The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) paid tribute to the winners and honorees of the 2009 CFDA Fashion Awards at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center. This year's Awards were hosted by comedian Tracey Ullman. The honors went to Kate & Laura Mulleavy for Rodarte for Womenswear Designer of the Year, presented by Diane Kruger.
There was a tie for Menswear Designer of the Year, which was presented by Jimmy Fallon: Scott Sternberg for Band of Outsiders and Italo Zucchelli for Calvin Klein Collection. Jack McCollough & Lazaro Hernandez for Proenza Schouler took home the Accessory Designer of the Year Award, presented by Kerry Washington.
First Lady Michelle Obama was honored with the Board of Directors' Special Tribute Award by CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg for her support and commitment to American designers. "The ingenuity and craftsmanship of American designers contributes so much to our economy and to our culture," said Mrs. Obama in a taped message sent from the White House. "To both legends and the future legends, I am honored to celebrate your craft with you tonight. And on behalf of men and women everywhere, I want to thank you all for making fashion liberating, inspiring, but of all, fun."
Blake Lively presented all three Swarovski Awards which were generously underwritten by Swarovski for the eighth year in a row. The Swarovski Award for Womenswear was given to Alexander Wang; The Swarovski Award for Menswear was presented to Tim Hamilton; and The Swarovski Award for Accessory Design went to Justin Giunta for Subversive Jewelry. Recipients in each category will receive generous financial support from the company as well as exposure to the company's vast and innovative CRYSTALLIZED(TM) Swarovski Elements.
The Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Anna Sui by musician Jack White of the White Stripes. Prior to her acceptance, a group of 36 models appeared onstage in front of a dramatic Swarovski beaded curtain constructed 30,000 number of jet crystals custom-designed by Tony Award-winning set designer Scott Pask.
Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton was recognized with this year's International Award presented by Antoine Arnault and Robert Duffy. The Eleanor Lambert Award was presented to GQ Creative Director Jim Moore by Justin Timberlake. WWD's Edward Nardoza was honored with the Eugenia Sheppard Award for excellence in journalism, presented by Patrick McCarthy, Editorial Director of W and WWD.
As part of the CFDA's commitment to design education, the Geoffrey Beene Design Scholar Niloufar Mozafari and the CFDA/Teen Vogue Scholarship (in partnership with Target) recipient Rachel Brown were recognized onstage by CFDA executive director Steven Kolb.
This year also marked the first ever Popular Vote Award sponsored by L'Oreal Paris. Through a website hosted by wwd.com, the public was given the opportunity to vote for its favorite fashion designer. An overwhelming number of votes were cast. The winner of the Popular Vote Award was Ralph Lauren.
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