Saturday Night Live’s head writer and anchor Seth Meyers was the host for the evening. The evening’s Womenswear Designer of the Year honors went to Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen for The Row, presented by Jessica Chastain. The award for Menswear Designer of the Year was presented by Matt Bomer to Billy Reid. Reed Krakoff took home the Accessory Designer of the Year Award, presented by Jessica Paré. For the eleventh year in a row, the evening was generously underwritten by Swarovski.
For the first time in its history, the 2012 CFDA Fashion Awards will be digitally broadcast on Tuesday, June 5th, at noon, only on Style.com. The digital broadcast is sponsored by Lexus.
“This year’s awards were particularly special,” said CFDA President Diane von Furstenberg. “We honored the best talent working in American fashion today and celebrated CFDA’s 50th Anniversary and the impact of our family of designers.”
“A CFDA Fashion Award is one of the most coveted awards in our industry,” said CFDA CEO Steven Kolb. “This annual event is the one night we come together to celebrate our own.”
“Swarovski is thrilled to be a part of such an incredible evening honoring the best in American fashion and celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the CFDA. We are proud to support all of the Swarovski Award nominees, and look forward to watching a brilliant future unfold for each of the winners,” said Nadja Swarovski, Member of the Executive Board, Swarovski.
Lily Collins presented the three Swarovski Awards, which honor and recognize emerging talent. The Swarovski Award for Womenswear was given to Joseph Altuzarra. The Swarovski Award for Menswear was presented to Phillip Lim. The Swarovski Award for Accessory Design went to Tabitha Simmons. Recipients in each category will receive generous financial support from the company as well as exposure to the company’s vast and innovative crystal products and applications for fashion.
The Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Tommy Hilfiger by Anna Wintour for his consistent, creative influence on fashion.
The Founder’s Award, established in memory of CFDA founder Eleanor Lambert was given to Andrew Rosen by Kenneth Cole.
The Media Award for excellence in journalism, originally created in honor of Eugenia Sheppard, was presented to digital journalists Scott Schuman and Garance Doré by Pharrell Williams.
Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons was recognized with this year’s International Award. Johnny Depp was given the Fashion Icon award. Both Kawakubo’s and Depp’s award were presented by director John Waters.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:
The opening of the CFDA Fashion Awards featured a film directed by Zoe Cassavetes. The two-minute film paid tribute to the 50th anniversary of the CFDA and its members. The film was followed by a live retrospective of five decades of impactful clothes designed by CFDA members.
Steven Kolb read an email from Johnny Depp onstage which Kolb received just minutes before appearing on stage. The message was sent by Depp from the set of his film “The Lone Ranger” to thank the CFDA for the Fashion Icon award.
Seth Meyers appeared again mid-show to perform a second monologue dressed in the same Comme des Garçons men’s sheer lace dress and boxers worn by Marc Jacobs a month earlier at the Met gala.
The closing segment of the Awards included a career retrospective film of Tommy Hilfiger followed by a live performance by the acapella group, The Princeton Footnotes.
VIP GUESTS:
Some of the most well known names in the fashion and social worlds were in attendance including CFDA President Diane von Furstenberg, CFDA CEO Steven Kolb, Alexander Wang, Antonio Azzuolo, Arizona Muse, Ashley Olsen, Betsey Johnson, Billy Reid, Brian Atwood, Brad Goreski, Candice Swanepoel, Carine Roitfeld, Carolina Herrera, Catherine Malandrino, Chris Peters, Crystal Renn, Cynthia Rowley, David Neville, David Yurman, Deborah Lloyd, Derek Lam, Donna Karan, Doo-Ri Chung, Dree Hemingway, Eddie Borgo, Elettra Wiedemann, Erin Beatty, Erin Wasson, Francisco Costa, Gilles Mendel, Grace Coddington, Gregory Parkinson, Harley Viera-Newton, Hilary Rhoda, Irene Neuwirth, Italo Zucchelli, Jack McCollough, Jacquelyn Jablonski, Jason Wu, Jenna Lyons, Jessica Stam, Jill Stuart, Joan Smalls, Johan Lindeberg, John Bartlett, John Varvatos, John Whitledge, Johnson Hartig, Jonathan Adler, Joseph Altuzarra, Karen Elson, Kenneth Cole, Keren Craig, Kevin Carrigan, Lana Marks, Lazaro Hernandez, Lela Rose, Liu Wen, Lubov Azria, Marc Jacobs, Marcia Patmos, Marcus Wainwright, Maria Cornejo, Mary-Kate Olsen, Max Osterweis, Michael Kors, Monique Lhuillier, Monique Péan, Nadja Swarovski, Naeem Khan, Nicole Miller, Olivier Theyskens, Pamela Love, Patrik Ervell, Peter Som, Philip Crangi, Phillip Lim, Prabal Gurung, Rachel Roy, Rachel Zoe, Reed Krakoff, Robert Lee Morris, Shane Gabier, Simon Doonan, Simon Spurr, Sophie Théallet, Stacy Bendet-Eisner, Stan Herman, Steven Alan, Stuart Weitzman, Tabitha Simmons, Thom Browne, Tina Lutz, Todd Snyder, Tory Burch, Tracy Reese, Victoria Bartlett, Vivienne Tam, Yeohlee Teng, Yigal Azrouël, and Zac Posen.
They joined other notables from the world of entertainment, music, and sport, such as:
Alison Mosshart, Bernadette Peters, Busy Philipps, Dakota Fanning, Devon Aoki, Gretchen Mol, Heather Graham, Jack Huston, Jennifer Tilly, Julianne Hough, Kate Bosworth, Lauren Hutton, Mandy Moore, Olympia Scarry, Padma Lakshmi, Shaun White, Solange Knowles, Sophia Bush, St. Vincent (Annie Clark), Victor Cruz, and Zoe Saldana.
SCHOLARSHIPS / CFDA/LEXUS ECO-FASHION CHALLENGE:
As part of the CFDA’s commitment to design education, the following scholarships were awarded to the following students who were acknowledged from the stage by CFDA CEO Steven Kolb:
• Geoffrey Beene Design Scholarship: Eileen Pappas / Parsons The New School for Design
• Liz Claiborne Fashion Scholarship: Amanda Tran / Academy of Art University
• CFDA/Teen Vogue Scholarship, in partnership with Target: Jesse Rhoads / Academy of Art University
• Gilt Groupe All-Star Scholarship: Kieran Dallison / Fashion Institute of Technology
Also recognized by Kolb were the recipients of the CFDA/Lexus Eco-Fashion Challenge. They are John Bartlett, Marcia Patmos, and Johnson Hartig of Libertine.
The winners and honorees of the 2012 CFDA Fashion Awards:
Womenswear Designer of the Year
Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen for The Row
Menswear Designer of the Year
Billy Reid
Accessory Designer of the Year
Reed Krakoff
Swarovski Award for Womenswear
Joseph Altuzarra
Swarovski Award for Menswear
Phillip Lim
Swarovski Award for Accessory Design
Tabitha Simmons
Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award
Tommy Hilfiger
International Award
Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons
The Media Award, given in honor of Eugenia Sheppard
Scott Schuman and Garance Doré
The Founder’s Award, given in honor of CFDA Founder Eleanor Lambert
Andrew Rosen
Fashion Icon Award
Johnny Depp
Info/Press Release by KCD WorldWide
HQ photos by BFANYC
Additonal photos by Zimbio.com