For years, it was easy to rattle off the designers and brands who defined American fashion. The likes of Marc Jacobs, Khaite, and The Row have been perennial winners at the Council of Fashion Designers of America annual awards. Well, last night’s CFDA Awards shook that up with surprising wins that heralded a new, more diverse guard. Presented by Amazon Fashion, the evening’s festivities were held at the Museum of Natural History and hosted by Cynthia Erivo. Clad in a custom Zac Posen designed GapStudio gown, Erivo joined a star-studded red carpet that featured the likes of Kylie Jenner in Jean Paul Gaultier Couture, Troye Sivan in custom Tanner Fletcher, and Tyla in vintage Gucci to name a few.

The night began with a political turn – inevitable given that the election is a mere week away. New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand gave the opening remarks, encouraging the crowd to vote. From there, CFDA chairman Thom Browne spoke, highlighting the power of creativity to shape the future. “American fashion and creativity has never been stronger. I stand here recognising that this room represents that excellence. Excellence in creativity, in diversity, in the strength in the stories we have to tell. We are all responsible for showing the world how strong our voices can be, how strong our voices are. Our voices extended so much further than the walls of this group, which is why it is our responsibility now more than ever to use our voices to change the world,” he said.

And change indeed happened, with the first award going to Raul Lopez as the American Accessory Designer of the Year. Presented by Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, this marks the second time Lopez has won, with his first being back in 2022. Speaking of repeat winners, Sivan was up next to name the American Menswear Designer of the Year. Willy Chavarria took the prize, going back-to-back. He capped off an especially successful 2024, with critically acclaimed collections. But the biggest surprises were yet to come. Actress Molly Gordon and Brandon Maxwell announced that Henry Zankov, with his namesake label, earned the Google Shopping American Emerging Designer of the Year trophy. And finally, the most awaited result of the night: The American Womenswear Designer of the Year award presented by Da’Vine Joy Randolph to Rachel Scott of Diotima. With this nod, Scott, who won last year’s emerging designer prize, has established herself as a name to remember.

Other highlights from the night included a performance by Yseult as well as a Nian Fish-directed film that captured American fashion highlights of the past year. Besides the main designer awards, honourees of the evening included Hamish Bowles, who won the Founder’s Award in honour of CFDA’s founder Eleanor Lambert as presented by Marc Jacobs. Molly Ringwald introduced the newly-renamed Isabel Toledo Board of Directors’ Tribute, which was accepted by Toledo’s husband Ruben. Donna Karan and Todd Oldham gave the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement award to Stephen Burrows while Blake Lively handed the Positive Change Award to Michael Kors. Another New York stalwart, Coach earned the Innovation Award for Coachtopia. To round out the evening Anna Wintour presented Annie Leibovitz with the Media Award in honour of Eugenia Sheppard and Amy Griffin gave the International Award to Daniel Roseberry of Schiaparelli. And finally, to close the evening, none other than Erykah Badu, who was named as Fashion Icon as introduced by André 3000.

cfda.com