The CFDA Fashion Awards are annual fashion prizes awarded by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Founded in 1980 with the first awards given in 1981, they honor and showcase excellence in fashion design. They have been sometimes referred to as "the Oscars of fashion".thedailybeast.com CFDA awards, the Oscars of fashion 2009/06/15
Nominations are submitted by the Fashion Guild, a group of over 1,500 CFDA members including fashion editors, retailers, and stylists. Award winners are determined by vote and announced at an annual black tie event held in Manhattan. Award winners receive a trophy made by the New York firm Society Awards.
History
1980s The 1981 awards were given out at the first annual CFDA awards ceremony on January 14, 1982 at a dinner in the New York Public Library. The winners had been announced two months before the ceremony which was originally scheduled for a television extravaganza in the fall of 1981. CFDA president Bill Blass had set off controversy when he announced that all of the nominees will be named winners to avoid televising designers as they lose awards. In response, nominee Geoffrey Beene rejected the award and said, "The industry needs a major award for its merit, not its emotion."
Under new CFDA president Perry Ellis, the 1984 CFDA awards in January 1985 had a broadened set of awards that included special citations for MTV, Nike billboards, and Details magazine. According to Donna Karan, who headed the awards committee, "We wanted these awards to go beyond designers. It's all about creativity and the whole scope of fashion." James Galanos received the first CFDA "Lifetime Achievement Award" in 1984, which the CFDA named after Geoffrey Beene. At the 1984 awards, Bill Blass presented the "Eugenia Sheppard fashion award" to Earl Blackwell and said it would be given annually "for outstanding contribution to fashion journalism."
The CFDA Awards were staged at the New York Public Library until they moved to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the 1986 awards in January 1987. The CFDA's first "Perry Ellis Award" for new fashion talent was given to David Cameron in 1986, the award was named after the former council president who died that year.
1990s The CFDA's first "International Award" was given to Gianni Versace in 1992. Princess Diana attended the awards in January 1995 to present a special award to her friend Elizabeth Tilberis, the British-born Editor-in-Chief of Harper's Bazaar.
In 1997, for the first time, the CFDA did not release all of the award winners before the awards ceremony. The nominees of the "Perry Ellis Awards" were announced at a press conference in November 1997 but the winners were not named until the February 1998 awards ceremony. In 1999, the date of the event was changed from January to June when the awards were televised for the first time, as the 18th Annual American Fashion Awards on E! Entertainment Television, marking the beginning of a five-year partnership with General Motors.
In 1997, the CFDA Fashion Awards began including emerging designers.
2000s The CFDA's first "Fashion Icon Award" was given to American socialite C.Z. Guest in 2002. The award was given to Nicole Kidman in 2003 and to Sarah Jessica Parker in 2004. The CFDA decided to forgo the award in 2005, and instead gave the "Award for Fashion Influence" to Kate Moss. In 2002, the CFDA Fashion Awards also began a 17-year partnership with Swarovski that ended in 2019. In 2003, the awards for new designer talent, formerly known as the "Perry Ellis Awards", were renamed "Swarovski's Perry Ellis Awards" and included a monetary prize for the first time to reflect the sponsorship.
CFDA Fashion Award winners
1980s YearGeoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement AwardWomenswear DesignerMenswear DesignerAccessory DesignerEmerging Talent AwardInternational AwardSpecial AwardsNotes1981noneGeoffrey Beene; Perry Ellis; Calvin Klein (tie)Jhane Barnes; Ralph Lauren; Alexander Julian (tie)Barry Kieselstein-Cord (jewelry); Alex Mate and Lee Brooks (costume jewelry); Nancy Knox (men's shoes) (special awards for each)noneYves Saint Laurent (worldwide influence/International Fashion Award) Robert Lighton - khaki sportswear Andrew Fezza - leather for men (or Award for Menswear); Fernando Sanchez - Excellence in At-Homewear and Lingerie."1982 Career Recognition". 1982noneNorma KamaliPerry EllisnonenoneKarl Lagerfeld for Chloé (outstanding designer outside the U.S.) Outstanding fashion illustrator: Antonia Lopez. Outstanding fashion photographer: Bill Cunningham.1983noneCalvin KleinPerry EllisPatricia Underwood (hats) noneIssey Miyake; Giorgio Armani1984James GalanosnonenonenoneStephen Sprouse (best new designer)none Astor Place Hair Designers - influence on contemporary hair design in America; Annie Flanders - fresh approach to fashion journalism as editor and publisher of Details magazine; Kitty D`Alessio, president of Chanel - "revitalizing Chanel's image in the U.S.;" John Fairchild, chairman of Fairchild Publications - M magazine; Ira Neimark and Dawn Mello - rejuvenating Bergdorf Goodman/leadership in retailing; Peter Moore - Nike billboard advertising campaign; Bruce Weber - fashion advertising photography; Robert W. Pittman, executive vice president of MTV - MTV's role in modern communications and its influence on fashion/"opening our eyes to a new medium"; Diana Vreeland, special consultant to the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art - "unparalleled contribution to the world of fashion as an art."1985Katharine Hepburn; Alexander Liberman Donna Karan (outstanding designer of the year); Geoffrey Beene; Liz Claiborne; Norma Kamali (outstanding video presentations)Robert Lee Morris (jewelry); Ray-Ban (sunglasses)nonenone Michael Mann, producer of the television series Miami Vice, for its overall style influence. Claudio Segovia and Héctor Orezzoli for bringing Tango Argentino to Broadway. Special tribute and fashion show for designer Rudi Gernreich who died in 1985.1986Bill Blass; Marlene DietrichGeoffrey Beene (outstanding American designer of the year); Donna Karan ("impact on the total look of fashion"); Ralph Lauren (retailer of the year)noneDavid CameronChristian Lacroix for Patou Dalma Callado, model - personifying the spirit of fashion for 1986 Elsa Klensch, the style editor of Cable News Network - bringing fashion to television; and Elle magazine.1987Giorgio ArmaniRonaldus ShamaskMarc Jacobs1988Richard Avedon; Nancy ReaganBill Robinson1989Oscar de la RentaIsaac MizrahiJoseph Abboud
1990s YearGeoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement AwardWomenswear DesignerMenswear DesignerAccessory DesignerPerry Ellis Award for New TalentInternational AwardEugenia Shepard AwardSpecial AwardsNotes1990Martha GrahamDonna KaranJoseph AbboudManolo BlahnikChristian Francis Roth noneGenevieve Buck, fashion editor of The Chicago Tribune. Emilio Pucci for design and color genius Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue, for contribution to fashion. Special tribute to Roy Halston Frowick.1991Ralph LaurenIsaac MizrahiRoger Forsythe for Perry EllisKarl Lagerfeld for ChanelTodd OldhamnoneMarylou Luther of the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. * Women of the Arts awards: actress Anjelica Huston, opera singer Jessye Norman, and dancer/choreographer Judith Jamison. Special awards went to Harley Davidson for bringing motorcycle leather jackets and bike accessories into the mainstream of fashion, and Marvin Traub, former chairman of Bloomingdale's, for retail innovation.1992Pauline TrigèreMarc Jacobs for Perry EllisDonna KaranChrome HeartsAnna SuiGianni Versace () Audrey Hepburn for a Lifetime of Style and her commitment to the children of the world, Steven Meisel for photography Patrick O'Connell for the Ribbon Project of Visual AIDS.1993Judith Leiber and Polly Allen MellenCalvin KleinCalvin Klein noneRichard Tyler (womenswear); John Bartlett (menswear)Prada (accessories) ()New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham; s Special award for sneakers shared by Converse, Adidas, Keds, Nike and Reebok special award for art direction for Fabien Baron, creative director of Harper's Bazaar. Salute to CFDA founder Eleanor Lambert.1994Carrie Donovan, Bernadine Morris, and Nonnie MooreRichard TylernoneRobert Lee Morris (womenswear); Gene Meyer (menswear)Victor Alfaro and Cynthia Rowley (tie) (womenswear); Robert Massimo Freda (menswear)nonePatrick McCarthy, executive vice president of Fairchild Publications. Special awards went to Elizabeth Tilberis, editor in chief of Harper's Bazaar, for contribution to the fashion industry/editorial achievement; Sara Lee Corp. for "The Year of the Wonderbra"; Kevyn Aucoin for "The Artistry of Makeup". Special tribute to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis for her "lifetime of style and grace and influence on American fashion."1995Hubert de GivenchyRalph LaurenTommy HilfigerHush PuppiesMarie-Anne Oudejans for Tocca (womenswear); Richard Tyler and Richard Edwards (by Richard Bengtsson and Edward Pavlick) (tie) (menswear); Kate Spade (accessories)Tom Ford for Gucci Suzy Menkes of International Herald Tribune; Lifetime of Style Award - Lauren Bacall; The Dom Perignon Award for Humanitarian Leadership - Bill Blass. Special awards went to Isaac Mizrahi and Douglas Keeve for the film Unzipped, for bringing the fashion world into the theater; Robert Isabell for floral design.1996Arnold ScaasiDonna KaranRalph LaurenElsa Peretti for Tiffany & CoDaryl Kerrigan for Daryl K (womenswear); Gene Meyer (menswear); Kari Sigerson and Miranda Morrison for Sigerson Morrison (accessories)Helmut Lang ()New York Times fashion critic Amy Spindler; and s Dom Perignon award for Humanitarian Leadership - Kenneth Cole; Special award for "furthering fashion as art and culture" - Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute's curator Richard Martin and associate curator Harold Koda.1997Geoffrey BeeneMarc JacobsJohn BartlettKate SpadeNarciso Rodriguez (womenswear); Sandy Dalal (menswear)John Galliano () for Dior Lifetime of Glamour Award - Elizabeth Taylor; Dom Perignon Award for Humanitarian Leadership - Ralph Lauren; Stiletto Award - Manolo Blahnik; Global Influence on Fashion - Anna Wintour; Lifetime Tribute Award (or Lifetime Recognition Award) - John Fairchild, retired chairman and editorial director of Fairchild Publications. Special tributes for Princess Diana and Gianni Versace.1999Yves Saint LaurentMichael KorsCalvin KleinMarc JacobsJosh Patner and Bryan Bradley for Tuleh (womenswear); Matt Nye (menswear); Tony Valentine (accessories)Yohji Yamamoto ()Elsa Klensch of CNN; Lifetime of Glamour Award - Sophia Loren Influence on Fashion Award - Cher; Humanitarian Award (posthumous) - Liz Tilberis; Timeless Talent Award - Betsey Johnson; Window on Fashion Award - Simon Doonan; and award "for putting the spotlight on Hollywood and fashion" - InStyle magazine.
2000s YearGeoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement AwardWomenswear DesignerMenswear DesignerAccessory DesignerEmerging Talent Award International AwardNotes2000ValentinoOscar de la RentaHelmut Lang Richard Lambertson & John Truex for Lambertson TruexMiguel Adrover (womenswear), John Varvatos (menswear), Dean Harris (accessories)Jean-Paul Gaultier ()2001Calvin KleinTom FordJohn VarvatosReed Krakoff for CoachDaphne Gutierrez and Nicole Noselli for Bruce (womenswear), William Reid (menswear), Edmundo Castillo (accessories)Nicolas Ghesquiere () for Balenciaga2002Karl Lagerfeld and Grace CoddingtonNarciso RodriguezMarc JacobsTom Ford for Yves Saint LaurentRick OwensHedi Slimane () for Dior Homme 2003Anna WintourNarciso RodriguezMichael KorsMarc JacobsLazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough for Proenza SchoulerAlexander McQueen ()2004Donna KaranCarolina HerreraSean Combs for Sean JohnReed Krakoff for CoachZac Posen (ready-to-wear), Eugenia Kim (accessories)Miuccia Prada