen Burrows World.
Tim Allis, Amy Fine Collins & Marilyn Kirschner at Rizzoli – Photo by Laurel Marcus
On Monday, October 21st, I joined Amy Fine Collins and Tim Allis, author of “Henri Bendel And The Worlds He Fashioned,” at Rizzoli for a discussion about Henri Bendel’s life and legacy. Among the topics discussed were the ongoing Parisian dominance in fashion and how American designers stack up.
It’s impossible to outshine or outclass Paris with its centuries of history, culture, and enduring heritage brands like Chanel Dior and Schiaparelli, but there’s no question that American designers, many of them CFDA award winners, nominees, and honorees, have had and continue to have an enormous impact on the global fashion landscape.
Five American designers, including Stephen Burrows, put American fashion on the map at the Battle of Versailles in 1973. In 2006, the Council of Fashion Designers of America bestowed Stephen with “The Board of Directors Special Tribute.” The other four were Halston, Bill Blass, Oscar de la Renta, and Ann Klein.
Marilyn Kirschner wearing Christopher John Rogers
This year, Stephen, the first Black designer to receive worldwide recognition, was honored with the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award. I don’t own a Stephen Burrows colorful ensemble; the closest thing I have is this colorful striped dress by Christopher John Rogers, nominated as Womenswear Designer of the Year in 2023 and attended this time.
Miki Higasa wears Zankov with Vanessa Friedman and Booth Moore.
The dress code of the evening was “American Black Tie.” Aesthetics have changed markedly in the last few decades. I’d be the first to admit that much of what is on and off the runways these days hurts my eyes. When I began attending these high-profile award ceremonies, men and women dressed in a way that was respectful and universally elegant. There is no universality in dress codes now. It’s all about shock and awe.
Amy Fine Collins in Thom Browne and Honoree Hamish Bowles in Libertine – Photo by Marilyn Kirschner
Many of the attendees were dressed by Thom Browne, including Steven Kolb, Amy Fine Collins, who always looks marvelous in Thom’s clothes, and host Jenna Lyons, who proves my point that the “Female Dandy” is alive and well.
Fashion Icon Erykah Badu was also wearing Thom Browne, but it looked like Erykah had thrown on “Everything Everywhere All At Once” and couldn’t decide what to take off. I’ve seen her look a lot better. Ruben Toledo was on hand to receive the Board of Directors’ Tribute Award in honor of Isabel Toledo. A few women wore Isabel’s dresses, and they looked divine.
Linda Fargo in Schiaparelli – Photo by Marilyn Kirschner
Schiaparelli’s Daniel Roseberry dressed several guests, including Linda Fargo, who looked quite fetching. My vote for the sexiest dress goes to Sudanese model Aweng Chuol, who wore a designer from the UK with whom I was unfamiliar.
Kylie Jenner wears Haider Ackermann for Jean Paul Gaultier Couture, a feathered twist on an LBD
Sex was definitely in the air, but I much prefer the idea of allure instead of in your face. Wearing Jean Paul Gaultier by Haider Ackermann Haute Couture, Kylie Jenner nailed it!
I’m sorry, but I can’t warm up to LaQuan Smith’s overly showy designs. Rick Owens is a brilliant designer, but many of his designs are best left off the runway. Nicky Hilton, the perennial debutante, channeled Grace Kelly. On the far end of the spectrum, Di Mondo simply wanted to draw attention to himself, as always!
Halloween is a few days away, but some guests looked like they were headed straight to a costume party instead of a fashion event. Nowadays, it is often hard to tell the difference.
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