CFDA Fashion Awards announced

08 Jun '11

3 min read

On June 7 The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) paid tribute to the winners and honorees of the 2011 CFDA Fashion Awards at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center. CNN anchor Anderson Cooper was the host for the evening. The evening's Womenswear Designer of the Year honors went to Jack McCollough & Lazaro Hernandez for Proenza Schouler presented by Naomi Watts.

The award for Menswear Designer of the Year was presented by Gerard Butler to Michael Bastian. Alexander Wang took home the Accessory Designer of the Year Award, presented by Iris Apfel. For the tenth year in a row, the evening was generously underwritten by Swarovski.

Karolina Kurkova presented the three Swarovski Awards, which honor and recognize emerging talent. The Swarovski Award for Womenswear was given to Prabal Gurung. The Swarovski Award for Menswear was presented to Robert Geller. The Swarovski Award for Accessory Design went to Eddie Borgo. 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.

In celebration of Swarovski's tenth year of underwriting the event, 21 past recipients of the Swarovski Awards for emerging talent, now top names in the industry, appeared on the stage to honor Swarovski's nurturing of American talent.

The Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Marc Jacobs by Sofia Coppola for his consistent, creative influence on fashion. The closing segment of the Awards included a career retrospective followed by a live presentation of looks from his Fall 2011 collection shown on models who appeared on a custom-built stage by Tony-Award winning set designer Scott Pask.

Lady Gaga, who was accompanied by her parents Joseph and Cynthia Germanotta, was the recipient of The Fashion Icon Award, given by Stephen Gan of Harper's Bazaar, Visionaire, and V Magazine. Phoebe Philo of Celine was recognized with this year's International Award presented by Kanye West. Jessica Alba presented Hal Rubenstein of InStyle with The Founder's Award, established in memory of CFDA founder Eleanor Lambert. The Media Award for excellence in journalism, originally created in honor of Eugenia Sheppard, was presented to Hilary Alexander of The Telegraph by Michael Kors. Photographer Arthur Elgort was bestowed the Board of Directors' Special Tribute Award, presented by Vogue's Grace Coddington for his indelible contribution to fashion over the years.
As part of the CFDA's commitment to design education, the Geoffrey Beene Design Scholarship winner Lauren Sehner, the Liz Claiborne Fashion Scholarship winner Yejun Lu, and the CFDA/Teen Vogue Scholarship, in partnership with Target, winner Amanda Gyuran were acknowledged from the stage by CFDA executive director Steven Kolb. Kolb also announced a new scholarship program with Gilt Groupe.

"These Awards not only honor the best talents in fashion," said CFDA President Diane von Furstenberg. "The evening is also a testament to the influence of the CFDA and its efforts to help the industry."

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