Council of Fashion Designers of America, CFDA, the American fashion industry’s annual awards ceremony, on Monday, honoured several people in the fashi
Council of Fashion Designers of America, CFDA, the American fashion industry’s annual awards ceremony, on Monday, honoured several people in the fashion business including Kim Kardashian-West who got the inaugural Influencer Award in a ceremony that had the who is who in the fashion industry. Aimed at recognising the achievements of designers and other change agents driving the American fashion industry forward, the award ceremony which is also regarded as the Oscar of fashion was an evening of many firsts.
Raf Simons and Naomi Campbell
Actress Issa Rae, who was the host the 2018 CFDA Awards, was not only the first person of colour to host the prestigious event, but also the first woman in almost a decade, to host the annual awards show. Also for the first time, the ceremony took place in the actually fashionable borough of Brooklyn, at a Brooklyn Museum to be precise. Again, for the first time, an influencer award was created which Kim Kardashian West received in recognition of her outsized ability to dictate fashion and beauty trends through social media. She counts a whopping 112 million followers on Instagram alone.
Issa Rae
This year’s notable guests included Oprah Winfrey, Cate Blanchett, Tracee Ellis Ross, Caroline Kennedy, Trevor Noah, Claire Danes, Diane Lane, Rosario Dawson and Whoopi Goldberg to name just a few.
One of the highlights of the evening was the huge number of the fashion industry’s stars, almost 20 designers who paid tribute to Ralph Lauren who was awarded the CFDA Members Salute award. From Vera Wand to Tommy Hilfiger to Michael Kors to Marc Jacobs to Calvin Klein to Tory Burch, they all paid tribute to the man who is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his iconic brand, with personal testimonials regarding how he has affected their own careers.
Here below is a full list of the honourees and winners at the 2018 CFDA Fashion Awards
Womenswear Designer of the Year: Raf Simons for Calvin Klein
Menswear Designer of the Year: Supreme
Accessory Designer of the Year: Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen for The Row
Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent: Sander Lak for Sies Marjan
Influencer Award: Kim Kardashian West
Fashion Icon: Naomi Campbell
Media Award: Edward Enninful
International Award: Donatella Versace
The Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award: Narciso Rodriguez
The Founder’s Award in honour of Eleanor Lambert: Carolina Herrera
The Swarovski Award for Positive Change: Diane von Furstenberg
CFDA Members Salute: Ralph Lauren
